Kitchen Talk

Sofia's Kitchen, Verkhovyna, Carpathian Mountains

I have heard native-born Ukrainians refer to the language spoken by members of the Ukrainian diaspora, living in the US and Canada as “kitchen Ukrainian,” a not-quite contemporary Ukrainian, often with English or other influences. It is also meant to reflect the fact that many first and second generation Ukrainian Americans and Canadians learned Ukrainian from their mother or grandmothers, usually while they helped with cooking. Indeed, several friends with Ukrainian roots that grew up in the US and Canada have shared these kinds of insights. 

The Beekeeper's kitchen, Donbass Oblast

Social scientists actually use the term “diaspora language” to describe the dialects or variations of languages spoken in places of migration. These languages evolve, as all languages do, absorbing new influences and changes to their community. In the context of rapid change in Ukraine, as well as long absences from the country, language and food practices seem to be the most tangible connection to this culture for people with Ukrainian roots living in other parts of the world.

Svitlana, in her Kyiv kitchen

Through the Pickle Project, we too have learned a kind of kitchen language, Ukrainian, Russian and Crimean Tatar, spending time, mostly with women, talking about food. Standing over stoves, hunched over plants in the garden: Як ви сказали? How do you say it? 

Lenura's kitchen in Ak-Meshet, Crimea

Maybe it is because that is where Mama is, or, where the food is, or, where the work is.. Everyone is always hanging out in the kitchen. Included here are photos of some kitchens that we have been lucky enough to spend time in.

The 1970's kitchen, Pyrohiv National Museum of Folk Architecture

Of course, nothing foments fervent debate or connections to identity and culture quite like language in Ukraine. So, please consider this an open invitation to share your own thoughts, stories and experiences about the intersection of food practice, cultural preservation and food. 

Historic Photo, Ukrainian Market

What's Your Favorite Ukrainian Food? Baba's Borscht!

This past sunny Saturday,  I went to the 50th Anniversary Celebration of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hunter, NY to share the Pickle Project with visitors.  The church itself is an amazing structure to come across in the Catskills,  handbuilt in the style of the Carpathians wooden churches.

I brought along some historic photos,  a few of our official Pickle Project t-shirts,  but most of all, I wanted to hear from festival-goers a bit about their favorite Ukrainian foods and to chat about the Pickle Project and our work in Ukraine.  Most people I spoke to were second or third generation Ukrainian-Americans whose families originally hailed from L'viv or elsewhere in western Ukraine.  Many have made just a brief visit or two to their homeland and were curious about my experiences while others spoke about cousins and extended family still living in Ukrainian villages.   Several people already knew the project from reading our blog and it was great to meet those people in person!  Many were interested in the idea that we worked all over Ukraine from east to west and that the food conversations were a way to open up civic engagement, to begin talking together about food, something we all know, and broaden out into all sorts of topics.

But I always love talking to people about food and associations with family.  To encourage that,  I invited festival-goers to share their favorite Ukrainian food on a Post-it note and put it up.  As the notes went up,  people stopped to read, to chat,  to say, "oh, no, my baba's borscht is the best!"  I think borscht was the clear winner,  followed by pirohi (varenyky) but many other memories were shared.  One man pulled up a chair and described in detail, the multi-layered torte his mother would make.  I was particularly impressed with the children who carefully printed out, in Ukrainian, their favorite food and appreciated parents' commitment to passing on the language to a new generation.

And of course, I ate!  The women of the church had clearly been cooking for days, so I tried the combination plate, which included borscht, varenyky with fried onions, sausage, and holobitsi.  The bake sale table had American style treats, but also cookies made with buckwheat honey and other traditional sweets.

The day also brought me another lesson.  The festival was public and in a way, I was surprised at how few non-Ukrainian Americans I met.  It was free, it had great music and dance,  exhibits,  food, and even a bouncy castle for kids.  No matter where we live, I think we all can make more efforts to get out there and see, in informal settings, cultures different than our own.  So, Pickle Project readers, get out there and go to a festival in a neighborhood that's not your own,  stop in at a church supper somewhere you wouldn't go to, and, of course, eat, eat, eat and enjoy!