Yesterday, I actually found a form of cultural appropriation I detest.
“Borscht is Russian soup, Mommy?” Klara asked. So I had to teach her the word щи, which is the Russian equivalent of borscht but absolutely hideous. I never tried it but I studied the recipes because I wanted to cook it and it sounds disgusting. It bugs me enormously when people say borscht is Russian. Traditional Russian cuisine is a lot more healthier and delicious than Ukrainian food. Borscht is the only good thing Ukrainians have contributed to the culinary repertoire of humanity, and we are not giving up credit for that.
The traditional Russian cuisine is so healthy that in the 19th century gastrointestinal patients were sent from all over Europe to eat in Russia. I often read the recipes and weep because they sound out of this world amazing. Reading Ukrainian recipes, on the other hand, makes my blood pressure rise because that seems the only goal of this food.
I also studied Polish recipes for borscht, and they sound horrible, too. Putting smoked sausage into borscht instead of potatoes is just weird.
On the positive side, Klara now likes pelmeni. I gave her some exactly a year ago, and she hated them. So I tried again yesterday, and she finally loved them. This is good news because they are so easy to make. (If you use the store-bought ones like I do.)
“Polish recipes for borscht.. Putting smoked sausage into borscht instead of potatoes is just weird.”
Instead? Surely ‘in addition’ I’ve only had Ukrainian borsht (Polish soup version) a handful of times but it always had potatoes and if it had meat it would more like chunks of smoked bacon.
Why does shchi sound horrible to you? I looked at it on wikipedia and thought I could easy scarf down a large amount..
LikeLike
I always liked barszcz when I was living in Poland in 1975-76.
LikeLike