Lugansk Food / Ukrainian Cuisine / Food to Eat in Lugansk

The food of Eastern Ukraine is almost identical to that of Russia proper. Most of the population is ethnically Russian, and has been for generations. Traditional cafes in Volgograd or Voronezh, two nearby Russian cities, serve the same food as in Lugansk, and vice versa, with only minor regional variations.

Pelmeni

Pelmeni are dough balls stuffed with meat, either beef pork, or a combination of both. After boiling, sour cream is usually added on top. Some modern families even began to eat them with ketchup.

During the winter, peasant women would make hundreds of pelmeni, stuff them into burlap sacks, and hang them outside to freeze. They would wait there in suspended animation like TV dinners, waiting to be taken down, boiled, and eaten. Guests who arrived in the bitter cold would immediately be given a hot bowl of pelmeni to warm up. In those days, pre global warming, winters lasted longer, and were much colder. Pelmeni were an ideal food that could be prepared quickly, stored easily and warmed up within ten minutes.

Today pelmeni can be found for sale in the frozen foods section of any Ukrainian grocery store. Some chains even prepare them fresh daily. Many fast food joints specialize in selling pelmeni, where you walk up to a counter, says “number one value meal please”, and you are given a hot bowl of pelmeni with sour cream on top. Sound familiar? When shopping for pelmeni in a grocery store, it’s usually a good idea to buy the more expensive brands. Although not a rule, they generally contain higher quality meat.

Borsch, Borscht, Barsch

This deep red, meaty soup is almost a national symbol of Ukraine and Russia. Sugar beets are the main ingredient; you simply cannot call the soup “borsch” without them. Many other vegetables are added to the mix, depending on what village the recipe originated from. These include: cabbage, tomato, onion, carrot, celery, and potato. Some areas of Ukraine grew more carrots than onion, so hence, that regional recipe will be heavy on carrot. You can visit a dozen Ukrainian homes and eat as many different kinds of borsch. Historically, meat was only added for flavor, due to the high cost. In modern times, you will most always find large hunks of beef or lamb, sometimes with a bone still attached. Borsch is traditionally served with a spoon of sour cream and an ample stack of black bread slices.

Blini, Bliny, Blinchiki

In short, Ukrainian pancakes. They are very different from the fluffy, American pancake. Blini are thin, somewhat chewy, often stuffed with meat or cheese, and topped with sour cream (smetana) and jam. Smetana, it should be noted, is not nearly as sour as American sour cream, but both varieties do share a similar taste and texture.

Due to their simple ingredients, flour, eggs and milk, blini were a staple diet for the masses of poor serfs that lived in Ukraine and Russia. After Orthodox Christianity became widely adopted, blini were eaten during Post, or Lent, a week long Christian holiday that forbids the consumption of meat. Blini, like pelmeni, have been the victim of mass production. You can find them in every frozen food section, but none come close to the taste of a blin hot off the griddle.