Festive Ukrainian Cooking

by Marta Pisetska Farley

Ukrainian cooking embodies national and ethnic tastes and reflects the spiritual and social awareness of Ukrainians. More than just a cookbook,  Festive Ukrainian Cooking  is a definitive account of traditional Ukrainian culture as perpetuated in family rituals and celebrated with elegantly prepared food and drink. Working from original sources in Ukrainian, Russian, and Polish, and drawing on experience as an accomplished cook, Marta Pisetska Farley arranges these recipes as they were enjoyed throughout the year, beginning with kolach, a glazed braided bread sprinkled with poppy seeds, for Christmas Eve, and ending with succulent dishes made with wild mushrooms harvested in the fall. Chapter introductions describe the folkways associated with major holidays and family events and the symbolic and celebratory role of food appropriate to each.  Festive Ukrainian Cooking , originally published in 1990 and now newly repackaged in paperback, records these traditions and adapts old-style recipes for the modern kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks, Ukraine

217 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 1990

Reviews

[Holly Paluck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of recipes that follow liturgical year/feast days, etcetera. Provides some excellent ways for families to observe these days through speacial foods that are associated witht he celebrations.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not yet certain how this would be as a cookbook; I think a little difficult for an inexperienced cook, it makes some strong assumptions about skills. But I read it more for the stories of Ukranian life, and the author did a very good job of explaining the shape of the year as she understood it, how the different feasts were once celebrated and how the seasons of agricultural/natural year and the church calendar (which itself reflected older traditions) combined to make certain foods appropriate to the times. A little dry, but enjoyable and interesting, and doubtless for someone deeply interested in either Ukranian food or folk tradition, very worthwhile.

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is available on Amazon for a very reasonable price, and I think it's a MUST for anyone who is interested in gourmet Ukrainian cooking. On p. 13, there's the BEST mushroom gravy recipe EVER. You can also use the mushroom filling to make (p. 11) delicious Ukrainian Vushka -- like tortellini. "Grandmother's Roast" on p. 66 almost made me swoon. The "Young Mushroom Soup" on p. 164 was excellent. I will definitely be trying more of the recipes.

[DeB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty book with history of Ukraine and its recipes. A gift from a father who was always conflicted about his heritage until very old age, when he created fairy tales I had never seen.