piernik
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: pierniks
Etymology: From Polish piernik.
Senses: examples: text: The Torun piernik is known the world over, as early as the 14th century, St. Catherine’s Order of Nuns in Torun attained such fame that their “piernik cakes” became known as “Katarzynki” (little Catherines). […] There is an old Polish saying that best depicts the high quality of the Torun piernik, […] (Vodka from Gdansk, the piernik from Torun, a young miss from Krakow, and a dainty slipper from Warsaw, these are Poland’s best). […] Imagine baking a piernik on a day when fasting and abstinence were the order of the day, just as it had been for many days before, and with more to come for the balance of the Advent season.
ref: 1988 December 7, Thomas Kopetskie, “Polish Christmas: Feast of St. Nicholas is a slight respite from the fasting of Advent”, in Standard-Speaker, volume 122, number 34,892, Hazleton, Pa., →ISSN, page 38, columns 3–4:
text: The piernik will keep, and it is traditionally kept, for several months. […] A piece of piernik is added to the sauce for Christmas eve carp (page 30) in old recipes for this dish. […] The piernik is cooked when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out free of any sticky mixture. Cool the piernik on a wire rack, then wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and a plastic bag to mature. NOTE: Piernik is used in a number of ways. It may be used as the basic recipe for making biscuits (cookies), […] I bought piernik that was sandwiched in two layers with a thick filling of tangy fruit jelly, topped with a mixture of sweetened ground almonds and Polish spirit (it was similar to an excellent almond paste), then coated in chocolate – perfect tasting and not too sweet.
ref: 1990, Bridget Jones, “Cakes, Pastries and Biscuits”, in Recipes from a Polish Kitchen, New York, N.Y.: Gallery Books, →ISBN, page 87, columns 1–2:
text: Sprinkle dough with 1 t. potassium carbonate (a baking powder used solely for pierniks) and 4 t. baking soda. […] The piernik is just about the healthiest cake you can eat. […] Mix until uniform and spread layers of piernik with mixture.
ref: 1993, Robert Strybel, Maria Strybel, Polish Heritage Cookery (Hippocrene International Cookbooks), illustrated edition, New York, N.Y.: Hippocrene Books, published 2001, →ISBN, pages 652–653:
text: In their family, any special occasion calls for piernik. Of course, his mother’s pierniks were always wonderful, even when she had to use artificial honey because real honey was scarce in Poland. And if she ever makes one that’s less than perfect, it is easily excused. “It’s a temperamental cake,” shrugs my father-in-law, “especially when you use real honey.” Perhaps that’s why my pierniks—made with real honey—were always a disaster, sagging inexplicably into a gooey, aromatic mess. […] But I at least feel fairly certain that wherever they are, come November, my daughters will begin to get that urge to get out the family recipes for pecan cake and piernik, to try those special holiday cakes that their mother, grandmother, and great-great-grandmother made before them.
ref: 2001, Diana Thrift, “A Tale of Two Christmas Cakes”, in Whispers from Heaven for the Christmas Spirit, Lincolnwood, Ill.: Publications International, Ltd., →ISBN, Chapter 6 (Holiday Cheer), pages 275–276:
text: Toruń celebrates a yearly Festiwal Piernika (Piernik Festival) organized by the Fabryka Cukiernicza “Kopernik” (Copernicus Confectionery Factory), and even boasts a piernik museum.
ref: 2015, Oscar E. Swan with Ewa Kołaczek-Fila, Kaleidoscope of Poland: A Cultural Encyclopedia (Pitt Series in Russian and East European Studies), Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, →ISBN, page 183, column 2:
text: Josel ordered for two cups of Tea and two Pierniks. […] Josel scooped a portion of the freshly baked Piernik and relished the taste of the gingerbread while David tried to fathom his perceived sense of wellbeing.
ref: 2020, Partha Banerjee, “Parting of friends”, in The White Eagle: A Historic Fiction Based on the Life of Irena Sendler – A Holocaust Brave Heart, Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Notion Press, →ISBN:
text: The owners capped off our meal with a few slices of Piernik, which was a ginger and honey cake. They were slightly heavy on the ginger for my taste, but they were still amazing, and the owners insisted they were complimentary.
ref: 2024, L.A. Witt, 5-on-5: A Hockey Romance Collection, GallagherWitt, →ISBN:
glosses: A Polish sweet-baked good, traditionally made from flour and honey.
Related terms: pryanik