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Cossack cuisine is the ethnic cuisine of the Cossack people of present-day Ukraine and Russia.[1]
Foods and products
editMain food groups
editMany Cossack troops were named after rivers (Amur, Volga, Don, Yenisey, Kuban, Terek, Ussuri, and Yaik), and this connection to rivers has influenced the Cossack diet, which is dominated by an abundance of fish dishes. The Don Cossacks bake carp or bream and prepare soups and stews with fish, such as ukha and kulesh. The Don Cossacks' fish dishes include sturgeon, balyk, Don herring, scherba (ukha), and small fish fried with onions and eggs. They also eat porridges, noodles, bread and pies. Common drinks include uzvar[2] (a sweet, nonalcoholic drink made with dried fruits) and kvass (a low-alcohol grain-based beverage).[3] Stuffed cabbage rolls and aspic[4] are also common. A well-known Don dish is watermelon pickled in brine, which is often used as an appetizer for strong alcoholic drinks.[2]
Desserts
editA traditional Cossack dessert is nardek (watermelon honey). It is usually eaten with bursak (bursachki). The influence of oriental cuisine is seen in the use of raisins, which are added to porridge.[5]
Alcohol
editHistorically, a traditional alcoholic beverage of the Don Cossacks was wine, and winemaking emerged on the Don with the appearance of the first Greek colonies, approximately in the sixth-century B.C.E. The ancient Greek historian Strabo wrote that during his travels, he visited the mouth of the Don, where the vines were covered with earth for the winter to protect them from snow and frost.[6]
However, when the Polovtsians came to the Don region, followed by the Tatar-Mongols, winemaking disappeared.
Peter the Great had an opportunity to revive viticulture on the Don. In 1697, the tsar ordered the Azov governor, Prozorovsky, "to start vineyards". Soon, wine became the most popular drink of the Don again.[6]
Kuban Cossacks
editKuban Cossacks eat borscht, dumplings, pancakes, and shish kebabs. Goulash is common in the cuisine of the Cossacks of Southern Russia. The most common soups are okroshka and shulum (a thick soup of broth, meat, and potatoes). Meat (usually pork and poultry) is usually baked in the oven. The round bread palyanytsa is surrounded with honors. They drink kissels, brews, and Iryan, a Cossack variant of ayran similar to suzma.[7]
Utensils and etiquette
editCossacks commonly use bowls and wooden spoons. Cossacks eat three times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Before eating, they wash and wipe their hands. The eldest at the table usually signals the start of the meal. They often eat from a common bowl. Drinks are served in pitchers.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ "Казачья кухня | Церковь Успения Богородицы". 2015-05-09. Archived from the original on 2015-05-09. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ a b "Казачья кухня - Государственный музей-заповедник М.А Шолохова". www.sholokhov.ru. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "Казачья снедь и упоминание о ней в ранних рассказах М.А. Шолохова | Вешенский базар - станица Вешенская и все о ней: история, казачество, Дон, Шолохов, Шолоховский район, земляки". 2016-04-16. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "Вёшенский базар". veshki-bazar.narod.ru. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "«Нардек» - арбузный мед по-казачьи | Вольная Станица". 2017-04-22. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ a b "Доброй чарочке – любо!". www.ng.ru. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "Казачий кулинарный рай / НГ-Регионы / Независимая газета". www.ng.ru. Retrieved 2023-04-09.