}}, own translation }}
[[File:Szparagi w occie.jpg|thumb|upright=.5|Aspragaus Asparagus which I pickled in a fashion inspired by Syrenius's recipe]]
"Disturbed, shaken, uncertain," we begin to doubt the realism of the epic's setting. But no, "such master errs not!"<ref>Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book 12, verse 710</ref> It's perfectly possible to defend the presence of asparagus in early September. After all, the poet didn't specify that it was fresh asparagus. And the art of pickling the vegetable had been known in Poland for ages. Here's a recipe for vinegar-cured asparagus from a 17th-century herbal written by a Polish Renaissance botanist, Prof. Simon Syrenius (Szymon Syreński):
[[File:Chłodnik, raki i szparagi.jpg|thumb|upright|Vodka, cold borscht, crayfish and pickled asparagus]]
{{ Cytat
| Put whole young, well-fattenned fattened chickens into vegetable broth, along with a spoonful of butter, a chunk of beef or pork and cook under cover. Once they are soft, retrieve them, let cool, cut into pieces and remove the skin. Arrange them on a platter, dress with mayonnaise and garnish with cooked asparagus, cauliflower, crayfish tails (which should have been first bathed in vinegar with olive oil) and serve with a cold sauce of hard-boiled yolks ground together with sugar, vinegar and olive oil.
| oryg = Młode, tłuste i dobrze oprawione kurczęta włożyć w całku do ugotowanego smaku z włoszczyzny, łyżki masła i kawałka mięsa lub świniny, i w nim pod pokrywą ugotować. Skoro będą miękkie, wyjąć, ostudzić, rozebrać na części i zdjąć skórkę. Ułożyć na półmisek, ubrać majonezą, obłożyć ugotowanymi szparagami, kalafiorami, rakowymi szyjkami (które wprzód poleżeć powinny w occie z oliwą) i podać do zimnego sosu z roztartych gotowanych żółtków z cukrem, octem i oliwą.
| źródło = Zawadzka, ''op. cit.'', p. 195, own translation