Ukrainian cuisine
Encyclopedia
Ukrainian cuisine has significant diversity, historical traditions. "Cuisine - Flavors and Colors of Ukrainian Culture."] Ukraine.com. Accessed July 2011. Common foods used include meat
s, vegetable
s, mushroom
s, fruit
s, berries
and herb
s. In Ukraine
, bread
is a staple food
, there are many different types of bread, and Ukraine is sometimes referred to as the "breadbasket of Europe." Pickled vegetables are utilized, particularly when fresh vegetables aren't in season.
Breads and wheat products are very important to Ukrainian cuisine. Decorations on the top can be very elaborate for celebrations.
flour
, barley
, rye
, cabbage
, and root vegetable
s) could be grown in their new land, but others could not. Although the parklands
of the Prairie Provinces were fertile, they were also much further north and higher in altitude than the settlers' old homeland, and the growing season was consequently much shorter. This made the cultivation of crops such as buckwheat
, plum
s, grape
s, nut
s, and poppies
difficult if not impossible. The shorter growing season also meant that the traditional spring and autumn festivals meant to celebrate the beginning and end of the growing season often fell in the dead of winter. In addition, the semi-arid climate reduced the amount of honey and mushrooms
available.
The settlers adapted to local conditions, substituting available ingredients for those not obtainable. Dried fruit such as prune
s and raisin
s were used instead of fresh; short-season vegetables such as tomato
es and pepper
s were incorporated into recipes. Meats such as turkey, goose
, duck
, and local species of fish
were originally used in substitution for pork
, as there were initially few pork producers; later on, the immense amount of beef available on the Western Canadian (and especially the Alberta) market and its correspondingly low price meant that Ukrainian cooks were more likely to cook with beef than with pork or, especially, lamb. Attempts, many successful, were made to cultivate traditional ingredients such as poppy seed, honey, and mushrooms; once the settlers had begun to sell their grain crops and had ready cash, they often imported these items from further East as well.
These changes are evidenced in Ukrainian Canadian
cuisine. Cabbage roll
s or holubtsi may be made from parboiled or pickled cabbage leaves—both fresh and pickled whole cabbage
is available in almost all supermarkets on the Prairies—but the most common filling is a mixture of ground beef and rice, with pork a less common substitute. The rolls are often cooked in a tomato sauce which may be flavoured with peppers. Perogies (the standard Canadian English word for varenyky) are usually filled with a combination of potato, onion, and Canadian-made cheeses such as Cheddar
, Colby
, or Monterey Jack
, but are rarely filled with fruit or grains. (The popularity of perogies reaches far beyond the Ukrainian Canadian community; most supermarkets carry a dozen or more different kinds of mass-produced frozen perogies, and they are a common side dish.) Borscht
may be beet or tomato-based. Desserts are less likely to be made primarily from ground nuts, and may instead be made from plain flour. Ukrainian sausage (known as kubasa) is heavily seasoned with garlic and Hungarian paprika and is used both in home cooking, restaurant cooking, and even fast food.
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
s, vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s, mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s, berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
and herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s. In Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
is a staple food
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
, there are many different types of bread, and Ukraine is sometimes referred to as the "breadbasket of Europe." Pickled vegetables are utilized, particularly when fresh vegetables aren't in season.
Soup
- Borsch (borshch) is a vegetable soup made out of beets, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, dill, sometimes green pepper, served with sour cream. There are about 30 varieties of Ukrainian Borsch soup, and the dish often includes meat.
- Kapusniak soup made with pork, salo (pork fat),sauerkraut and served with sour cream
- Rosolnyk: soup with picklesPicklesPickles may refer to:* A pickled cucumber, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the U.S. and Canada* A pickled onion, the food most commonly referred to as a pickle in the UK* Other vegetables that have been pickled...
