A deputy agriculture minister, Janusz Kowalski, has proclaimed Polish pasta to be better than its Italian counterpart and published evidence justifying that view.
A graphic containing the logo of Poland’s agriculture ministry leads with the question, “Why is Polish pasta better than Italian?”
Kupuj polskie produkty od polskich przetw贸rc贸w! Dzi臋ki temu wspierasz polskich rolnik贸w.
馃攷Zobacz, dlaczego polski makaron z polskich jaj i polskiej m膮ki jest zdecydowanie lepszy od makaronu w艂oskiego.
馃憠馃徎Je艣li si臋 z tym zgadzasz to podaj dalej.#ProduktPolski pic.twitter.com/LO0IarOkY3
— Janusz Kowalski 馃嚨馃嚤 (@JKowalski_posel) October 3, 2023
It then notes that the Polish version is made with “light Polish wheat flour” while Italian pasta is produced with durum wheat.
The next line, titled “Eggs”, says for Polish pasta: “Yes, Polish.” For Italian pasta, it says “No”. Meanwhile, whereas Polish pasta is “rolled traditionally”, its Italian counterpart is “pressed”. Another advantage of the Polish version is that it has a shorter cooking time, according to Kowalski.
Summarising the differences, the graphic notes that “Poles like pasta that enlarges during boiling [and] is light and springy”. By contrast, “Italians choose harder pasta from durum wheat”.
Moreover, whereas “Poles consume pasta mainly in soups…Italians use pasta mainly for main courses”.
Spaghetti polonaise pic.twitter.com/05dszaVsL8
— Daniel Tilles (@danieltilles1) July 14, 2023
Kowalski’s graphic, which features a photograph of him and his name alongside a slogan saying “Choose the Polish product”, quickly drew comments from social media users.
“Why are Polish eggs better than Italian ones?” asked journalist Przemek Langier. Kowalski is yet to respond to that inquiry.
However, when another journalist, Micha艂 P艂oci艅ski of聽Rzeczpospolita, suggested that the graphic was embarrassing, Kowalski did respond. “So I understand that supporting the Polish economy is a source of ridicule for you?” wrote the minister.
Jak rozumiem wspieranie 馃嚨馃嚤gospodarki – 馃嚨馃嚤producent贸w makaronu jest dla Pana powodem do kpin? Mo偶e odwiedzi Pan kt贸ry艣 z polskich zak艂ad贸w i zacznie promowa膰 dobre co polskie? Nazwa tytu艂u prasowego zobowi膮zuje.
— Janusz Kowalski 馃嚨馃嚤 (@JKowalski_posel) October 3, 2023
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Main image credit: MOs810/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 4.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of聽Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including聽Foreign Policy,聽POLITICO Europe,聽EUobserver聽and聽Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
