Think Ukrainian cuisine and you immediately think borsch and varenyky. But tasty as these two old and well-known favorites are, there’s a lot more to Ukrainian food than that.
Ukrainian cuisine is simple, yet rich and varied, reflecting its origins in peasant cooking and the richness of the country’s very soil – much of Ukraine is flat steppe land of fertile chornozem black earth that is ideal for cultivation, and the climate is also favorable for farming.
But Ukraine’s rich land has also made it the target of domination of surrounding empires for centuries, so Ukrainian food also reflects foreign influences – the now traditional holobsti (stuffed cabbage leaves), are in fact an old import from Turkey, while many now favorite Ukrainian desserts, cakes and pastries date from the time the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled the west of Ukraine.
Since Ukraine has so often been carved up between rival regional powers, significant regional differences in cuisine have also developed, adding to the diversity. So if you want to sample the best of Ukrainian food and cooking, it’s best to travel.
The Kyiv Post offers a guide to various upcoming food festivals and places to try Ukraine-made cheese, wine and traditional food in the south and west of the country.
Cheese
Zakarpattya Oblast in western Ukraine is famous for the large numbers of cheeses produced there.
An obligatory stop for cheese lovers must be the Selyska Syrovarnya creamery in the village of Nyzhne Selyshche, which is nestled in a picturesque mountain valley to the east of the town of Khust (Zakarpattya Oblast, 833 kilometers from Kyiv via the E40/M06 highway). The Selyska creamery uses Swiss technologies to produce cheese from organic milk that it buys from local farmers. The creamery offers a tasting of three types of cheese, which are on sale for Hr 205-375 per kilogram, and a tour of all stages of cheese production for Hr 50. To order a tour in advance, call +380673865109.
Another cheese maker in the region, Baranovo in the nearby village of Izza, just to the north of Khust, invites tourists interested in the cheese production process to sample its cheese (Hr 150-350 per kilogram), kefir (a fermented milk drink) for Hr 35 per liter, and other fresh dairy products made of sheep’s milk. The farm has a small hotel with prices from Hr 350 for a room. And Ukraine’s only deer farm is located nearby to the south of Lypcha, the next village to the north of Izza. Head north from Izza by car on the P21 road and look out for the signs for the farm on your right.
Lovers of bryndza, a salty white cheese made of sheep’s milk, should then head east along Ukraine’s border with Romania to the town of Rakhiv (744 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E40/M06 highway and the H09 local road) in the far east of Zakarpattya Oblast. There one can attend the local Bryndza Festival that is held on Sept. 2-4. Apart from Bryndza, local farmers from Zakarpatty region sell other types of homemade cheese made from sheep’s milk, known locally as urda and bydz. The festival also includes performances of Ukrainian folk songs, and games and contests.
Wine
While the south of Ukraine, including Crimea, have long been known as wine-making regions, the Transcarpathian Lowlands (the Ukrainian part of the Great Hungarian Plain) is also good wine country. There, in the town of Beregovo (802 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E40/M06 highway) visitors will find several wine-tasting halls were they can sample local vintages, including the Staryi Pidval (Old Basement), the Chizay Degustation Hall, and the wine basement in the Zhaivoronok hotel. Another two wineries that do tours — Ursta’s Winery and the Berehvidek House of Wine — are located in the nearby villages Velyki Beregy (to the east) and Yanoshi (to the north).
The Wine and Cheese Festival in the city of Lviv (540 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E40/M06 highway) gathers farmers and traditional food makers from around the whole region. It will be held on Oct. 21-23 near the Palace of Arts (17 Kopernika St., just south of the city center). Guests are invited to taste and buy Ukrainian-made wine, and to try treading some grapes.
Still, it’s Ukraine’s south that is best known for winemaking, and several prominent vineyards are located in Odesa Oblast. The Odesa Sparkling Wine company at 36 French Blvd. in the city of Odesa (490 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E95/M05 highway) offers various types of sparkling wine and champagne for around Hr 250 per bottle. Shustov Cognac Museum at 13 Melnytska St. in the west of the city, near George Gamov Square, offers tasting tours for Hr 180-400.
For wine lovers, the village of Shabo, 75 kilometers south of Odesa, is also well worth a visit. Founded by French-Swiss settlers 200 years ago, the village sits on the south bank of the wide Dniester estuary, in prime wine country. There, the Shabo Winery offers tastings of wines and cognac for Hr 180-500. And in the far south of Odesa Oblast, near Ukraine’s border with Romania, is any spot worth a visit – the village of Krynychne (north of Izmail, which is 720 kilometers from Kyiv.) Krynychne is the home of the Kolonist Winery, which produces around 140,000 bottles of wine a year. The winery offers a tour that includes wine tasting and dinner for Hr 450 (http://kolonist.com.ua/en/visit-us/).
Traditional food
The summer festival Polonynske Lito (Mountain Valley Summer), dedicated to the traditions of the hutsuly, an ethno-cultural group of Ukrainians known for shepherding, offers a wide range of traditional food, cheese and handmade accessories for sale. The festival will be held on June 26 in Verkhovyna in the south of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (613 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E40/M06 highway).
Another gastronomic festival will be held in the village Kolochava in neighboring Zakarpattya Oblast, (756 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E40/M06 highway) on June 18. Visitors will get the chance to sample a local favorite, riplyanka, which is a traditional dish made from boiled potatoes and corn flour.
Those who want to try traditional dishes from Ternopil Oblast should head to the city’s annual Halytska Defilyada festival, which will be held on June 17-19 (484 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E40/M06 highway). Along with tastings of local delicacies, visitors can attend classes on cooking traditional food, a music show by Ukrainian folk bands, and a contest for the most beautiful vyshyvankas — traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts.
North from Ternopil, a festival of varenyky — traditional Ukrainian dumplings — will be held in Lutsk (399 kilometers from Kyiv, via the E40/M06 highway) on Sept. 25. The festival includes classes on how to make varenyky, a music show, various contests and karaoke.
