Bronisława Leśniewska took an original approach to cookery in her Kucharz Polski Jaki Być Powinien (‘A Polish Cookbook the Way it Should Be’) and Kucharz Polski dla Młodych Gospodyń (‘Polish Cookbook for Young Housewives’). Reprinted many times, these are still worth a look today. They are overflowing with unusual recipes, such as May hollyhock soup, duck and nasturtium stew, and numerous Italian, French and British dishes.
Meanwhile, Rebeka Wolff’s cookbook entitled Polska Kuchnia Koszerna (‘Polish Kosher Cuisine’) was published in 1877.
The early 20th century – practical home cuisine
Cookbooks grew even more popular at the turn of the century, particularly those designed to teach ‘practical chefs’, ‘practical women chefs’, ‘home cuisine’, ‘practical cuisine’ or ‘Polish women chefs’ – for city women, wives of civil servants and workers, and poorer folk. Women began buying more of these books, especially young wives in charge of running houses and kitchens.
Other bestselling female authors were Maria Ochorowicz-Monatowa, Elżbieta Kiewnarska, Alina Gniewkowska, Maria Gruszecka, Jadwiga Izdebska, Maria Disslowa and Marta Norkowska (the latter two taught home economics professionally). For years, many households relied on Monatowa’s Uniwersalna Książka Kucharska (‘Universal Cookbook’, which won a prize at a Warsaw hygiene exhibition in 1910, and was translated into English) and Disslowa’s Jak Gotować (‘How to Cook’). Apart from hundreds of recipes, they contained nutritional advice, dietary recommendations for various illnesses, plus hints on serving dishes and table decoration. They were reprinted after the war, although the recipes tended to make people’s eyes water, rather than their mouths, due to the food shortages.