12 September this year was the 335th anniversary of the Relief of Vienna – the time when once again a wave of savages from the east crashed against the Polish breakwater protecting European civilization from its doom. And also the moment which saw (or heard) the famed Polish Winged Hussars' swansong. Or so, at least, I've been taught at school.
Okay, but this blog is not about geopolitical or military myths; it's about culinary myths. So let's see how the Victory of Vienna helped enrich our menus. Well, if we judge the importance of a historical event by the number of culinary myths associated withit, then the Battle of Vienna was certainly a momentous one indeed. And should all these legends be true, then whether you're having borscht with potatoes in Poland or Ukraine, washing down you breakfast croissant with coffee in Vienna or spreading your bagel with cream cheese in New York, you should be grateful to King John III Sobieski for his spectacular victory over the Ottoman Turks.
== Potatoes ==