Cauliflower on Every Table
The role of the queen as a promoter of fresh vegetables and their growing popularity among the nobility, burghers, and even the lower classes is often overstated. As the records from the chancellery of Sigismund I the Old suggest, the same products were still being bought for the kitchen as a century earlier. The only thing we can truly credit her for is the introduction of the word “włoszczyzna” (a term for a mix of vegetables), which is unique worldwide and does not appear in any other language. As for the Cyprus cabbage, as cauliflower was known, it definitely reached our country in the 15th century. None other than King Władysław Jagiełło enjoyed it, as we know from preserved accounts from the royal pantry. While we don't know exactly how it was prepared, a recipe for the old Polish "kaulefior" can be found in the already mentioned Compendium Ferculorum by Stanisław Czerniecki from 1682. The basic recipe calls for boiling the cauliflower in salted water with butter, very similar to how we prepare it today. In addition, cauliflower was used to make cream soups, as an accompaniment to stews, and as a garnish for meat dishes. Dishes featuring cauliflower are also found in Wojciech Wielądko’s Kucharz doskonały (The Perfect Cook) and the more local Gdansk Cookbook from 1858. The latter suggests an especially delicious way of serving the vegetable with a creamy crayfish sauce. A perfect combination that will satisfy any gourmet.
Theoretically, there is a "season" for cauliflower. The sweetest, young cauliflower is available in May, while the tastiest, mature cauliflower should be harvested in October. However, the reality is that since the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, cauliflower has been available year-round, and there’s no need to wait for summer or early autumn to enjoy it. Nothing holds us back from tasting classic old Polish cauliflower or trying something new with extravagant "Gdansk-style" cauliflower at any time.