. - Yushka: fish soup, made of fresh-water fish, usually carp. Similar to the Russian cuisine, UkhaUkhaUkha is a clear Russian soup, made from various types of fish such as sturgeon, salmon, or cod. It usually contains root vegetables, parsley root, leek, potato, bay leaf, dill, tarragon, and green parsley, and is spiced with black pepper, saffron, nutmeg, and fennel seed...
, which is also a fish-soup. - Zelenyj BorschtSorrel soupSorrel soup is a soup made from water or broth, sorrel leaves, and salt. Other possible ingredients are egg yolks or eggs , potatoes, carrots, parsley root, rice . It can be served hot or cold, and usually with sour cream. It is known in Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Eastern European...
("Kvaskova Zupa" or "Shchaveleva Zupa"): water or broth based soup with sorrel and various vegetables, served with chopped hard boiled egg and sour cream.
Salads
- Olivye (Salade Olivier): salad made out of cooked and chopped potatoes, dill pickles, broiled chopped eggs, cooked and chopped ham, chopped onions, canned peas, mixed with mayonnaise.
- Vinigret (from French Vinaigrette): salad with cooked and shredded beets, sauerkraut, cooked and chopped potatoes, onions and carrots,sometimes pickles mixed with some sunflower oil and salt.
- Pickles: Pickled cucumberPickled cucumberA pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...
s (kvasheni ohirky) or tomatoes (kvasheni pomidory) are usually made with garlic and dill. Also, sauerkrautSauerkrautSauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...
(kvashena kapusta).
Breads
- PaskaPaska (bread)Paska is an Easter bread eaten in Eastern European countries including Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia. It is also eaten in other countries with immigrant populations from Eastern Europe, including the US, Canada and the UK. Paska is made with butter, eggs, and sugar...
: traditional rich Easter bread. It is shaped in a short round form. The top of the paska is decorated with typical Easter symbols, such as roses or crosses. - Babka: another Easter bread, usually a sweet dough with raisins and other dried fruitDried fruitDried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...
. It is usually baked in a tall, cylindrical form. - KalachKalach (food)Kalach , also known in Ukrainian as kolach), is a traditional East Slavic bread used at various ritual meals. It name came from the Old Slavonic word kolo meaning "circle", "wheel"....
: ring-shaped bread typically served at Christmas and funerals. The dough is braided, often with three strands representing the Holy Trinity. The braid is then shaped into a circle (circle = kolo in Ukrainian) representing the circle of life and family. - KorovaiKorovaiThe korovai is a traditional Ukrainian, Russian and Polish bread, most often used at weddings, where it has great symbolic meaning, and has remained part of the wedding tradition in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and by the Ukrainian diaspora...
: a round, braided bread, similar to the kolach. It is most often baked for weddings and its top decorated with birds and periwinkleCatharanthus roseusCatharanthus roseus is a species of Catharanthus native and endemic to Madagascar. Synonyms include Vinca rosea , Ammocallis rosea, and Lochnera rosea; other English names occasionally used include Cape Periwinkle, Rose Periwinkle, Rosy Periwinkle, and "Old-maid".In the wild, it is an endangered...
. - Palyanytsya
- Pampushki: type of dinner roll. Once baked it is tossed with minced garlic, fresh herbs and oil. Served with soups such as borsch.
Main course
- Varenyky(Perogy): Dumplings stuffed with fillings such as potato and cheese, often served boiled.
- PerohyPierogiPierogi are dumplings of unleavened dough - first boiled, then they are baked or fried usually in butter with onions - traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit...
: small pastries made with fillings such as mashed potatoes and fried onions, ground meat and fried onions, liver and fried onions, fried cabbage with fried onions, cherries, strawberries. Served with sour cream and butter or sugar when filled with fruits. - PyrizhkyPirozhkiPirozhki , sometimes transliterated as piroshki , is a generic word for individual-sized baked or fried buns stuffed with a variety of fillings. The stress in pirozhki is properly placed on the last syllable: . Pirozhok is the diminutive form of the Russian cognate pirog , which refers to a...
