Ukrainian cuisine is very much a part of the country’s culture, lifestyle and customs. It offers amazing flavors and delicious tastes. Popular ingredients in the cuisine of Ukraine are various meats, mushrooms, vegetables, berries, fruits and herbs. Ukrainian cuisine stems from peasant dishes based on the plentiful grains and staple vegetables grown in the country. Many ingredients are used in what some may consider to be unusual combinations, creating a unique and sumptuous dish.

«Salo» Lard

Lard may be staging a gastronomic comeback around the world but it never went out of fashion in Ukraine. Salo is the ultimate Ukrainian food. White pork fat is Ukraine’s national dish, known as salo. It is best served covered with garlic, onion and pickles (or something special), and almost always washed down with a shot of "horilka" (vodka).

Kholodets

This is one of the most peculiar national dishes often frowned at not only by foreigners but by younger Ukrainians as well. Kholodets is an authentic Ukrainian dish that is more popular at rural areas of the country. It is a jellied meat or fish with vegetables and herbs.

Krovyanka

Literally translated as a “bloody sausage”. When Ukrainians slaughter a pig, they drain its blood and mix it with cooked buckwheat. Then it’s stuffed in a large intestine of a pig and cooked in an oven for 30 min — 1 hour.

Kvas

This is a rye-honey-berry concoction, which is a very popular summer drink in Ukraine. 

Khrinovykha

This is a homemade liqueur made of horseradish («Khrin» in Ukrainian). This traditional strong drink is very popular in Western Ukraine. It is believed to be stomach-settling miracle after a heavy meal because of the soothing properties of the horseradish and herbal mixtures in it. It is touch sweet, intensely flavored, and often served chilled and sipped slowly. 

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