Silesian Parzybroda Soup Makes Traditional Products List

Parzybroda, the traditional Silesian soup prepared mainly in and around Czestochowa, has been added to the Traditional Products List of the Department of Agriculture.

The name of the soup – the chin’s scald – refers to the fact that the meal is said to be so delicious, people eat it before it has cooled, and as a result, burn their chins.

The recipe for this Silesian soup contains simple, yet delicious ingredients: cabbage, potato, bacon and caraway.

In the past, this rural soup was served during communal potato harvests, which were very common in the rural areas of Poland, and consisted of the entire community taking part in them. Children were given free days from school, and adults had off from work.

Today, people still have communal harvests in their villages, although they are much more rare.

Parzybroda is one of 25 soups from Silesia that are included in the list. The Department of Agriculture has previously approved, among others, wodzionka, the “water soup” that is known in Silesia as the soup made from nothing; in which bread, garlic and lard are added to boiling water.

“Sometimes I like to prepare the water soup with fried potatoes,” shared Marcin Pendolski from Katowice. “The flavour of this soup reminds me of my childhood when my grandmother used to serve it.”

Also on the list is zurek, a traditional sour soup with boiled eggs, sausage and potatoes, which is served during the Christmas Eve Supper.

The Traditional Products List contains Polish products that have been prepared for at least 25 years.

The list is said to be a source of information about culinary traditions in different Polish regions. However, being on the list does not provide any legal protection to the producer.
According to the guide, published by the Department of Agriculture, suggestions for the list may be written by individuals, companies and organizations that produce the agricultural products, groceries or beverages.