Top 5 Weird Ukrainian Foods

Every country has its own weird food. Find out what Ukrainian dishes are shocking to expats!

1. Salo is a quintessential Ukrainian food but it can be questionable for foreigners. Basically, salo is bacon without any meat – just raw pork fat. It can be pickled, fried, freezed or just eaten raw. It has a weird texture but it’s perfect with vodka or in sandwiches with black bread and some onions.

2. Herring under a Fur Coat. This traditional Soviet dish includes pickled herring, beets, potatoes, carrots and a lot of mayonnaise. Ingredients are placed in layers, and every layer is coated with mayo. Sounds disgusting? Well, it won’t hurt to try it!

3. Kholodets. It’s a meaty jello with garlic and pieces of said meat inside. Kholodets is made by boiling meat stock for a whole day and then leaving it in a cold place. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s really interesting.

4. Krovyanka. Literally translated as a “bloody sausage”. When Ukrainians slaughter a pig, they drain its blood and mix it with cooked buckwheat. Then it’s stuffed in a large intestine of a pig and cooked in an oven for a 30 min — 1 hour. Enjoy your bloody feast!

5. Vinegret. Cooked beans, beets, carrots and other vegetables with sunflower oil and mustard dressing. A staple vegetarian salad for any Ukrainian during the winter, when there are no fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Looks not really good, but tastes ok.