Arkas is a sweet dish, a milk jelly set with lemon juice and sweetened with sugar, served especially in Podlasie and Pilaszkowice, probably originating from Armenia. It was one of the favourite delicacies of King Jan III Sobieski. Read more ⤵️
A dessert in the refined cuisine of magnates and nobility
The original recipe of arkas is not easy to determine. In old Poland, sugar was considered a luxury ingredient and highly valued due to its high price and exotic nature. The Polish cuisine of that era had a penchant for combining sweet and acidic flavors, making sugar a popular and important flavouring in exclusive dishes.
In the Compendium ferculorum, a cookbook written by Stanisław Czerniecki, , sugar was often added to various dishes, including meat, fish, and tarts (pastry baked with meat and vegetables). However, it was not commonly used in cakes at that time. Instead, the Polish cuisine incorporated sugar into unique sweet creations such as froth, which consisted of whipped cream with sugar served with biscuits.