First meal
🥄Borscht
This dish is a symbol of Ukrainian cuisine, the first and only one that is already on the UNESCO list as an intangible cultural heritage of Ukraine! It is this, according to polls, that most Ukrainians consider their favorite dish of national cuisine. By the way, not only Ukrainians think so: CNN included borscht in 20 of the most delicious soups in the world!
Although it is believed that the most common borscht is in the Northern and Central regions, in fact it is prepared everywhere.
Classic borscht consists of about 30 ingredients! 👀 The main ones are: beets, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, beef and tomato paste. But depending on the region, recipes may vary. For example, beans are added in Podolia, flour in the South, beer in Slobozhanshchina, bread kvass in Kyiv borscht. There is green borscht, red, mushroom, cold. More than 70 species in total!🤩🤩🤩
They usually ate borsch not with bread, but with donuts with garlic.
An interesting fact: our ancestors even attached sacred meaning to borscht, because they thought that the souls of the dead flew to heaven with its pair. Therefore, borscht was an obligatory dish at funeral dinners.
Borscht festivals are regularly held in every region of Ukraine.
🥔Bograch
We borrowed this dish from the Hungarians, and now it has become traditional in the families of Western Ukraine. The main ingredients for bograch are different types of meat (3-5), lard, potatoes, carrots, onions, kohlrabi cabbage, spices and, of course, paprika. Traditionally, bograch was cooked over an open fire in a cauldron and should be very rich, similar to goulash. By the way, even the name bograch means a cauldron.
Unlike borscht, bograch was considered a festive dish or a picnic option. After all, shepherds who prepared this dish in the mountains even came up with it.
An interesting fact: it is customary that men should cook bogracha, and each owner has his own recipe.
🥬 Cabbage
This is a traditional first course, which is prepared in the Central regions of Ukraine. Its peculiarity is the sour taste obtained due to the main ingredient - sauerkraut. Depending on the region and season, cabbage recipes vary. It can be lean, vegetarian, fish, mushroom, etc. The classic cabbage soup is made from cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, piknica (beef and pork sausage), mushrooms and spices.