#SzlakMaSmak – EXCELLENT LOWER SILESIA!

In the latest #SzlakMaSmak campaign, we encourage you to taste Lower Silesia, follow its aromas and taste local dishes. Together, let’s get to know the richness of flavors and interesting combinations of the ingredients of regional dishes. At the beginning, we present the Lower Silesian dairy and meat dishes.

LOWER SILESIA: LAND OF PLENTY

Regional cuisine is associated with taste traditions created by generations of people living in a specific place. The complicated history of Lower Silesia made newcomers from all over the world settled here. They came with their recipes and started building a new tradition. In this way, an extremely interesting mix was created, in which the cuisine of different regions and even countries was mixed. Diversity is the strength of our kitchen. Many of the local dishes have been entered on the Polish list of traditional products.

PERFECT CHEESE

Among the richness of the region, there are also traditional dairy products, such as Kamienna Góra blue cheese – soft, slightly crispy, with a spicy mushroom flavor. It should be remembered that the dairy traditions in Kamienna Góra have deep roots. This is due to the location in the mountain areas and pastures ideally suited for dairy farming, which began at the turn of the 13th / 14th century, thanks to the Krzeszów Cistercians. Another product that pampers the palate is Lomnicki goat cheese – delicate, slightly salty and slightly sour. When herbs and spices are added, it takes on their aroma. Its history is connected with the area of ​​Kozłowszczyzna (through the centuries of the Polish-Lithuanian-Russian borderland). The tradition of cheese making in this area is associated with Napoleon’s expeditions to Russia: the local residents learned from the French how to make rennet cheeses, and after arriving in Lower Silesia, they continued the tradition. Other examples include Zgorzelec cheese, brought by refugees from distant Greece who settled in Zgorzelec after World War II, or Sudeten cottage cheese, produced according to a traditional recipe since 1945. The milk obtained for its production comes from cows grazing in the Wałbrzysko-Kamienna Góra Sudetes.

MEAT SPECIALTIES

There are also traditional cold cuts in the region. In the village of Proszówka, located in the Izera Foothills, the slaughter of cattle and pigs was the main source of income for farmers. It is from this town that many traditional delicacies come from, for example, veal kabanos sausages from the Karkonosze Mountains or Polish head cheese from the Karkonosze Mountains, which was created after the Second World War. At that time, the production of cold cuts was licensed, and craftsmen could not process meat in the form of hams and other products, only in the form of offal products. The Volyn delicacy from Niemcza, on the other hand, consists of several types of pork (ham, neck, shoulder, sirloin, bacon, dewlap). The recipe comes from the Volyn region, which belonged to Poland before 1939. In the years 1944-1947, under the treaty on the resettlement of people of Polish origin from the Ukrainian SSR to Poland, the inhabitants of Volhynia were displaced to the so-called recovered lands. Other delicacies from that region are marinated pork fat from Niemcza and Niemcza sausage, seasoned with natural spices and hand-cut garlic. The proper smoking process, passed down from generation to generation, is very important in its production. Hardwood is used in the smokehouse, and the smoke gives the sausage a unique aroma. On the other hand, the history of producing Niemcza pork ham dates back to the last century. It is prepared from the best quality meat, which, after marinating, is formed by hand, bound with yarn, steamed and cooled. Thanks to traditional smoking, the meat changes its taste, color and smell, and a dry crust forms on its surface. A roasted pig in a Zacisze way is a festive dish usually prepared for special occasions. It was also known to the settlers – returnees from Bosnia, who settled in the vicinity of Bolesławiec, Tomaszów Bolesławiecki and Nowogrodziec after World War II. A sausage in a jar from Przedgórze Sudeckie (Sudeten Forelands) is a ground, medium comminuted mass of pork with visible spices: coarsely ground pepper, bay leaf and allspice, surrounded by naturally produced jelly. It was established in the village of Ubocze in the Sudeten Foreland, where Polish repatriates and military settlers, mostly from Nadyb and Wojutycze (today’s Ukraine), settled after World War II. In the past, when there were no jars yet, the meat was put into clay pots, covered with fat and baked in the oven. Today, many inhabitants of Ubocze and the surrounding area prepare sausage in jars as a daily food. And we, when discovering Lower Silesia, going on trips to the above-mentioned areas, can get to know traditional dishes, which which are naturally produced according to old recipes. We invite you to check it by yourself!

Author: Justyna Butryn

Source: www.gov.pl