Tastes of Ukraine: borsch, varenyky and salo

If you want to come to Ukraine, you should stop all your diets because Ukrainian national cuisine does not accept any restrictions on food. Ukrainians are used to cooking a lot and very tasty. So, prepare your stomach and tongue to feel the variety of flavors of meat, potatoes, mushrooms and many kinds of flour dishes. Let’s start with borsch, varenyky and salo, true tastes of Ukraine. 

Ukrainian borsch

Ukrainian borsch is the most popular dish in our national cuisine. It is difficult to say whether the Ukrainians invented this delicious meal or not, but it became a real symbol of our culture. Borsch is a soup made with grated beetroot. Due to its color, Ukrainians often call it red borsch. The ingredients are very simple. You need to take a meat broth with cabbage, beet, carrots, parsley and potatoes, and in addition, you can add some beans and tomatoes. However, a recipe is a great secret. It goes from a mother to a daughter. Traditionally, borsch is served with sour cream, pamputs with garlic, or bread with lard and garlic. Borsch is one of the most loved dishes of a true Ukrainian man, and a woman who does not know how to cook red borsch is considered a bad mistress. This meal is even tastier the next day. Don’t believe it? Come and try it!

Varenyky

Varenyky (dumplings) are one of the most typical dishes of cooked dough with filling. This dish will appeal to everyone who tastes it, and most importantly, to those who do not eat meat. There are many types of varenyky. For a filling, you can take cheese, roasted cabbage, boiled potatoes and mushrooms. Varenyky are served with sour cream or fried pork rind. There is also a special kind of sweet varenyky - with cherries, blueberries, plums and other fruits. Varenyky are considered the Sunday meal in the western part of Ukraine, and no Sunday lunch is possible without them.  

Salo

Salo, a slab of pork belly, with or without skin, is a hero of Ukrainian songs, jokes and even poems. This inalienable ingredient of Ukrainian cuisine became its symbol. The origins of such a respectful attitude towards salo we can find in the history of our people. Even Cossacks themselves loved this delicacy. You can cook it in hundreds of different ways: you can bake it, fry it, just salt it or cook on firewood under hot smoke. Salo is a popular snack to the traditional alcoholic beverage - vodka. Usually, it is eaten with onion or garlic. This food is so honorable that we built a huge restaurant for it - Salo Art Museum, in the city of Lviv, Western Ukraine. There, you can taste all kinds of salo, drink alcoholic beverages and feel yourself a nobleman or women. When you taste some of the Ukrainian dishes, such as borsch, varenyky and salo, you will surely find your favorite one, or more of them. 

Salo Art Museum, Lviv

площа Міцкевича, 8, 3 поверх, L'viv, L'vivs'ka oblast, Ukraine, 79000

Сover photo © credits: iStock/yulka3ice