Ukrainian cuisine facts for kids

Ukrainian cuisine is all about the amazing food traditions of the people in Ukraine. This country is one of the biggest in Europe! Its food is greatly shaped by the rich, dark soil found there, called chernozem. Many dishes have lots of ingredients.

Traditional Ukrainian meals often have a special cooking process. First, they might be fried or boiled. Then, they are stewed or baked. This unique way of cooking is a key part of Ukrainian food.

The most famous Ukrainian dish is borscht. This well-known soup is made with beets, and there are many different kinds. Other popular foods include varenyky (boiled dumplings, like pierogi) and holubtsi (cabbage rolls). You can often find these dishes in Ukrainian restaurants. They show how Ukrainian food is similar to other foods in Eastern European cuisine.

Ukrainian cooking really highlights wheat and other grains. Ukraine is often called the "breadbasket of Europe" because it grows so much grain. Most Ukrainian dishes come from old peasant recipes. These recipes used lots of grains like rye. They also used common vegetables like potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, and beets.

Ukrainian food mixes old Slavic cooking styles with other European methods. This is because Ukraine has been influenced by different cultures over many years. Many people with Ukrainian heritage live in other countries. For example, over a million Canadians have Ukrainian roots. Because of this, Ukrainian food is enjoyed in Europe and places like Argentina, Brazil, and the USA.

Tasty Soups

Ukrainian borshch with smetana (sour cream).

Soups are a big part of Ukrainian meals. They are often hearty and full of flavor.

• Borscht: This is a vegetable soup made with beets, cabbage, potatoes, and other veggies. There are about 30 types of Ukrainian borscht! Some kinds might even have meat or fish.
• Green Borscht: Also called shchavlevyj borshch, this soup uses sorrel. It is made with water or broth and different vegetables. People often serve it with chopped hard-boiled egg and sour cream. The name "borscht" does not always mean it has beets.
• Kapusnyak: This soup is made with pork, salo (cured fat), cabbage, and beans. It is usually served with smetana (sour cream).
• Rosolnyk: This soup includes pickled cucumbers.
• Solyanka: A thick, spicy, and sour soup. It can be made with meat, fish, or mushrooms. It also has various vegetables and pickles.
• Yushka: This is a clear soup made from different kinds of fish. Some common fish used are carp, bream, or wels catfish.

Salads and Snacks

Kholodets is a savory jelly dish.

Ukrainians enjoy many delicious salads and appetizers before their main meal.

• Kovbasa: This refers to different types of smoked or boiled sausages. They can be made from pork, beef, or chicken.
• Salo: This is cured fatback, a very traditional Ukrainian food.
• Kholodets: This is a savory jelly dish, also known as aspic. It is made with meat or fish.
• Olivier Salad: A popular salad made with cooked and chopped potatoes, pickles, and boiled eggs. It also has cooked chicken or ham, onions, and peas. All these ingredients are mixed with mayonnaise.
• Vinigret: This salad features cooked and shredded beets, sauerkraut, and chopped potatoes. It also includes onions and carrots. Sometimes pickles are added. It is mixed with sunflower oil and salt.

Bread and Grains

Traditional Ukrainian paska bread.

Bread and other wheat products are very important in Ukrainian cooking. Ukraine has long been known as a major "breadbasket" for the world. Decorations on top of special breads can be very fancy for celebrations.

• Babka: This is an Easter bread. It is usually a sweet dough with raisins and other dried fruit. It is often baked in a tall, round shape.
• Bublik: A ring-shaped bread roll. The dough is boiled before baking. It is similar to a bagel but often bigger with a wider hole.
• Kolach: A ring-shaped bread often served at Christmas and funerals. The dough is braided, usually with three strands. These strands can represent the Holy Trinity. The braid is then shaped into a circle, which means the circle of life and family.
• Korovai: A large, round, braided bread. It is most often baked for weddings. Its top is decorated with birds and periwinkle designs.
• Palianytsia: This is a regular baked bread. It is famously hard for people who don't speak Ukrainian to say.
• Pampushky: Soft, fluffy bread pieces. They are often topped with garlic butter.
• Paska: A rich, traditional pastry.

Main Dishes

Varenyky with meat, fried onions, and sour cream.

Smetannik, a traditional Ukrainian dessert.

Ukrainian main courses are hearty and diverse, often featuring dumplings, meat, and vegetables.

