Ukraine is one of the Eastern European countries that most draws its roots from Russian tradition, especially in the culinary arts. Tasting the most important dishes of this country, one immediately perceives the great variety of flavours, but also the extreme simplicity of the ingredients, which are indeed very common, typical of the whole territory and, with their genuineness, able to make each dish unique and unrepeatable.
So find out what people eat in Ukraine, the typical dishes through our tips and the most interesting trivia.
10 typical Ukrainian dishes
1 - Vareniki
Vareniki are typical Ukrainian dumplings made of dough and can be sweet or savoury. The filling can be made of sweet cottage cheese, sour cherries, cherries, blueberries, apples, or strawberries for the first course, and potato, meat, fish, or mushrooms for the savoury. Traditionally, they are served with melted butter, sour cream, oil or fried onions. In ancient times, the women of Ukrainian families would get together to prepare vareniki for their children.
Although vareniki are now recognised as the national dish of Ukraine, not everyone knows that this dish originated in Turkey, where it was known as dyush-vara. The Turks did not like this dish very much, whereas the Ukrainians fell in love with it and initially gave it the name vara-niki, later changed to vareniki (a term for a boiled dish).
Recommended: lunch, dinner, snack
Average cost: €2.50
Main ingredients: savoury with potatoes, meat, fish and or mushrooms; sweet with sweet cottage cheese, cherries, blueberries apples or strawberries
2 - Borsch
Another must-have of Ukrainian cuisine is borsch: it is a beetroot soup that many associate with Russia, but the recipe has distinctly Ukrainian origins.
The dish looks like a purple-coloured soup and is prepared with beans, cabbage and tomato sauce; many others also add lard and garlic, ingredients that really differentiate it from the borsch prepared in Russia. There is also a vegetarian variant that obviously does not include meat.
There are so many variations, but the constants are red beetroot and sour cream, the ingredient with which it is served in the dish. The beneficial effects of this dish are several, in fact it is really rich in iron and other minerals, so it is an excellent antioxidant.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €3.00
Main ingredients: red beetroot, lard, sour cream, beans, cabbage, tomato sauce
3 - Chicken Kiev
This is a dish that gained popularity among the Ukrainian people after World War II and is a special chicken meat roll rolled around cold butter, various spices, herbs and breaded with egg, then finally fried.
The recipe for this tasty delicacy was first devised by a French chef living on Russian soil, only later this dish then became very famous and popular in Ukraine as well.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €10.00
Main ingredients: chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, butter, spices, herbs
4 - Golubcy
Photo by LoynaThese are cabbage leaf rolls stuffed with seasoned meat or rice, buckwheat and then seasoned with the inevitable spices. It is also a popular dish in Russia, but there are many variations of it in the Ukrainian version: in the Carpathian region, the rolls are made with barley flour; in the west of the country, small rolls can be made by cutting cabbage leaves into pieces; in the Poltava region, they are made with buckwheat and pork. Finally, in the south and east of Ukraine, they are prepared with whole leaves.
Very often they are then served with sour cream or tomato sauce, then in spring the cabbage is replaced by beets.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €7.00
Main ingredients: cabbage leaves, buckwheat, pork
5 - Plov
Photo by Ji-ElleIt is not100 per cent a Ukrainian dish, but it is very popular in the best restaurants in Kiev. It has very ancient origins and initially many French chefs tried to cook it based on the ancient tales of travellers going to Arab countries, futile attempts in the end as the original recipe was only found in the 19th century and, since then, every country (especially in the East) follows its own recipe.
In Ukraine, the tradition is a dish of spiced rice and then seasoned with various ingredients, namely onions, carrots, mutton and raisins.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €10.00
Main ingredients: rice, spices, onions, carrots, mutton and raisins
6 - Shuba
Photo by KoshelyevThisdish originated in Russia but is widespread in almost all Eastern European countries (especially the former Soviet Union). It is a salad of herring and boiled vegetables. Shuba means fur and in fact the salad could be called 'herring in fur'.
In other words, it is a kind of Russian salad with the addition of boiled beetroot and smoked fish such as herring, or sometimes mackerel or trout are also used. On all Ukrainian tables it is served as an appetiser, but the dish is very rich and certainly not easy to digest.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €10.00
Main ingredients: potatoes, beetroot, carrots, mayonnaise, egg, fish
7 - Tovtchenyky
Tovtchenyky is a gastronomic delicacy made with fish. The fish is cooked in the reduced broth and then eaten with a tasty and delicious side dish of fried onions.
Many are those who order it in the best restaurants, very often choosing it as a second course.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €8.00
Main ingredients: fish, onions, broth
8 - Potato fritters (deruny)
Exquisite potato pancakes, one of the mainstays of Ukrainian culinary tradition, are also known as deruny.
They are usually baked in their round pancake form and served as an accompaniment to meat or vegetables, others serve them with delicious sauces. Others also prepare them by replacing wheat flour with rice flour, and still others serve them with the ever-present sour cream.
Recommended: lunch, dinner, snack
Average cost: €4.00
Main ingredients: eggs, onion, potatoes, flour, salt, black pepper
9 - Kholodets
Photo by KagorOneof the most 'bizarre' dishes of Ukrainian cuisine is definitely Kholodets, a jelly made of chicken meat, an extremely popular ingredient especially in Kiev.
This dish has its roots in traditional Soviet cuisine and was prepared mainly during spring and summer.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €4.00
Main ingredients: meat (chicken or pork), water, onion, black pepper
10 - Kasha
Photo by CandrichukAtlast, the most widely prepared and popular dish is Kasha, which would be the equivalent of British 'porridge'. This dish also has Russian origins. There are different types, but it is always prepared from water, milk and meat broth. Among the best known are semolina, buckwheat kasha, hulled millet kasha, rice kasha and hulled oat kasha.
