Changes

The Polish word ''placek'', which I’ve rendered as "``flat cake" above, may refer to a variety of flat-shaped, flour-based foods, from tarts to pancakes. Whatever it means, it rhymes with ''Jacek'', the Polish equivalent of "``Hyacinth". This makes the association between the saintly friar and all kinds of flat cakes almost obvious. With pierogi – not so much. On the one hand, we’ve got the association, dating back to the Middle Ages, between Saint Hyacinth and food of any kind – due to his reputation as feeder of the poor and to his liturgical feast day coinciding with harvest. On the other hand, associating him with this particular dish may have been humorous from the beginning; a joke based on the absurdity of linking the venerable figure of a saint with the most mundane pierogi.

"``O Saint Hyacinth of Pierogi!" is a now largely forgotten, but once widespread Polish exclamation expressing surprise, startlement or annoyance – usually unrelated to food. We can find one of many examples of this usage in a 19th-century Polish translation of ''Don Quixote'':

}}. The actual English translation has "``Alas!" instead of "``O Saint Hyacinth of Pierogi!"

It seems to be a minced oath – a saying that is devoid of any deeper meaning, but is derived from a religious invocation that has been altered either to avoid blasphemy, or – in modern times – as a joke. In English we might exclaim "``holy smokes!" instead of "``Holy Ghost!", "``oh my gosh" in place of "``oh my God!", or "``zounds!" in lieu of "``Christ's wounds!" I find it quite likely that "``Saint Hyacinth of Pierogi" is the result of a similar alteration and an example of a medieval absurdist sense of humour. The legends meant to explain it arose later.

The Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development maintains a List of Traditional Products, which includes ''[https://www.gov.pl/rolnictwo/pierogi-koscieleckie pierogi kościelnickie,]'' or pierogi from Kościelniki, the village where Saint Hyacinth allegedly performed the miracle of saving the hailed-out crops. In Kościelniki, the filling for savory pierogi is traditionally made of cheese seasoned with a herb commonly known as ground-ivy. It should be noted, though, that "``traditionally" doesn’t necessarily mean "``for centuries past"; according to the Traditional Products Act ([http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20050100068 Dz.U. 2005 Nr 10 poz. 68]), "``methods that have been in use for at least 25 years are considered to be traditional methods of production."