: Small potato filled buns baked in thickened rich cream and dill. - Cabbage rollCabbage rollA cabbage roll is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the ethnic cuisines of England, and has also found popularity in areas of North America settled by English Settlers....
s (holubtsi/holubchi): cabbage leaves (sour) rolled with meat (minced beef or bacon) and rice filling, optionally stewed in tomato sauce or roasted with bacon strips on top, served with sour cream. - Syrnyky: cottage cheese fritters, sometimes with raisins, served with sour cream and jam.
- MlyntsiBlintzA blin, blintze, or blintz is a thin pancake. It is somewhat similar to a crêpe with the main difference being that yeast may be used in blini, but not in crêpes.-Etymology, origins, culture :...
: crepes (blyntsi or nalisnyky), filled usually with cottage cheese, meat, cabbage, fruits, served with sour cream. - Stuffed duck or goose with apples.
- Roast meat (pechenya): pork, veal, beef or lamb roast.
- Fish (ryba): fried in egg and flour; cooked in oven with mushrooms, cheese and lemon; marinaded, dried or smoked variety.
- Studenetz: jellied fish (zalyvne) or meat (kholodets).
- Kasha hrechana zi shkvarkamy: buckwheat cereal with chopped, fried baconBaconBacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
and/or onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
. - Potato (kartoplia, also barabolia or bulba): young or peeled, served with butter, sour cream, dill; a more exclusive variety includes raw egg.
- Guliash: refers to stew in general, or specifically Hungarian goulashGoulashGoulash is a soup or stew of meat, noodles and vegetables , seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is also a popular meal in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli Venezia...
. - Sausage (kovbasa or sosysky): various kinds of smoked or boiled pork, beef or chicken sausage.
- Salo: salted (or occasionally raw) unrendered pork fat lardLardLard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
. - Kotlety (cutlets): (plural; singular: kotleta) minced meat or fish mixed with eggs, onions, garlic, breadcrumbs and milk, fried in oil and sometimes rolled in breadcrumbs.
- Deruny: potato pancakes, usually served with rich servings of sour cream.
- Kruchenyky or Zavyvantsi: pork or beef rolls with various stuffing: mushrooms, onions, eggs , cheese, sauerkraut, carrots, etc.
Desserts
- KutiaKutiaKutia is a sweet grain pudding, traditionally served in Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Belarusian and Polish cultures. Kutia is often the first dish in the traditional twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper...
: traditional Christmas dish, made of poppy seeds, wheat, nuts, honey, and delicacies. - Halushki: sweet dough similar to doughnut holes. Frequently tossed with sugarSugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
. Halushky (pl., singular is halushka) can also be filled with poppy seed or other sweet fillings. - SyrnykySyrnikiIn Russian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian cuisines, syrniki are fried quark pancakes, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey, or apple sauce. The cheese mixture may contain raisins for extra flavor...
: fried curdCurdCurds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then draining off the liquid portion. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The remaining liquid, which contains only...
fritters. - TorteTorteA torte is a rich, usually multilayered, cake that is filled with buttercreams, mousses, jams or fruits. Ordinarily, the cooled torte is glazed and garnished . A torte is made with little to no flour, but instead with ground nuts or breadcrumbs, as well as sugar, eggs, and flavorings.- Origin...
: many varieties of cakes, from moist to puffy, most typical ones being Kyjivskyj, Prazhskyj, and Trufelnyj. They are frequently made without flour, instead using ground walnuts or almonds. - Zhele: (plural and singular) jellied fruits, like cherries, pears, etc. or Ptashyne moloko (literally ‘birds' milk’)—milk/chocolate jelly.
Alcoholic
- Strong spirits (горілка, horilkaHorilkaHorilka is a Ukrainian alcoholic beverage. The word horilka may also be used in a generic sense in the Ukrainian language to mean whisky, or other strong spirits and etymologically is similar to the Ukrainian word for burning - hority. Home-distilled horilka, moonshine, is called samogon ....
