THE SWEET TASTE OF A STRANGE CITY: GERMAN SPECIALTIES IN OLD POLISH COOKBOOKS OF THE 18TH CENTURY (ACCORDING TO THE MANUSCRIPT «ZBIÓR DLA KUCHMISTRZA TАК POTRAW JAKO CIAST ROBIENIA

Abstract

The article focuses on the recipes for desserts found in an old Polish manuscript cookbook of the mid-18th century, which was part of the Potij-Lubomirskis private book collection. Based on these recipes, the article for the first time determines the peculiarities of speciality desserts originating from the German cities of Nuremberg and Lubeck. The evolution of the culinary art of the period was facilitated by the economic and trade links between German urban
centres, as well as the provision of easy access to imported ingredients, above all sugar. The examination of cooking instructions demonstrates that they closely followed common European, especially contemporary French, examples in the production of jams and baked goods. By the turn of the 18th century, the main technologies of confectionary making came from specialised cookbooks by French authors. The analysis of the manuscript and printed sources makes
it possible to identify the perceived curative qualities of desserts and their ingredients and the role of sugar-based confectionaries in defining the social status of not only German but also old Polish elites. At the same time, the article considers the characteristics of old Polish desserts (the so-called ‘wety’), as well as tableware and cutlery served at the table during the Baroque period