Eastern European cuisine

Eastern European cuisine encompasses many different cultures, ethnicities, languages, and histories of Eastern Europe.

Borscht, a beet soup found in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe

Beshbarmak, a traditional Kazakh pasta with horse meat

Sarma (cabbage roll) and mămăligă, popular in Romania, Moldova and other Eastern European countries

Kefir, a fermented milk drink originating in the North Caucasus region.

The cuisine of the region is strongly influenced by its climate and still varies, depending on a country. For example, East Slavic countries of the Sarmatic Plain (Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine) show many similarities.

Characteristics

According to the Ethnic Food Lover's Companion, all significant Eastern European cuisines are closely connected with the political, social and economic revival of the region, following the long periods of historical turmoil. "These are substantial cuisines, meaty, rooty, smoky – part comfort food, part extravagance."^[1] Their main ingredients include eggs, used most frequently in doughs and pastries; dairy products (with yogurt and cheese among the staples); grains, including rye, barley, wheat, buckwheat and millet used in kashas and in the making of breads; vegetables, in cold storage and in pickling; fish (salmon, pike, carp and herring), birds and poultry (chicken, duck, goose, partridge, quail, turkey); red meats such as veal, beef, pork and mutton; and plentiful fruits including pears, plums, cherries, raspberries, pomegranates, dates, and figs, used for desserts and a variety of liqueurs.^[1] The nutritional index of traditional dishes is generally high cholesterol, high sodium, and high fat.^[1]

See also

• Food portal

• Armenian cuisine
• Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine
• Azerbaijani cuisine
• Balkan cuisine
• Belarusian cuisine
• Bulgarian cuisine
• Chechen cuisine
• Circassian cuisine
• Cossack cuisine
• Georgian cuisine
• Kazakh cuisine
• Moldovan cuisine
  • Gagauz cuisine
• Ossetian cuisine
• Romanian cuisine
  • Transylvanian Saxon cuisine
• Russian cuisine
  • Bashkir cuisine
  • Komi cuisine
  • Mordovian cuisine
  • Tatar cuisine
  • Udmurt cuisine
• Soviet cuisine
• Ukrainian cuisine
  • Crimean Tatar cuisine
  • Odesite cuisine