Great culinary extravaganzas …

There is no doubt Ukrainians have always had a sweet tooth, and as a result, Ukrainian desserts are virtually limitless in their variety. It is not surprising that old Ukrainian cookbooks dedicated large amounts of space to desserts and pastries. Close involvement with other cultural traditions through the ages resulted in different techniques and ingredients being adapted and permanently absorbed into Ukrainian dessert cuisine. Many dessert recipes originated among the common people, but many others were executed by renowned pastry chefs of aristocratic Ukrainian families. For instance, there is certainly a touch of Austro-Hungarian decadence in Ukrainian tortes and cakes, making them all the more worth the guilty indulgence. In western Ukraine there is a definite penchant for Polish and Lithuanian-inspired cheesecakes and puddings. The original Ukrainian name for a long roll of dough with a filling is vertuta or zavyvanets’, while strudel is the more familiar and sophisticated name, with no country being able to claim its origin. What is wonderful is that these contributions from the outside only added greater variety to the art of Ukrainian baking, but at the same time Ukrainian pastries and desserts retained much of their own ingenuity.