, водка, vodkaVodkaVodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
in Russian): самогон Samohon (moonshine) is also popular, including with infusions of fruit, spices or hot peppers. - BeerBeerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
(пиво, pyvo): the largest producers of beer are ObolonObolon CJSCObolon CJSC is a Ukrainian producer of beverages. These include low alcohol drinks , soda drinks and locally extracted natural mineral water. Obolon CJSC has sites across the Ukraine and employs several thousand staff...
, LvivskeLvivskeLvivske is a Ukrainian beer which traces its roots to a monastic beer of 1715. It is produced by Slavutych a member of the Carlsberg Group. Lvivske produces beer under six brand names for domestic and foreign markets.-Beers:...
, Chernihivske, SlavutychSlavutych (beer)The Slavutich Brewery is a brewery in Ukraine, part of the Carlsberg Group. The company produces a number of brand name beers and non-alcoholic products for domestic as well as foreign markets.-History:...
, Sarmat and Rogan, which partly export their products. - WineWineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
(вино, vyno): from Europe and Ukraine (particularly from CrimeaCrimeaCrimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
). - MeadMeadMead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
(мед, med, or медовуха, medovukhaMedovukhaMedovukha is an Old Balto-Slavic honey-based alcoholic beverage very similar to mead. These two words are related and go back to the Proto-Indo-European meddhe...
): a fermented alcoholic beverage made from honey, water, and yeast. Its flavour depends on the plants frequented by the honeybees, the length of time and method of aging, and the specific strain of yeast used. Its alcohol content will vary from maker to maker depending on the method of production.
Non-alcoholic
- Kompot (компот)Kompotthumb|Dried plum kompotthumb|Apple and quince kompotKompot is a traditional drink in Central and Eastern European countries. It is a light, refreshing drink most often made of dried or fresh fruit boiled in water with sugar and left to cool and infuse...
: a sweet beverage made of dried or fresh fruits and/or berries boiled in water. - Uzvar (узвар)Kompotthumb|Dried plum kompotthumb|Apple and quince kompotKompot is a traditional drink in Central and Eastern European countries. It is a light, refreshing drink most often made of dried or fresh fruit boiled in water with sugar and left to cool and infuse...
: a traditional compote made of dried fruit, mainly apples, pears and prunes. - Kvas (квас)KvåsKvås is a village and a former municipality in Vest-Agder county in Norway. It is located in the Lyngdalen valley in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Lyngdal. The village of Kvås is located along the river Lygna...
: a sweet-and-sour sparkling beverage brewed from yeast, sugar and dried rye bread. - Kefir (кефір)KefirKefir is a fermented milk drink that originated with shepherds of the North Caucasus region, who discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would occasionally ferment into an effervescent beverage...
: milk fermented by both yeast and lactobacillus bacteria and having a similar taste to yoghurt. Homemade kefir may contain a slight amount of alcohol. - Mineral waterMineral waterMineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
: well-known brands are Truskavetska, Morshynska and Myrhorodska. They usually come strongly carbonatedCarbonated waterCarbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....
. - Ryazhanka (ряжанка): another kind of natural yogurt made of baked milkBaked milkBaked milk is a variety of boiled milk that has been particularly popular in Russia and Ukraine. It is made by simmering milk on low heat for eight hours or longer....
.
Ukrainian-Canadian cooking
Ukrainian settlers from Galicia and Bukovyna arrived in Canada in the late 1890s. Many of the ingredients they had been used to cooking with (such as wheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
, cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, and root vegetable
Root vegetable
Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...
s) could be grown in their new land, but others could not. Although the parklands
Aspen parkland
Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections; the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretching from central Alberta, all across central Saskatchewan to...
of the Prairie Provinces were fertile, they were also much further north and higher in altitude than the settlers' old homeland, and the growing season was consequently much shorter. This made the cultivation of crops such as buckwheat
Buckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s, nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
s, and poppies
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
difficult if not impossible. The shorter growing season also meant that the traditional spring and autumn festivals meant to celebrate the beginning and end of the growing season often fell in the dead of winter. In addition, the semi-arid climate reduced the amount of honey and mushrooms
Mushroom hunting
Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating...
available.
