The Turkish influence on the Polish cuisine - Coffee

Turkish cuisine is one of the oriental cuisine which had a big impact on Polish cuisine. In the Middle Ages  Turkish merchants brought it to the Polish spices. Among the spices there were  ginger, saffron, pepper, cloves and cinnamon which symbolizes the splendour of the Orient. They were used for meat dishes and pastries. They were also used to suppress the musty smell of bad meat. People  believed that the spices contributed to digesting food, sharpening the appetite, and even  "purifying the blood”. However, their prices were high, so the spices were used only for the rich .  Foreigners were amazed at the excessive use of spices in a multitude of Polish dishes.

The oriental influences increased even more during the reign of Jan III Sobieski.  During the siege of Vienna Polish soldiers captured a load of Turkish coffee. The custom of drinking coffee  first appeared in the affluent circles of Gdansk.

                                                                           Jan Matejko - "Sobieski at Vienna "

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries  drinking  coffee spread among the middle class. In rich homes a special department, kawiarki, was maintained-. Although the Polish coffee reached the East and the West, Turkish mocha was regarded as the best It was later  supplanted by different varieties of coffee from Brazil.

In the eighteenth century the influx of oriental sweets  increased. The sorbet, or frozen fruit drinksfried in honey fruits, candied fruits fried in sugar syrup, and especially having a spicy taste enjoyed recognition. The oriental sweets included  nuts, almonds, honey, sesame seeds, raisins, sugar, fat and spices with natural dyes. They aroused enthusiasm  by their taste, aroma and colour.  Makagigi, rachatłukum (which in Arabic means "throat comfort") and biscuits with kajmak (which in Turkish means the cream) were sold. In the nineteenth century  Krakow and Lviv welcomed a arrival of sweets such as halva, bambuchy, nugaty and many others.

Turkish coffee in the Polish style

 It is a coffee which I remember with the communistic time in Poland but some times you can order it in Polish restaurant.

2 tbsp ground coffe

boiling water

glass

Into the glass put ground coffee, 
pour boiling water and if you like add sugar.
Serve it with  cookies.

Enjoy!