In ancient times, it was a dish of fundamental importance to families, and the proverb:'Tshchi da kasha - pischa nasha', i.e. 'Soup and gruel are our food', is no coincidence.
Recommended for: lunch, dinner
Average cost: €6.00
Main ingredients: buckwheat seeds, meat, carrots and onions with butter or lard
Typical Ukrainian sweets
Ukraine's confectionery and pastry tradition is also very much influenced by Russian, Polish and Eastern European influences in general.
Excellent delicacies are widespread, for example from the cuisine of Georgia with its churchkheli, delicious nut and dried fruit cakes with a peculiar elongated shape, but also tasty cakes created long ago. One of these is the Torta Napoleon whose recipe was probably put into practice in the period of Napoleon's conquests towards the Russian front.
Or delicacies involving the skilful use of ingredients such as lemon peel or ricotta cheese that enrich what are known as sochniki.
1 - Churchkheli
On the list of sweets not to be missed in Ukraine are churchkheli, delicious sweets made with hazelnuts and dried fruits and with a peculiar elongated shape (candle or sausage-shaped), which find their roots in the state of Georgia. The Ukrainian versions differ in their bright colours.
They are often eaten with a pomegranate or wine-based jelly, depending on preference. They are most commonly found at small kiosks or food markets in the larger centres of Ukraine.
Average cost: €2.00
Main ingredients: dried fruit, pomegranate juice, wine
2 - Napoleon cake
Photo by OtetsYoucan'tgo to Ukraine and not taste this excellent layer cake, made of tasty cream and layers of puff pastry, then filled with a delicious buttercream.
This must-have probably has Russian origins, although not entirely certain, and in particular was probably first prepared during Napoleon's campaign to conquer the empire. To get an idea, it looks a lot like our mille-feuille cake.
Average cost: €3.00
Main ingredients: flour, butter, water, vinegar, eggs, sugar, milk, cognac
3 - Sochniki
Photo by ChattachaTheyoriginated in the Ukrainian land and are nothing more than tasty little half-moon shaped puff pastry cakes made of flour and butter, the filling includes a creamy ricotta cheese and lemon zest; they are then baked in the oven.
They used to be delicacies prepared especially for major holidays such as Christmas or Easter, but today it is very easy to find them in all Ukrainian bakeries.
Average cost: €3.00
Main ingredients: puff pastry, butter, flour, ricotta cream, lemon peel
4 - Syrniki
Photo by Juerg VollmerThenthere are the serniki, a kind of pancakes made with eggs, flour and cottage cheese.
There are different types, some are fried, others baked in the oven, but basically they are always accompanied by honey, fresh cream or tasty seasonal jam. They are excellent both for breakfast to get the day off to a good start and as a snack.
Average cost: €5.00
Main ingredients: eggs, flour, ricotta cheese, oil
Drinks and liqueurs: what to drink in Ukraine
Wine, beer and vodka are very popular in Ukraine. The traditional drink par excellence is certainly horilka, which is very similar to vodka. Wine, which is produced in the Crimea thanks to the temperate climate that favours the cultivation of vineyards and orchards, should also be mentioned. These areas are in fact world-famous for their great expertise in the wine sector. Finally, beer also occupies an important place among the typical Ukrainian drinks, the most famous being Kvas, which is very light and low in alcohol.
But the drink that emblematically represents this nation isOzvar, known to be made essentially from an infusion of dried fruit.
1 - Ozvar
Ukraine's most traditional drink, and one that truly represents its 'soul', is Ozvar. It is made from an infusion of dried fruit and follows a special, ancient process.
It is very difficult to find this drink on the market as the recipe is known to very few. Ozvar is characterised by a very light taste, the flavour is not perfectly defined and the typical colour is slightly pinkish.
Average cost: €7.00
Main ingredients: dried fruit infusion
2 - Kvas
Photo by SpaceboyjoshThisis one of the most unusual and delicious beers you will ever find in Ukraine. It is low in alcohol and is brewed with sugar and rye bread left to ferment.
If you travel to Ukraine during the summer you can easily come across 'wheeled jerrycans', which are dragged around the city and the kvass is just poured from them into your glass.
Average cost: €5.00
Main ingredients: sugar, rye bread, water
3 - Horilka
Photo by Benutzer:ElyaOneof the typical drinks is horilka, a close relative of vodka. It is a very spicy drink with a higher alcohol content than in Russia, and could be described as a distillate of wheat and rye (and sometimes potatoes).
Average cost: €7.00
Main ingredients: alcohol, spices, wheat, rye
Tips and trivia: where to eat and what to avoid
If you eat in Ukraine, you should know that the most popular dishes even among locals are not exactly low-calorie, in fact not at all! It is a cuisine rich in carbohydrates, very spicy and full of aromatic herbs, and none of them are used inappropriately.
The most commonly used ingredients are, for example, vegetables, beets, mushrooms, fruit and herbs, not forgetting the great value of bread: Ukraine, in fact, is referred to as the'breadbasket of Europe' because of its enormous wheat production.
Ukrainian national cuisine has rather recent origins, developing its main characteristics from the 19th century onwards, only to be perfected in the first half of the 20th century; it is particular because it is very heterogeneous, combining Polish, Russian, Turkish, Germanic, Hungarian and Tatar traditions, with each region having its own variation for each dish!
The recommendation is therefore to choose to eat these dishes in restaurants that are not too cheap and always choose busier and more central areas, especially if you are in larger cities such as Kiev.