1. Black food cooked with jam

Cook deer or fallow deer, wild hog, roe deer, wild goat or whatever you want to cook black. Take a deer or an elk, chop into the pieces you want, decoct, put it in the broth and vinegar, cook it, and when it is almost ready, take ground plum jam dissolved with vinegar, add cherry juice, sweetness, pepper, ginger, clove, cinnamon, boil again and put it on the table, and if you want, shake the sugared almonds along the slices.

(Stanisław Czerniecki, Compendium Ferculorum…, 1753)

2. Black fish

Take a carp, clean it, oczesz, zrysuj [flay], put it in water, salt it, boil it, and when it is cooked, sink with water, pour the jam ground through a sieve, dissolved with vinegar, add cherry juice, sweetness, pepper, ginger, cloves, boil and put on the table.

(Stanisław Czerniecki, Compendium Ferculorum…, 1753)

3. Dumplings with plum jam

Roll out dough as for dumplings, put into some plum jam, seasoning it beforehand, if very sour, with sugar; fold the dumplings, squeeze the edges so that they do not open, throw them into boiling water and as they float, take them out with a colander spoon and pour the butter fried with breadcrumbs.

(Marya Śleżańska, Kucharz Wielkopolski…, 1892)

4. Soup of plum jam

For 6 people take half a pound of plum jam, pour one and a half litres of water, put a piece of cinnamon in, boil the plum jam and grind it through a colander, sweeten it according to your taste. Take 3 eighths [330 ml] of sour cream, season for soup and boil once; if too thin, you can add some potato flour with wine to the cream. You can serve it with crackers or French dumplings.

(Marya Śleżańska, Kucharz Wielkopolski…, 1892)

5. Doughnuts with plum jam

80 dkg of flour; 0,5 litre of milk; 4 dkg of yeast, 15 dkg of butter; 10 dkg of sugar; 7 yolks + 3 whole eggs; 1 glass of spirit; plum jam; lard; 1 teaspoon of salt

Leaven: 1/4 of the flour, milk, yeast – leave for one hour.

In a warm bath, beat the yolks with sugar to white colour, add whole eggs.

Mix the leaven with flour, eggs, salt and spirit. Knead the dough until it is smooth and has bubbles. After 30 minutes, add the melted butter – make it with a dough ladle. The dough must shine. Leave it, cover it with a cloth – it shall rise twice as much.

Making doughnuts:

Spread the dough on your hand with a spoon, put the plum jam (a lot) into the middle, form a ball, put the doughnuts on a pastry board with flour in order to let them rise and then put them on the other side. Put them into a pot on hot lard, turn them over. Before they cool down – sprinkle sugar (small crystals) on all sides.

(MET Archive, Wincenta Szaroleta, Wielkopolska, early 20th century)

6. Plum jam soup

For 4 people, half a pound of plum jam is enough. Pour it with a quart of water, add a piece of cinnamon and lemon peel, and if not sweet enough, add some sugar. Boil until the plum jam is well cooked, and season it with a quarter of cream with a small spoon of flour. While pouring the soup to a soup-tureen, strain through a sieve; cook French dumplings separately or serve with toasts fried in butter.

(Marta Norkowska, Najnowsza kuchnia wytworna…, 1904)

7. Buns with plum jam

Grate rolls on a grater, slice them finely. Thin the jam with warm water so that it is like a thick sauce, add sugar, finely crushed cinnamon and clove, put the rolls in, mix with the plum jam and put them on a salad plate. They have to be made a longer time ahead to soften them sufficiently.

(Antonina Dz., Tania kucharka…, 1906)

8. Dumplings with plum jam

Knead the dough with an egg and water, but not hard, roll it out as thinly as possible, apply heap of jam, cover it with dough and cut the dough with a glass. Put onto boiling water, then take out carefully with a strainer spoon, pour with melted butter and serve on the table.

(Antonina Dz., Tania kucharka…, 1906)

9. Plum jam soup

Boil a large spoon or 12 dkg of plum jam in water, add a small piece of cinnamon, three cloves, lemon peel, and when it boils, strain it [grind]. Take half a litre of sour cream with a teaspoonful of flour, add to the soup and let it boil. This soup is served with sponge cakes or regular sliced dumplings, which are boiled separately in water. When you add the dumplings to the soup, you should drain the water from them well first.

(Róża Macarewiczowa, Praktyczna kuchnia, 1910)

10. Soup of plum jam

Boil 2 spoonfuls of jam in a quarter [0.9422 l] of water (as needed for the soup), add some cinnamon and sugar. Soak 1 roll in cold water, boil together, add some salt and butter (half a piece, i.e. as much as half a walnut).

