Boyko cuisine

Dishes of the Boyko region: pyrohy with potato and cheese, sour soups, machanka, buckwheat and cabbage dishes. Ingredients and customs.

LentenHrybna yushka (Carpathian mushroom soup)Soups · Hutsul regionA clear soup made from dried porcini mushrooms with potatoes or homemade noodles. An autumn and winter dish, and without sour cream, it is a lenten meal for Christmas Eve.

Lenten variantKuleshaPorridges and corn dishes · Hutsul regionThick cornmeal porridge boiled in water: it is turned out onto a board, cut with a thread, and eaten with bryndza, butter, or sour milk.

BudzCheeses · Hutsul regionFresh curd cheese made from sheep's milk, which shepherds prepare in the polonyna and dry by the fire. It is then used to make Bryndza.

LentenUzvarSoft drinks · Hutsul regionA drink made from dried apples, pears, and plums that concludes the Christmas Eve dinner. In Hutsul villages, it is simply called 'var'.

Lenten variantKremzlyky (Carpathian potato pancakes)Main dishes · Hutsul regionPancakes made from grated raw potatoes, known in the Carpathians as kremzlyky, terchanyky, or placki. They are served with sour cream, bryndza, or mushroom sauce.

LentenCarpathian herbal teasSoft drinks · Hutsul regionDaily drink of the Carpathian villages: thyme, motherwort, St. John's wort, mint, linden blossom, leaves of blueberries and raspberries, dried from summer.

Lenten variantVarenyky with bilberries (afyny)Dumplings and dough · Hutsul regionSummer varenyky with bilberries, which are called afyny or yafyny in the Carpathians. They are cooked during the berry season and served with sour cream or honey.

Lenten variantMushroom machankaMain dishes · Hutsul regionA thick sauce made from forest mushrooms and sour cream, into which Kulesha, Banosh, potatoes, or deruny are dipped. In autumn, it is made with fresh mushrooms, while in winter, dried ones are used.

VegetarianKysle moloko (soured milk)Soft drinks · Boyko regionRaw milk that has soured on its own: thick, sour, cool. The Boykos drank it with boiled potatoes, and used it to knead dough.

Tourist dish, not traditionalTrout over the campfireMain dishes · Hutsul regionWhole trout, baked on a grill or in foil over the fire. A modern tourist dish of kolibas: it is prepared with rainbow trout from trout farms.

Lenten variantZatirka (milk soup)Soups · Boyko regionSmall lumps of dough, rubbed by hand from flour and water, boiled in milk. An ancient everyday dish of the Boykos and Lemkos, known throughout Ukraine.

Lenten variantPyrohy with potato and bryndzaDumplings and dough · Hutsul regionDumplings, known as pyrohy in western Ukraine, filled with potato ('bulba') and salty sheep bryndza, drizzled with cracklings or butter.

Intangible heritage of UkraineLentenKyselytsiaSoups · Lemko regionKyselytsia is a sour soup made from oat and rye bread sourdough, traditionally eaten by the Lemkos with boiled potatoes and fried onions. It is a must-have dish on Christmas Eve.

VegetarianChristmas kolachBaking and ritual bread · Hutsul regionRitual bread of Christmas Eve: braided kolach or large round 'krachun'. In Boyko villages, it is also 'dipped' in a stream for health.

Lenten variantBoyko pyrohyDumplings and dough · Boyko regionVarenyky, which the Boykos call pyrohy: often made from rye dough, 'black', with potatoes, bryndza, or sauerkraut.

LentenBilberry jam (afyny)Preserves · Hutsul regionBilberry jam is made from wild bilberries, which are harvested in the Carpathians in July and August. This summer preparation is a staple for mountain families for tea and dumplings in winter.

LentenCarpathian honeyPreserves · TranscarpathiaHoney from the mountain meadows, forests, and gardens of the Carpathians, collected by local Carpathian bees. Spring, summer, and autumn varieties have different tastes and colors.

LentenBeet kvassSoft drinks · Boyko regionBeet kvass, fermented in water: a ruby kvass that was consumed and used to make borscht without vinegar. The Boykos called it 'fermented borscht.'

LentenTsvikli (beetroot with horseradish)Preserves · Galician cuisine (Lviv region)Grated boiled beetroot with horseradish, vinegar, and a pinch of sugar — a spicy Galician condiment for aspic, ham, and sausages.

LentenGalician borshch with vushkaSoups · Galician cuisine (Lviv region)Transparent lean borscht on beet kvass and mushroom broth with small vushka filled with mushrooms. A dish of the Christmas Eve table of Galicia.

Lenten variantTerchani halushkyDumplings and dough · Boyko regionBoyko dumplings made from grated raw and boiled potatoes. They are boiled in water and served with milk, fried onions, or bryndza.

18+Tourist dish, not traditionalMedovukha (mead)Alcohol (18+) · Boyko regionAn ancient Slavic drink made from fermented honey. In the Carpathians, it is now mostly tasted in meaderies and honey halls. 18+.