Kielbasa / Kiełbasa

The etymology of the word kiełbasa is debated: some linguists derive it from the Old Slavic kъlbasa, designating something swollen and convex; others see a borrowing from the Turkish külbastı (grilled roast); others still route it through the Hebrew kolbasar (all flesh), passed into usage via the Jewish butchers of Central Europe. The term is attested in Polish from the fourteenth century in the chronicles of the royal court. In the Saxon period of the eighteenth century, a chef named Wereszczak served slices of sausage coated in a spiced sauce, to be eaten with a spoon, a usage that gave rise to the saying Za króla Sasa, łyżką kiełbasa (under King Sas, one eats sausage with a spoon), which became an ironic metaphor for an era of political disorder.

In this book, kiełbasa designates the basic fresh pork sausage (kiełbasa surowa), seasoned with garlic and marjoram. Marjoram is the dominant herb of Polish charcuterie, as in the neighbouring Baltic countries. The garlic and the marjoram place the kiełbasa in the Germanic and Baltic aromatic sphere, distinct from the Hungarian paprika sphere.

The term covers dozens of documented regional variants. The kiełbasa krakowska of Kraków, the kiełbasa śląska of Silesia, and the kiełbasa lisiecka, which holds a European PGI, are the best-known. In 1959, the Polish government published Collection No. 16 of Recipes and Instructions for the Manufacture of Meat Products, a 300-page document for internal use, produced as part of the communist standardisation effort, which defined every recipe, every gramme and every technique with precision. The document is today a historical source describing the state of Polish charcuterie at that time.

It is eaten grilled or pan-fried, with mustard and bread. It is also worked into the bigos, the stew of sauerkraut and meat that is the reference winter dish of Polish cooking.

The kiełbasa has accompanied Polish emigrants to every continent since the nineteenth century. In the United States, where the Polish community is among the largest of the Central European diasporas, it is sold under the name kielbasa in mainstream supermarkets, the Polish term having entered everyday American vocabulary. In Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Buffalo, the Polish butchers maintain artisanal recipes. It is likewise present among Polish grocers in Western Europe, Australia and Canada.