Ukrainian cuisine

Borscht with sour cream and dill

Wareniki

The Ukrainian cuisine is the national cuisine of the Eastern European state of Ukraine . It has incorporated elements of different European cuisines, such as Russian , German , Turkish , Polish and Hungarian cuisine. The proportion of Old Slavic elements is the most important.

Ukrainian cuisine has also influenced the national cuisines of neighboring countries, including Polish and Russian cuisine. She also became known in North America through the Ukrainian immigrants to the USA and Canada. The Ukrainian culinary tradition is continued in numerous restaurants in Ukraine, Russia and now also in Europe and North America. A special feature of Ukrainian cuisine is the variety of foods used, such as potatoes , meat, fruits, mushrooms , berries and herbs. The most famous dishes are borscht , solyanka and vareniki .

Eating habits

All meals are rather hearty. The main course of the day is warm and is served at lunchtime, usually around 2:00 p.m. It generally consists of a soup, the main course, and the dessert. In the summer, different types of meat such as pork ( shashlik ), lamb or chicken , but also local vegetables, depending on the season, are grilled and preferably outdoors, e.g. B. on the terrace or in the garden.

Drinking habits

Ukrainian vodka

Much more tea than coffee is drunk in Ukraine , not just for breakfast, but also in the afternoon and evening. The larger cities in western Ukraine, where there are still a few Viennese coffee houses, are an exception. In addition to mineral water (from numerous sources such as Transcarpathia ), there are often compote drinks made from fruit (Uswar, compote made from dried fruits and honey) and kvass with meals .

Vodka (Ukrainian: Horilka ) is traditionally popular among alcoholic beverages , although its consumption has decreased in recent years. House spirits (Samogon) are very common. Beers and wines of local and European varieties are becoming more and more important.

Many families living in rural Ukraine make their own fruit juice for their own use from the fruit that grows in their gardens. Sometimes spirits are also distilled themselves.

Traditional dishes

Soups

Solyanka with olives and parsley

Borscht - vegetable soup (most popular with beetroot ); Although borsch has become a part of Polish and Russian cuisine, it comes from the Ukraine. The name comes from the Ukrainian or Old Russian Buryak = beetroot. There are more than 30 local varieties of borscht with quite different recipes.

Okroshka - a cold soup with kvass .

Solyanka - thick, spicy and sour soup made from 7 different types of meat. Kapustnjak and Rassolnik aresimilar to Soljanka .

Yushka - fish soup made from freshwater fish , usually with carp .

Haluschky - "small ears", a soup with filled dumplings.

Salads

Pickled tomatoes

Olivier salad -also called Russian salad in the West .

Vinaigrette - a salad made from various vegetables such as peas , lentils , beans , onions and mushrooms .

Preserves - pickled cucumbers (Kvasheni Ohirky) , peppers , watermelons or tomatoes (Kvasheni Pomidory) .
Kapustianyi - sauerkraut or freshly grated cabbage marinated with sunflower oil and vinegar , often also refined with roasted walnuts or sour cherries .
Vesnianyi - a salad depending on the season with fresh cucumber and tomatoes, with various dressings and refined with dill .
Marinated mushrooms with small onions - Marinated with cooking oil and vinegar, refined with pepper , salt and lemon juice as desired .

loaf

Both white and black bread are common.
Paska - traditional, sweet white bread with raisins and sugar sprinkles that isfreshly bakedfor Easter (Easter bread).
Babka - a sweet yeast cake with raisins (not to be confused with Baba = grandma ).
Kolatsche - a ring-shaped bread, usuallyeatenon Christmas and holidays. The top of the bread is decorated with a cross. The Kolach represents the Holy Trinity , the cycle of life and the familyin Ukraine.
Bubliki - soft rings made from lightly sweetened white bread dough.

Pastries

Pyroschky

Egg bread - slices of bread fried in beaten eggs.

Kulesch - porridge made from cereals, flour and potatoes.

Kutja - a festive sweet dish made from wheat (pearl barley), poppy seeds, honey, sultanas, nuts, etc. a., which is eaten as a starter at Christmas.

Wareniki - cooked dumplings with various fillings, e.g. B. potatoes, sauerkraut, quark, meat, mushrooms, poppy seeds, fruits and fruits. Wareniki are an old Slavic dish in contrast to the pelmeni broughtfrom northern China by Turkish nomads. Through the story of Nikolaj Gogol The Night Before Christmas , Vareniki have become a symbol of gluttony and laziness. There the vareniki had jumped out of the bowl by magic, dipped in the sour cream and flown into their mouths.

Pyrohy or Pyroschky - fried dumplings with different fillings.

Pampuschky - sweet donuts filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar.

Pelmeni stuffed, mostly with meat, boiled dumplings. In contrast to Wareniki , pelmeni are filled with raw minced meat. The filling for Wareniki is made from boiled meat.

Chebureki - dumplings baked in hot fat with a minced meat filling.

Numerous other pastas such as haluschky , dumplings , Mlynzi or Werhuny .

Meat dishes

Cossack shashlik

Scharkoe - roast in various designs. It is classically prepared and served in small pots.

