Ukrainian folk cuisine originated from simple rural dishes, mainly based on grains and vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, beets, and mushrooms. Therefore, traditional Ukrainian cuisine is rich in a wide variety of vegetable dishes such as borscht, kapusniak (cabbage soup), holubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls), sauerkraut, pickles, and pumpkin porridge.

Borscht is probably the most famous Ukrainian dish. There are many ways to prepare borscht, with many variations, but traditional borscht always contains beets, which give it its characteristic taste and color, and is made with meat or bone broth. In addition to beets, borscht also includes vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, tomatoes (or tomato puree), potatoes, and onions. The spiciness of borscht is often enhanced with red chili pepper, especially common in southern Ukraine. Kapusniak is a traditional Ukrainian cabbage soup similar to Russian shchi, but it is made exclusively with sauerkraut. The soup is cooked in meat broth, to which, in addition to the sauerkraut sautéed in a pan, potatoes, carrots, and onions are added.

Given that Ukrainians have been an agricultural people since ancient times, traditional Ukrainian culture, based on the reverence for bread, is reflected in the traditional Ukrainian menu. And what could be more filling than fragrant pampushky (with garlic or poppy seeds), hearty dumplings with sour cream, aromatic pies with cheese, varenyky (dumplings) generously topped with hot oil, appetizing pancakes with honey? And popular Ukrainian dishes: holubtsi, delicious meat rolls, stuffed pork, roast with potatoes! There are also buckwheat pancakes, pies, potaptsi, korovai, loaves, mandryky, Easter bread, cookies, and cones.

In addition to flour dishes, our ancestors also enjoyed fish, berries, milk and dairy products, oils, and less often, meat. Pork dishes are very common in Ukrainian cuisine. And the famous salo (pork fat) has its own culinary story! Salo is not just a snack. It is our pride, our symbol of prosperity, "our everything"! When preparing salo, spices such as paprika, garlic, black pepper, bay leaves, and others are often used.

Wheat and sunflower have fed Ukrainians for many generations. Various porridges are very popular here: pumpkin, millet, and corn. They can be sweet, milky, or served with sauces. Buckwheat and millet porridges have been widespread throughout Ukraine for a long time. Corn porridge and oatmeal were also popular. Wheat porridge was less popular because wheat was almost entirely processed into flour. But wheat was not only made into flour but also into grains for cooking kutia (a traditional sweet grain pudding). Rice became more common only in the post-war years.

Fish has long occupied a significant place in our ancestors' diet, including carp, bream, sturgeon, catfish, eel, tench, dace, pike, and ide. Ukrainian cuisine has always been known for its great variety of dishes with high taste and nutritional qualities. Among them are deruny (potato pancakes, tasty and simple to make; potatoes are grated finely, an egg is added, along with salt, a bit of flour, and optionally onions), zrazy (meat patties with filling, originally a Lithuanian dish, but popular in Ukraine as potato zrazy with meat or mushroom filling). Banosh is a dish of Ukrainian cuisine related to Hutsul traditions. It is cornmeal porridge with a sour cream flavor, cooked in sour cream or cream, and sprinkled with grated brynza cheese. Fried mushrooms or bacon are often added to banosh.

Since the stove has long been the hearth in Ukraine, our ancestors mainly cooked boiled, stewed, and baked food. Many dishes (knyshyky, rolls, stuffed poultry and vegetables, meat stuffed with lard and garlic, etc.) are prepared in stuffed or larded form.
Among cold beverages in Ukrainian cuisine, kvass and uzvar are very popular. Kvass is cold, refreshing, and indispensable in the heat. Uzvar is essentially a compote made from dried or fresh fruits or berries, sometimes with honey added. It is an essential component of the Christmas table. Speaking of drinks, one cannot forget about the favorite alcoholic beverages of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks - vodka and other fermented drinks such as medovukha and varenukha.

Traditional Ukrainian sweet dishes include various babkas, verguny (fried dough strips), syrnyky (cheese pancakes), and makovyky (poppy seed rolls). Shortcrust pastry is predominantly used for baking.

Ukrainian cuisine also has a seasonal aspect: in winter, the diet includes more high-calorie and fatty dishes, pickles, while in the warm season, vegetables are consumed raw or stewed. Summer is the time for beets, radishes, turnips, and berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries), which are used in making delicious desserts and preserves, various fruits.

Modern Ukrainian cuisine includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, mushrooms, and berries. These ingredients are mainly cooked in three ways - boiling, stewing, and baking.

The taste of Ukrainian dishes is impossible to convey in words, but all this can be tasted only here! Ukrainian cuisine is worthy of becoming a favorite for every guest of our country.