(Nauka gotowania do użytku ludu polskiego, 1915)

11. Dumplings with plum jam

Knead the dough with an egg and water and roll it out very thinly on a pastry board, then put heaps of jam on it, cut out small dumplings with a glass, spread water on edges and seal them together firmly, and then cook them in a large saucepan full of water. Take out carefully with a strainer spoon on a plate, pour butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and serve, with sour cream served separately.

(A.J. Kamionka, Kuchnia polsko-amerykańska…, 1917)

12. Soup of plum jam

Pour a quarter of water over half a pound of plum jam, put in some pieces of cinnamon and two spoonfuls of sugar and put on fire. When the jam is well cooked, season it with a quarter of cream with a little flour, then strain through a sieve and serve on the table. Fried toasts from white bread or French dumplings can be added to this soup.

(A.J. Kamionka, Kuchnia polsko-amerykańska…, 1917)

13. Soup of plum jam

Pour 1 litre of water over a quarter of a kilo of plum jam, add a piece of cinnamon, grated lemon peel, 3 tablespoons of sugar and boil. Then thicken with ½ litre of cream and serve with croutons or French dumplings.

(M. Litwinka, Kucharka polska…, 1918)

14. Pork loin with plum jam sauce

Proportions – 2 kg pork loin, a spoon of jam, 2 pieces of sugar, some cinnamon, a spoon of butter, some grated breadcrumbs, 2 spoons of wine, 6 cloves, lemon peel

Cut the loins into pieces, boil in salted water, cool down a little, sprinkle thickly with grated breadcrumbs and bake on a baking tray greased with butter. Spread a full tablespoon of jam with broth or water, put in a few pieces of sugar, some cinnamon, cloves, lemon peel, a few spoons of wine or gooseberry juice, boil and pour over the loin. You can take 400 gram of dried plums instead of jam.

(Maria Marciszewska, Doskonała kuchnia, 1929)

15. Jam pudding

12 dkg plum jam, lemon peel, 4 dkg sugar, 4 eggs, a pinch of cinnamon, 4 dag of cicata [fried lemon or orange peel], 1/16 litre of cream, 6 dkg of grated sponge cake or bread roll.

Whisk the sugar with the yolks, lemon peel and cinnamon, separately spread the jam cream on a plate and add it to the yolks. Pour in finely chopped cicata, mix thoroughly, finally add the egg whites foam and grated sponge cake, mix lightly, boil for an hour, serve with cream whipped with sugar.

(Maria Disslowa, Jak gotować…, 1931)

16. Noodles with plum jam and cream

6 dkg butter, 2 eggs, ½ kg flour, salt, ¼ litre of milk, 10 dkg plum jam, 5 dkg sugar, ¼ litre of milk, ¼ litre of cream, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

Pour the flour into a bowl, make a hole in the middle, break in whole eggs, add a teaspoon of salt, pour a little bit of cold milk, make thick dough with a spoon, add melted butter, mix until the dough is smooth. Boil plenty of water in a wide saucepan with, add a spoon of salt, put narrow noodles over the water with a metal spoon, hurry to make all the noodles boil together, and then cover with a lid; and let them boil for 5 minutes, then, drain them off, put them on a heated plate, pour jam over them, and the jam is priorly ground through a sieve, mixed with sugar, cinnamon and cream. Serve immediately on the table.

(Maria Disslowa, Jak gotować…, 1931)

17. Pancakes with plum jam, cheap and good

(war-like)

25 dkg of flour, ½ litre of water, 1 egg, a little bit of salt, 12 dkg of plum jam. For frying: 2 dkg of pork fat, 5 dkg of lard

Mix ¼ litre of water with a whole egg, add a bit of salt, add flour, mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps, then pour another ¼ litre of water, mix well and fry not too thin pancakes. A well-heated frying pan should be greased with pork fat stuck on a fork, pour the dough and fry on both sides over a hot fire. Spread each pancake finely with plum jam, fold it in a square, roll it up and fry it in lard. Separately you can serve fine sugar. This amount will give 16 pancakes.

(Maria Disslowa, Jak gotować…, 1931)

18. Plum jam for cake

Good, sweet, well cooked plum jam is used for cakes without any spice. Sugar is added to sour plum jam; if it is too thin, it should be boiled first, or breadcrumbs should be added; if the plum jam is not of good quality, improve the taste with any of the spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, chopped almonds, raisins, orange peel, cicata, lemon peel. When the plum jam is overcooked, when it cannot be spread over the dough, dilute it with water or juice, also with cream and boil it.

(Maria Disslowa, Jak gotować…, 1931)

19. Plum jam sauce

12 dkg of plum jam, ¼ litre of milk

Press the jam on the bowl and mix it with hot milk, when the jam is not sweet enough, add sugar or boil the jam with a glass of water and add cream. Add a pinch of lemon peel or cinnamon to the sauce. Before serving on the table, grind through a sieve. This sauce should be served hot to bread roll dumplings or potato dumplings.

