Kopalnioki (English: ''
Liquorice'', German: ''Lakritz Bonbons'') is a hard
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
n candy without filling, with a
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
-
anise taste, common since the end of the nineteenth-century.
Ingredients
The candy are produced from
sugar,
anise oil,
hypericum
''Hypericum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hypericaceae (formerly considered a subfamily of Clusiaceae). The genus has a nearly worldwide distribution, missing only from tropical lowlands, deserts and polar regions. Many ''Hy ...
extract,
melissa
Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey".
''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...
and
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
as well as colouring -
carbo medicinalis.
Etymology
The name of the candy (''kopalnioki'', a variation of the
dialectal Polish word for coal mines, ''kopalnie'' or coal miners, ''kopalnicy'') can be explained by the dark colour and
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
chunk shape of the sweet. Other explanations state the candy was given to coal miners to protect their
throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the trachea (windpip ...
from
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
particles. Coal miners would often take a few pieces for their children and as such popularised the sweet.
See also
*
List of Polish desserts
This is a list of Polish desserts. Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to become very eclectic due to Poland's history. Polish cuisine shares many similarities with other Central European cuisines, especially German, Austrian and Hungar ...
*
List of Polish dishes
This is a list of dishes found in Polish cuisine.
Soups
* ''Barszcz'' - its strictly vegetarian version is the first course during the Christmas Eve feast, served with ''uszka'' (tiny ear-shaped dumplings) with mushroom filling (sauerkraut c ...
References
{{Reflist
Silesian cuisine
Polish cuisine
Polish confectionery