The Polarizing Fruit Soup
Some remember it with sentiment, nostalgically returning in their thoughts to summers spent at their grandmother's house, while others, on the other hand, hate it with all their hearts, seeing it as a nightmare of school cafeterias, a poor version of a proper meal, simply a culinary failure. Unfortunately, the second option dominates, and fruit soups have been relegated to the past. But let's not judge them so harshly, because these sweet soups have many different variations, and their history dates back much further than our school days. Perhaps the oldest known recipe for this type of dish can be found in the work Moda bardzo dobra smażenia różnych konfektów i innych słodkości, a także przyrządzania wszelakich potraw, pieczenia chleba i inne sekreta gospodarskie i kuchenne from 1686-88.
This is recipe number 76 – Polewka z jagód winnych (Soup of Wild Berries). The way it’s prepared is different from what our grandmothers used to serve, as the main liquid ingredient is not water but wine! This already sounds much more appealing than the familiar "compote with noodles". It's also worth mentioning that berry soup is considered a traditional dish from Pomerania. Who knows, maybe the recipe mentioned above is a distant predecessor of the soup we now associate with our local cuisine? Let's also take a look at the already mentioned Gdańska książka kucharska (Gdansk Cook Book). In the "Various Soups and Dumplings" chapter, there are three recipes for fruit soups: two versions of cherry cold soup and one for an apple soup, but surprisingly – served hot! Here, too, wine is used as an ingredient, though in much smaller quantities.
The main advantage of the old recipes for fruit soups lies not in alcohol, but in the flavoring additions such as spices, the use of egg yolks, potato flour, or bread crumbs to thicken the soup. These ingredients were what transformed a bowl of fruit-infused water into a liquid palette of complementary flavors. Perhaps it’s time to lift the curse from fruit soups, revisit old recipes, and discover what our grandparents loved about them?
This is recipe number 76 – Polewka z jagód winnych (Soup of Wild Berries). The way it’s prepared is different from what our grandmothers used to serve, as the main liquid ingredient is not water but wine! This already sounds much more appealing than the familiar "compote with noodles". It's also worth mentioning that berry soup is considered a traditional dish from Pomerania. Who knows, maybe the recipe mentioned above is a distant predecessor of the soup we now associate with our local cuisine? Let's also take a look at the already mentioned Gdańska książka kucharska (Gdansk Cook Book). In the "Various Soups and Dumplings" chapter, there are three recipes for fruit soups: two versions of cherry cold soup and one for an apple soup, but surprisingly – served hot! Here, too, wine is used as an ingredient, though in much smaller quantities.
The main advantage of the old recipes for fruit soups lies not in alcohol, but in the flavoring additions such as spices, the use of egg yolks, potato flour, or bread crumbs to thicken the soup. These ingredients were what transformed a bowl of fruit-infused water into a liquid palette of complementary flavors. Perhaps it’s time to lift the curse from fruit soups, revisit old recipes, and discover what our grandparents loved about them?