(Maria Disslowa, Jak gotować…, 1931)

20. Plum jam soup

12 dkg of plum jam, 6 dkg of dried apricots, 6 dkg of sugar, ¼ litre of cream, 1 dkg of flour, 2 cloves

Boil the jam, apricots and cloves in one litre of water for ½ hours, then grind through a sieve, season with cream mixed with flour, add as much sugar as you like. Separately serve the soup with soup pearls, small sponge cakes or breadcrumbs. You can cook the plum jam soup from the plum jam itself without adding apricots.

(Maria Disslowa, Jak gotować…, 1931)

21. Crescent rolls with plum jam

3 glasses of flour, 25 dkg of margarine, ½ glass of cream, 8 dkg of yeast crushed mixed with flour, 1 jar of plum jam, 1 egg to spread, sugar

Knead the dough out of flour, margarine, cream and yeast and form balls. Cool them down by putting them in cold water – first it will fall to the bottom and after half an hour it will float on top. Then take them out on a pastry board, roll them out quite thinly and cut out small squares. Place plum jam on the squares and roll them diagonally, forming crescent rolls. Place them on a baking tray greased with fat. Spread a broken egg over the croissants with and sprinkle them with sugar. Bake in a well-heated stove until they are golden brown. Serve after they have cooled slightly.

(Bohdan Jacórzyński, Przetwory z warzyw i owoców…, 1982)

22. Strucla with plum jam

30 dag of flour, 3 dag of yeast, 4 spoons of butter, 4 yolks, 4 spoons of sugar, 1 pack of vanilla sugar, 30 dag of plum jam, milk

Sift the flour. Mix yeast with the sugar, add three tablespoons of milk, add enough flour to form a thick cream like mass. Mix thoroughly. Cover the dough, leave it in a warm place. The dough should rise by doubling its volume. As it rises, whisk the yolks with sugar until white. Melt the butter. Mix the risen leaven with grated yolks, vanilla sugar, 1-2 tablespoons of milk and lukewarm melted butter. Knead the dough carefully with a wooden spoon. The well kneaded dough should comm off the spoon. Then it should be rolled out to a thickness of about 1 cm, forming a rectangle. Spread plum jam evenly on the rolled-out dough, watching for the jam not to reach more than 2 cm from the edges of the shorter sides of the rectangle. The free space should also be left along one longer side (about 3 cm) than the edge. Fold the shorter sides inwards. It is enough if the width of the „overlap” is 3 cm. Then roll up carefully along the longer side starting from the one spread to the end. The scrucla formed in this way is then carefully transferred to a narrow, long mould covered with aluminium foil or greased. Leave it warm until it has risen. Bake only when the dough has doubled in volume. Bake it to a light golden colour. Leave the baked strucla in the mould to cool down. The surface of the scrucla can be glazed with vanilla or lemon icing.

(Zofia Zawistowska, Potrawy wigilijne, 1985)

23. Gingerbread with plum jam

4 glasses of flour, 25 dkg of margarine, 2 glasses of sugar, 2 eggs, 1 jar of jam, 3-4 teaspoons of cocoa, mixture of ground spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, allspice), 2 glasses of milk, 2 teaspoons of soda, fat and breadcrumbs for a mould

Melt the margarine and cool it down. Sift the flour. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and spice mixture. Gradually add all the ingredients, mixing them well. Pour the finished dough into a greased and sprinkled with breadcrumbs mould. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

(Ilona Dąbrowska, Kinga Osmycka, Domowe ciasta i ciasteczka, 1988)

24. Buchta with plum jam

Prepare a yeast dough mixing 50 dkg of wheat flour, a glass of milk, 2 eggs, 10 dag of butter, 3 dag of yeast, 2 spoonfuls of sugar and a bit of salt. Place it in a warm place and let it rise. Once again, knead the dough well, divide it into parts and form large flat rolls, place them on a pastry board sprinkled with flour, cover them with a clean cloth and let the dough rise again. Boil a glass of milk with a spoonful of butter in a wide saucepan. Put the buchtas on the top of the boiling milk and at the slightest flame heat for 10-15 minutes. Put the buchtas on a plate, rip them with a fork. Serve with plum jam sauce: mix a jar of plum jam with ½ litre of water, add 3 tablespoons of sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of butter and grated lemon peel and then boil. Mix a spoon of potato flour with cold water and thicken the sauce. Pour the hot sauce over the buchtas.