Roulades made from meat, cabbage ( Holubzi - stuffed cabbage rolls , for example with rice and minced meat) or dough (Sawiwanez) .
Kiev cutlet - breaded chicken fillet with herb butter filling.

public holidays

In the past, pigs were only slaughtered once a year in the villages - at Christmas . Since there was no cooling facility, the meat was immediately distributed among the residents and consumed within 10 days. Pork lard was made from bacon by heating it in a saucepan. The blood was used to make sausages. On the first day, sausage and ham were often made from the fresh meat and smoked so that it could keep for many months. Special dishes are prepared on public holidays. Many families cook up to 20 different dishes on Christmas Eve . The offer ranges from beet salad to roast goose. The dishes are arranged on a large table, from which every guest can help themselves. The traditions differ slightly from region to region.

flesh

Dinner plate with salo and black bread

Meat plays an important role. Mainly pork is used, but also beef and mutton. Chicken, goose, and duck are also popular. Rabbits are more likely to be eaten in the country. Specialty is also a very raw black pudding (Krov'janka), prepared by the pig slaughter day.

bacon

Among other things, Ukrainians are known for their love of pork bacon ( salo ). As early as the 16th to 18th centuries, Ukrainian Cossacks cooked with bacon in order to distinguish themselves from "Muslims of other faiths". This bacon does not correspond to the bacon with meat components known in Germany , but consists exclusively of the white fat layer. It is traditionally used very often in different variants in Ukrainian cuisine: raw, salted, boiled, smoked or fried. Salo is often heavily seasoned and usually enjoyed with vodka.

fish

Dried fish in a bazaar

The most popular fish (riba) in Ukraine is carp . The preparation methods are limitless from fried to boiled, in aspic etc. Other popular fish are cod , herring and salmon , but also the entire range of freshwater fish from trout , catfish , pikeperch , pike , eel etc.

The fillets can be breaded in flour and beaten egg and then briefly fried in hot fat. Very salty saltwater fish, smoked in beech wood, are also particularly popular, and are now also available in Germany, wrapped in newspaper, in Russian shops (Russkij Magazin) .

On the beach, snacks made from dried fish (taranka) and cooked shrimp (kriwetki) , salted or unsalted, are usually consumed with a beer.

vegetables

Besides potatoes , white cabbage is the main vegetable, but many other vegetables are also eaten. A wide variety of salads are very popular. Mushrooms are also often used. Eggplants are cut into slices and then grilled or made into a spicy spread. Sunflower seeds are dried, salted, roasted and eaten as a snack.

Side dishes

Deruny - potato pancakes stuffed with meat, in Zaporizhia

Potatoes are consumed in a wide variety of variations, such as potatoes , boiled , fried and parsley potatoes.

Different types of pasta such as noodles and dumplings are very popular.

Bread is served with practically all main dishes.

Pancakes or potato pancakes (Deruny) are eaten sweet in Ukraine as a dessert and as a side dish to other dishes.

Different types of porridge, e.g. B. from spelled , buckwheat

Spices and herbs

It is mainly horseradish and mustard popular, often very sharp. Dill is often used to refine it (e.g. for mushrooms, in soups or on salads).

Dairy products

Ryashenka

Tworog or Syr , Ukrainian quark, has a firmer consistency than the German one. It is eaten with various side dishes such as spring onions and herbs, raisins, berries or chocolate.
Different milk drinks such as kefir , Prostokwascha , ryazhenka .
Smetana (sour cream) is an important part of Ukrainian cuisine. Many dishes include an obligatory whip to round things off.
Yogurt is often eaten as an accompaniment to grilled meat, rice or grilled peppers .

Eggs and pastries

Eggs are not only served as an independent dish, they are also used as an indispensable ingredient for pastries, desserts and egg pasta. The variety of pasta is characteristic of Ukrainian cuisine. The best known are haluschky and vareniki , national dishes made from yeast-free dough, which are offered with a wide variety of fillings.

Desserts

Warenyky with sour cherry filling

Syrnyky with Varennja

A piece of Kiev cake

Various types of cakes , pies , vareniki, fresh and baked fruit, ice cream and quark preparations are served as desserts . Watermelons and canned fruits such as pears or cherries are also very popular desserts. Traditionally, dishes are sweetened more often with honey than with sugar.

Medivnyk - Ukrainian honey cake.

Pyrischky - small cakes with different fillings (e.g. applesauce, plum jam, dried apricots).

Mlynzi - pancakes with different fillings.

Oladky - thick little pancakes.

Syrnyky - curd balls.

Tort - different layered cakes. The most popular are Kiev cake , Prague cake , Napoleon (Mille-feuille).

Halva - confectionery specialty, made in Ukraine mainly from sunflower seeds .

Kiev cake - buttercream cake with meringues and hazelnuts

Many types of pastry are still known from Soviet cuisine , e.g. B. Éclair , Baba au rhum , Kartoshka (a kind of rum ball ).

Newer tendencies

As in all European countries, fast food is increasingly being consumed, including hamburgers , hot dogs , pizza and kebab ( called Schaurma here , from the Arabic shawarma ), as well as more traditionally filled rolls and pierogies. There are also several Ukrainian fast food chains that offer traditional dishes such as borscht, vareniki, and more.

literature

SA Shalimov, JA Schadura: Ukrainian cuisine. Moscow, Leipzig 1985. ISBN 3-7304-0196-3
WW Pochljobkin: National cuisines. The culinary art of the Soviet peoples. Moscow, Leipzig 1988. ISBN 3-7304-0053-3
Marion Trutter: Culinaria Russia: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. Hamburg 2007. ISBN 3-8331-2183-1

Web links

Commons : Ukrainian cuisine - collection of pictures, videos and audio files