BLOCK III

Ukrainian cuisine has been formed during many centuries. Among Slavic cuisines Ukrainian is considered the most diverse and the richest by right. It spread out over the borders of Ukraine a long time ago. The most typical feature of the Ukrainian National Cuisine is a combined heat treatment of the vegetables and meat in the oil or butter, so called ‘Ukrainian frying’, and only after that, stewing, boiling or baking (e.g. Ukrainian borsch).

Ukrainian cuisine is quite regional. That’s why the same traditional borsch tastes differently and prepared differently in every region.

For every national cuisine, the place, where food is cooked has the great influence. In Ukraine, such a place was an oven, fire of a closed type. That is why Ukrainian cuisine mainly uses the techniques of boiling, stewing and baking. Even Cossacks, after shooting a game, were trying to make a bouillon out of it, but not to fry it, which is more typical for Germans, for example.

Ukrainian cuisine borrowed some techniques from neighbors, for example, Tatar and Turkish cuisines, partially modifying them. Say, frying of products in the overheated oil / butter, which is peculiar for the Turkish cuisine, was regenerated into the ‘Ukrainian frying’ (so called ‘paseruvannya’ (browning) of vegetables which are used for borsch or second courses). This is, for example, not peculiar for Russian cuisine.

From Germans, Ukrainians borrowed ground meat (‘sichenyky’ – cutlet type dishes out of ground meat, eggs, vegetables, mushrooms, etc.), and from Hungarians – the usage of paprika.

If to talk about meat, pork is widely spread in Ukraine, comparing with beef, which is more typical for Russian cuisine or mutton for Tatar. Oxen were more like the working animals in Ukraine, and their meat was not as tasty and soft as the pigs’ meat. It has also been considered not as clean as pork.

Potatoes became widely spread in Ukraine in 18th century. Even though it didn’t become ‘second bread’ like in Belorussia, but became very popular and used in first, second courses and garnish for fish and meat dishes. Also, potatoes began to be used in getting starch, used for preparing different types of sweet dishes, including ‘kissel’ (a sweet drink resembling thin jelly).

In 18th century sunflower and mustard appeared in Ukraine. This played an important role in the development of the Ukrainian cuisine. Sunflower oil began to be widely used instead of the imported Greek olive oil, and mustard is used for making oil and spices for meat and other dishes. Nowadays sunflower oil supplanted nearly all other oils. There are two types of sunflower oil widely used: hot extracted with a strong peculiar smell of fried sunflower seeds (favorite type among Ukrainians, used mainly in salads) and cold extracted type (used for frying), better known and used abroad.