Food is a language that speaks to us. This confidence from Olena Braichenko, founder of the Ïzhakultura publishing house and co-author of the book Ukraine , cuisine and history, resonates as living proof that gastronomy is more than ever the expression of an identity. Even more so when a book dedicated to him meets history. At a time when the war unleashed by Russia has been raging for several weeks in a country already fractured by the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Éditions de La Martinière is publishing this Friday, April 8, a book that looks like an immersion in culture and culinary traditions of Ukraine. A project launched more than a year ago with theand the Ukrainian embassy in France, which the publishing house deemed essential to maintain in the current context.
kraine, cuisine and history introduces typical dishes and regional specialties ranging from the famous borsch (beetroot and vegetable soup) to Kiev cake, including banosh (corn porridge), holubtsy (stuffed cabbage) or even paska (Easter cake). Imagined by great Ukrainian chefs (Yaroslav Artyukh, Vitaliy Guralevych, Denys Komarenko, V’Yacheslav Popkov, Oksana Zadorozhna, Olena Zhabotynska), the 80 recipes – accessible to all – testify to a gastronomic diversity celebrating ancestral cooking techniques and food preservation.
Over the course of six chapters, the four authors (Olena Braichenko, Maryna Hrymych, Ihor Lylo, Vitaly Reznichenko) present the history of Ukrainian cuisine in great detail. They nourish this exploration with reports on the rites of hospitality, seasonality, sweet pleasures, ceremonial cuisine and even culinary diplomacy. A heritage in the manner of a cultural heritage and an intangible heritage constantly renewed by talented cooks. In this era reminiscent of the dark hours of another time, the Éditions de La Martinière have decided to donate part of the profits to aideukraine.fr for the benefit of humanitarian aid.
