Warsaw autumn flavours
This month, as well as for the next three, everything is in the greatest abundance: game, domestic fowl, vegetables, fruits, with the exception only of veal and dairy products, which are starting to become more difficult.—Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa (1826–1901) told her readers, describing meals that can be prepared in September. Cookbooks and housekeeping guides by this Warsaw-based author were popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, and even today their reprints can be bought in bookstores. But are these tips still relevant today?
Currently in Warsaw (and throughout Poland), veal and dairy products can be easily bought all year round, although a hundred years ago these were products whose availability and quality depended on the season. However, the heat we experienced in 2024 from the end of spring meant we could enjoy fruit and vegetables about two to three weeks earlier than Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa. Apples, which are usually harvested at the end of summer and in the autumn, started to be picked at orchards near Warsaw in mid-August! The first pumpkins were on sale at city fairs at the end of July. Earlier, there were also plums—another of Warsaw’s autumn flavours. In addition, this year the fruit and vegetable season is very short. As early as the middle of August, fruit growers reported that the harvest of American blueberries, which traditionally can be eaten in September, was coming to an end.
Sweet breakfast
Does this mean we will not enjoy traditional autumn flavous for as long this year? Probably, but like every year, the abundance of fruit and vegetables marks the start of the pickling and preserving season. Varsovians buy sugar for jams and marmalades as well as the salt and spices needed for pickling cucumbers: garlic, horseradish, dill, and often cherry, blackcurrant or oak leaves. At home, glass jars are scrubbed and new ones bought. As a result, for breakfast in September you will be able to enjoy an almost full range of traditional preserves and jams from this year’s fruit.
Which bread to choose for a sweet breakfast? Varsovians of all ages are keen on challah (braided Jewish sweetbread) topped with crumble. The inspiration for challah can be found in the culinary traditions of Polish Jews. The recipe for sweet challah contains butter and milk, ingredients not added to bread baked in Jewish homes for the weekly Sabbath.
In bakeries, drożdżówki, or filled yeast rolls, are tempting, as are the croissants. This delicacy’s country of origin is of course France, but the buttered puff pastry, or la pâte feuilletée, called French pastry in Polish, has been pleasing the palates of Warsaw residents for over 400 years. The oldest recipe historians have managed to find for these pastries in Poland dates back to 1633 and is connected with the kitchen of King Sigismund III Vasa; the same monarch who moved his main residence to Warsaw at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. A monument to him, Sigismund’s Column in the Old Town, has also become one of the symbols of the Polish capital.
Warsaw museums for foodies
Memories of royal feasts are not the only attraction awaiting food lovers in our city this autumn. At the Museum of Warsaw, on the Old Town Square, you will be able to see the exhibition ‘Warsaw from the kitchen’. It is worth checking the museum’s website as many tasty side events are planned, including workshops, gatherings, and thematic guided tours.
Culinary attractions also await at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. During the Sukkot festival (this year between October 16 and 23), the seventh TISH (Yiddish for table) Jewish Food Festival will be held and its main theme will be craft heritage. In this case too, it is worth checking the museum’s website, as tickets for festival events go like hot cakes.
Where do Varsovians buy their favorite bread? You can also find this out by surfing the Internet. Simply enter ‘piekarnia’ (bakery) into a search engine and choose the places with the highest ratings. See you in the queue for drożdżówki!
Author: Agnieszka Kuś, Warsaw guide
