A Brief Culinary History of Ukraine

During the course of history, Ukrainians gallantly fought off some raids with success, but at the same time accepted and adopted some of their invaders rather strange and unusual cooking habits, techniques, tastes, and styles, while vehemently rejecting others. For example, the stuffed vegetable dishes so significant to Ukrainian cookery are actually modifications of Turkish dolmas, which when translated means “stuffed dishes.” During the course of Ukraine’s history and while fending off attacks by the Ottoman Empire, Ukrainians eagerly adopted this culinary technique and skillfully adapted it by using their own ubiquitous ingredients, namely cabbage or beet leaves, with a stuffing of meat or grain and sour cream as flavoring. As a result, holubtsi or Ukrainian “stuffed cabbage” is probably the best example of how a foreign dish was skewed to Ukrainian tastes and has long been considered an essential element of Ukrainian cuisine.