Food purchases made up between 62 and 75 per cent of the budget earmarked for the day-to-day running of the convent. The long-term average amounted to 65-67 per cent. A closer look at the actual figures reveals that the cost of food was lowest in the 1750s (the annual expenditure did not exceed 5,900 zł) and began to rise steeply (to levels of nearly 9 and 10 thousand zł) in the following years. In the 1780s the value of the food bill dropped to less than 8,000 only to climb to 11,600 zł in the last decade of the 18th century. The increased expenditure on food in the 1790s was no doubt caused by wars, inflation, and surging prices. In the years 1810-1818 the convent spent an average annual sum of 9,600 zł on food. A comparison of the annual food expenditure with the corresponding net profits over the decades between 1739 and 1818 shows that its share of the latter varied between 22.2 and 37.15 per cent. Food was most expensive in relation to the convent's net gains in the period up to 1779; in the following years the relative weight of the food budget declined quite fast. The relatively high food bills for most of the 18th century may well have resulted from the fact that the convent rented out some of its landed estates and bought food in the market to make up for the shortfalls. In the early 1770s Abbess Marianna Siemianowska adopted a new style of management. She put an end to the policy of rentals and hired governors to administer the estates on behalf of the convent. As a result the convent recorded bigger profits and became to a large extent self-sufficient. The nuns' larder drew most of its supplies from their own farms. The list included cereals, meat (chiefly pork), poultry, dairy products, fruit and vegetables. The convent also produced, as far as possible, its own beverages, especially beer, which was the most popular drink. The nuns took special care to produce early (spring) varieties of fruit and vegetables. In winter dry fruit and the fruit of citrus trees grown in the orangery were a precious source of vitamin C. The refectory diners were served with a wide range of dishes and pastry. A special ice chamber performed the function of a modern freezer. [...]