Hutsul cuisine

Hutsul cuisine without myths: banosh, kulesha, bryndza, budz, vurda, huslianka, mushrooms and bilberries. Ingredients, customs, where to try.

Lenten variantBanoshPorridges and corn dishes · Hutsul regionThick corn porridge with sour cream, which is stirred for a long time until the butter appears. It is served with Bryndza, cracklings, or mushrooms.

Intangible heritage of UkraineHutsul bryndzaCheeses · Hutsul regionSalty sheep cheese from the polonyna: aged Budz is mixed with salt and kept in wooden berbenytsia. The first geographical indication in Ukraine.

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.

Intangible heritage of UkraineLenten variantHutsul holubtsiMain dishes · Hutsul regionSmall stuffed cabbage rolls made from fermented cabbage leaves — "kryzhivky" — with corn grits. They can be vegetarian, with mushrooms, or with cracklings and meat.

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.

VegetarianHusliankaDairy · Hutsul regionA thick Hutsul sour milk product made from boiled milk. It is served with Kulesha and Banosh, and once was kept for months as 'winter milk'.

VegetarianVurdaCheeses · Hutsul regionTender boiled cheese made from whey left over after Budz, with the addition of fresh sheep's milk. A Carpathian relative of ricotta.

Intangible heritage of UkraineHutsul cheese figurinesCheeses · Hutsul regionHutsul cheese figurines are edible figures shaped like horses, lambs, birds, and pastries, crafted in the villages of Kosiv and Verkhovyna. This edible tradition is included in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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.

HurkaMeat and sausages · TranscarpathiaTranscarpathian homemade sausage casing with rice or corn grits, liver, lungs, and cracklings. It was made on the day of pig slaughter.

Regional intangible heritageLenten variantZakarpattia holubtsiMain dishes · TranscarpathiaHolubtsi, where each village has its own recipe: small Bichkiv ones with rice, kashanyky in grape leaves, with millet, gombovda or grated potatoes.

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'.

Intangible heritage of UkraineLenten variantBukovynian paska (Easter bread)Baking and ritual bread · BukovinaEaster breads of Bukovyna: large paska 'dora', 'horned' paska with dough figures, babkas, and 'kukutsi' cookies. Included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine since 2026.

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.

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.

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.

LentenBirch sapSoft drinks · Hutsul regionSpring birch sap is clear and slightly sweet. Hutsuls drink it as a vitamin beverage, while in Bukovina, they add it to homemade kvass.

Hutsul smoked meat (buzhenyna)Meat and sausages · Hutsul regionSalted and smoked meat: once predominantly lamb, today it is pork ham that Hutsuls prepare after winter slaughter for the holidays.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hutsul sausageMeat and sausages · Hutsul regionHomemade sausage made from chopped pork with garlic in natural casing, smoked over wood. It is made after the slaughter and placed in the Easter basket.

LentenMalaiBaking and ritual bread · Hutsul regionMalai: a corn bread of the Hutsuls, a flatbread made from corn flour, and in the village of Yabluniv — also with boiled potatoes. It is eaten in pieces with lard or cheese.

VegetarianZhentytsiaDairy · Hutsul regionSheep whey that remains on the polonyna after making Budz. It is used to make Vurda, to soften cheese for figurines, and it is also drunk.

Intangible heritage of UkraineBukovynian bryndzaCheeses · BukovinaCheese from the pastures of Putyl and Vyzhnytsia made from cow's and sheep's milk: aged Budz is mixed with salt and stored in wooden berbenytsia.

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.'

LentenHomemade kvassSoft drinks · Hutsul regionA slightly sour fermented drink: made from grain or bread, with birch sap and berries, and among the Hutsuls — also apple, with rowan.

18+Kalhanivka (tormentil bitters)Alcohol (18+) · Hutsul regionBitter tincture made from the root of tormentil — Potentilla erecta. Known throughout Ukraine, especially among the Hutsuls of Bukovina. 18+.

18+Horikhivka (green walnut liqueur)Alcohol (18+) · Hutsul regionA dark homemade liqueur made from green walnuts, known among the Hutsuls of Kosiv and Verkhovyna, as well as in Bukovina. No recipe. 18+.

Intangible heritage of UkraineLenten variantBukovynian borshchSoups · BukovinaBorscht made with fermented beetroot, beans, and smoked ribs: a tanginess without vinegar and tomato, and a spoonful of thick sour cream served in the bowl.

18+Afynivka (bilberry liqueur)Alcohol (18+) · Hutsul regionAfynivka, or yafynivka, is a homemade liqueur made from bilberries. We only discuss the name and tradition, without a recipe. 18+.