Ukraine » Dining in Kiev

Food in Ukraine can sometimes cause stomach problems. Cheese, sausage, meat, milk and other fresh products that will spoil unless refrigerated are the most dangerous products in this respect. The traditional Ukrainian preventive measure is to drink vodka but watch out for products that have expired. Although the date printed on the product is misleading. It's usually the production date and somewhere else is stated how long after production the product is good.

Ukrainians eat a lot of sausages, fish, and cheeses. Bread is a core part of every meal, and must be included for the meal to be "complete." They enjoy having variety in meals. While simple, they try to have more than one course. At Christmas time, for example, it is tradition to have a twelve-course meal.

The most well known foods are Borshch (a vegetable soup, usually with beets), Holobtsi (cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and meat usually), Varenyky (often called perogies), Pyrohy (a fried, dessert version of verenyky, filled with fruit instead of meat or cheese).