The settlers adapted to local conditions, substituting available ingredients for those not obtainable. Dried fruit such as prune
Prune
A prune is any of various plum cultivars, mostly Prunus domestica or European Plum, sold as fresh or dried fruit. The dried fruit is also referred to as a dried plum...
s and raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
s were used instead of fresh; short-season vegetables such as tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es and pepper
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
s were incorporated into recipes. Meats such as turkey, goose
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
, duck
Duck (food)
Duck refers to the meat of several species of bird in the Anatidae family, found in both fresh and salt water. Duck is eaten in many cuisines around the world.-Types of ducks:The most common duck meat consumed in the United States is the Pekin duck...
, and local species of fish
Fish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
were originally used in substitution for pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, as there were initially few pork producers; later on, the immense amount of beef available on the Western Canadian (and especially the Alberta) market and its correspondingly low price meant that Ukrainian cooks were more likely to cook with beef than with pork or, especially, lamb. Attempts, many successful, were made to cultivate traditional ingredients such as poppy seed, honey, and mushrooms; once the settlers had begun to sell their grain crops and had ready cash, they often imported these items from further East as well.
These changes are evidenced in Ukrainian Canadian
Ukrainian Canadian
A Ukrainian Canadian is a person of Ukrainian descent or origin who was born in or immigrated to Canada. In 2006, there were an estimated 1,209,085 persons residing in Canada of Ukrainian origin, making them Canada's ninth largest ethnic group; and giving Canada the world's third-largest...
cuisine. Cabbage roll
Cabbage roll
A cabbage roll is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the ethnic cuisines of England, and has also found popularity in areas of North America settled by English Settlers....
s or holubtsi may be made from parboiled or pickled cabbage leaves—both fresh and pickled whole cabbage
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...
is available in almost all supermarkets on the Prairies—but the most common filling is a mixture of ground beef and rice, with pork a less common substitute. The rolls are often cooked in a tomato sauce which may be flavoured with peppers. Perogies (the standard Canadian English word for varenyky) are usually filled with a combination of potato, onion, and Canadian-made cheeses such as Cheddar
Cheddar
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross...
, Colby
Colby cheese
-History:Joseph F. Steinwand in 1874 developed a new type of cheese at his father's cheese factory near Colby, Wisconsin. The cheese was named after the village, which had been founded three years earlier....
, or Monterey Jack
Monterey Jack
Monterey Jack is an American semihard cheese made using cow's milk. It is commonly sold by itself, or mixed with Colby to make a marbled cheese known as Colby-Jack . Cheddar-Jack varieties are also available....
, but are rarely filled with fruit or grains. (The popularity of perogies reaches far beyond the Ukrainian Canadian community; most supermarkets carry a dozen or more different kinds of mass-produced frozen perogies, and they are a common side dish.) Borscht
Borscht
Borscht is a soup of Ukrainian origin that is popular in many Eastern and Central European countries. In most of these countries, it is made with beetroot as the main ingredient, giving it a deep reddish-purple color...
may be beet or tomato-based. Desserts are less likely to be made primarily from ground nuts, and may instead be made from plain flour. Ukrainian sausage (known as kubasa) is heavily seasoned with garlic and Hungarian paprika and is used both in home cooking, restaurant cooking, and even fast food.
See also
- Culinary arts
- Mushroom picking in Slavic culture
- Twelve-dish Christmas Eve supperTwelve-dish Christmas Eve supperA twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper is traditionally prepared in many Eastern European cultures, including Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian . The meal consists of twelve meatless dishes representing the twelve Apostles...