(Wera Sztabowa, Krupnioki i moczka…, 1990)

25. Noodles with plum jam

Whisk two tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 eggs into a sponge mass (adding yolks first and then whites to the butter and sugar). Strain 40 dkg of low-fat curd through a sieve or grind through a meat grinder. Add the curd to the egg mixture, add 2 heaped spoons of wheat flour, 2 spoons of cream, salt (a pinch) and enough breadcrumbs (about 3 spoons) to prevent the dough from being too slow. Roll a thick roller out of the dough, cut it into slices. Crush the slices, put a teaspoonful of plum jam on each one and make a noodle. Put the noodles in boiling water, and when they start floating, keep them on low heat for a few more minutes to get cooked. Roast 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs on a frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of butter (margarine), melt, mix with the breadcrumbs and put on the noodles lined up on a plate. Before serving sprinkle with vanilla sugar or cinnamon.

(Wera Sztabowa, Krupnioki i moczka…, 1990)

26. Plum jam soup

½ kg of plum jam, 5 glasses of water, ½ glass of sour cream, 1 tablespoon of flour, sugar, ground cinnamon

Mix the jam with boiling water, season with cream and flour, boil, season with sugar and cinnamon. Serve with pasta or toasts.

(Wanda Piotrowiakowa, Zupy, 1991)

27. Plum jam pie

40 dag of flour, 20 dag of margarine, salt, 5-6 tablespoons of cold water, 40 dag of jam, caster sugar

Add cooled margarine to the flour and knead the dough with a knife so that no lumps of fat are felt. Salt the dough, sprinkle it with water, continue to knead with the knife and only seal the dough with your hands. Put it into a plastic bag and put in the fridge for 1 hour. After taking the dough out of the fridge, grate 2/3 of the dough on a grater with large holes directly onto a floured baking tray, covering the entire surface unevenly. Spread the jam on the grated dough and then grate the remaining amount of dough, covering the jam. Bake until it is lightly browned in a heavily preheated oven. After taking it out, sprinkle the hot cake with caster sugar through a sieve.

(Maria Szustakowska-Chojnacka,

110 roślin w twojej kuchni, 2007)

28. Gingerbread layer-cake

500 g of honey, 2 cups of sugar, 250 g of lard (can also be butter), 3 eggs, 1 kg of flour, 3 teaspoons of baking soda, ½ cup of milk, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of cloves, 1 teaspoon of aniseed, 100 g of raisins, 50 g of chopped almonds, about 1 kg of plum jam.

Heat gradually honey, sugar and lard , bringing the mixture to a boil, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Scald the flour with the „syrup” and then cool everything down slightly. Knead the warm dough by hand. Add soda dissolved in cold milk, eggs, salt, spices [ground] and nuts. Knead the dough thoroughly. Put the carefully kneaded dough into a stoneware pot. Cover it with a linen cloth and put it in a cool place. It should „mature” for no less than 3 weeks in a cool place.

Attention! The dough is quite liquid. After lying down in the cold, it stiffens and can be rolled out (you only need to sprinkle it with flour).

Divide the ripe dough into 3 parts. Roll out to a thickness of about ½ cm (the dough will double its volume), place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for about 15-20 minutes (to a dry stick) at 170-180°C (you can turn on the fan oven function but be careful not to dry out the dough).

Put layers of plum jam through the cooled pies. Cover with a sheet of baking paper and load evenly with the board. Set aside to crumble for 2-3 days in a cool place. During this time, the gingerbread will soften. The top of the dough can be iced or coated with chocolate topping.

(Krzysztof Lewandowski, Anna Kornelia Jędrzejewska, Piernikowy przepisownik, 2016)

29. Plum jam pie

50 dag of flour, 1 block of margarine, 20 dag of caster sugar, 2 yolks, 2 spoons of cream, 30 dag of plum jam

Add all the ingredients to the flour on the pastry board. Cut with a knife until they combine well, quickly seal the dough with your hands, do not knead it. Bring the dough to a cool place so it stiffens well. Roll out half of the dough and put it on a greased baking tray. Spread marmalade on the dough. Grate the remaining dough on a thick grater directly onto the plum jam, level the edges. Bake the cake to a light brown colour. Cut it hot into pieces.

(MET Archive, newspaper cutting)

30. Dumplings with plum jam

Knead the dough with 1 egg and pour [the same amount] of water, add some wheat flour, be careful not to make it too hard, roll it out thinly. Dilute the plum jam with water, strain it through a colander, fry it a little with sugar. Put heaps of jam on the rolled dough, make dumplings, squeeze well on the edges so that they do not fall apart during cooking. Before serving, put the dumplings into boiling water, when they float, carefully take out with a colander spoon onto a plate and pour them with butter browned with breadcrumbs.

(MET Archive, card from an unknown cookbook)