• Banush: A stew made from cornmeal.
• Varenyky: These are dumplings with various fillings. Popular fillings include mashed potatoes, ground meat, cabbage, or fruits like cherries and strawberries. They are often served with sour cream and butter.
• Pyrizhky: Baked buns filled with different ingredients. Fillings can be meat, eggs, rice, onions, or cabbage. Sweet fillings like quark or cherries are also common.
• Pyrih: A large pie with many different fillings.
• Holubtsi: Cabbage or vine leaves rolled around a rice filling. They might also contain minced meat. They are baked in oil with caramelized onions and often a tomato sauce or sour cream.
• Mlyntsi or Nalisnyky: Thin pancakes. They are usually filled with quark, meat, cabbage, or fruits. They are served with sour cream.
• Roast Meat: Called pechenya, this can be roasted pork, veal, beef, or lamb.
• Fish (Ryba): Fish can be fried in egg and flour. It can also be cooked in the oven with mushrooms, cheese, and lemon. Dried or smoked fish is also popular.
• Guliash: This word can mean stew in general. It can also refer specifically to Hungarian goulash.
• Kotlety/Sichenyky: These are cutlets or meatballs. They are made from minced meat or fish mixed with eggs, onions, and breadcrumbs. They are fried in oil.
• Kotleta po-kyivsky: This is the famous Kyiv-style chicken cutlet.
• Kruchenyky or Zavyvantsi: Rolls of pork or beef with different fillings. These can include mushrooms, onions, eggs, cheese, or carrots.
• Kasha hrechana zi shkvarkamy: This is buckwheat cereal served with pork rinds and onion.
• Potato (Kartoplia): Potatoes are often served young or peeled with butter, sour cream, and dill.
• Deruny: These are potato pancakes. They are usually served with lots of sour cream.

• 

  Deruny in a traditional dish.

• 

  Kotleta po-kyivsky (Kyiv-style chicken).

Sweet Desserts

Ukrainian desserts are often sweet and comforting, perfect for a treat.

• Kutia: A traditional Christmas dish. It is made from poppy seeds, wheat, nuts, and honey.
• Pampushky: Sweet dough similar to doughnut holes. They are often tossed with sugar. Traditionally, they are filled with rose preserve, but can also have poppy seed or other sweet fillings.
• Syrnyky: Fried quark fritters. Sometimes they have raisins. They are served with sour cream, jam (varennya), honey, or apple sauce.
• Torte: Many kinds of cakes, from moist to fluffy. Some famous ones are Kyivskyi, Prazhskyj, and Trufelnyj. They are often made without flour, using ground walnuts or almonds instead.
• Varennya: A whole fruit preserve. It is made by cooking berries and other fruits in sugar syrup.
• Zhele: These are jellied fruits, like cherries or pears. Ptashyne moloko (meaning 'birds' milk') is a milk or chocolate jelly.
• Kyiv Cake: A creamy dessert with two soft cakes and a nut-chocolate cream.

• 

  Kutia.

• 

  Syrniki with raisins.

Drinks

Ukrainians enjoy a variety of drinks, both traditional and modern.

Alcoholic Drinks

Mead.

• Horilka: A strong spirit. There is also a homemade version called samohon (moonshine). This can have flavors like fruit, spices, herbs, or hot peppers. One interesting kind has honey and red pepper.
• Beer (pyvo): Large beer makers include Obolon, Lvivske, and Chernihivske. They also sell their beers outside Ukraine.
• Wine (vyno): Wine comes from Europe and Ukraine, especially from Crimea. Most Ukrainian wines are sweet.
• Mead (med): An alcoholic drink made from honey, water, and yeast. Its taste depends on the plants the bees visited and how long it was aged.
• Nalyvka: A homemade fruit wine. It is made from berries like cherries, raspberries, or plums. The berries are put in a large glass bottle with sugar. After they ferment, the liquid is bottled. The leftover berries can be used to make baked pastries. This wine usually has about 15% alcohol.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Ryazhanka.

• Mineral Water: Popular brands include Truskavetska and Morshynska. They are usually very fizzy.
• Kompot: A sweet drink made from dried or fresh fruits boiled in water.
• Uzvar: A special type of kompot made from dried fruits. Apples, pears, and prunes are often used.
• Kvass: A sweet-and-sour fizzy drink. It is made from yeast, sugar, and dried rye bread.
• Kefir: Milk fermented by yeast and bacteria. It tastes similar to yogurt. Homemade kefir might have a tiny bit of alcohol.
• Pryazhene moloko: Baked milk. This milk product has a creamy color and a light caramel taste. It is made by cooking milk on low heat for at least eight hours.
• Ryazhanka: This is a fermented baked milk.

See also

In Spanish: Gastronomía de Ucrania para niños