Borscht is a sour soup, made with meat stock, vegetables and seasonings, common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word borscht is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which give the dish its distinctive red color. The same name, however, is also used for a wide selection of sour-tasting soups without beetroots, such as sorrel-based green borscht, rye-based white borscht, and cabbage borscht.
Polish cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other national cuisines. Polish cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise.
Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a filling and cooked in boiling water. They are occasionally flavored with a savory or sweet garnish. Typical fillings include potato, cheese, quark, sauerkraut, ground meat, mushrooms, fruits, and/or berries. Savory pierogi are often served with a topping of sour cream, fried onions, or both.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.
Pelmeni are dumplings of Russian cuisine that consist of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough.
Kreplach are small dumplings in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine filled with ground meat, mashed potatoes or another filling, usually boiled and served in chicken soup, though they may also be served fried. They are similar to other types of dumplings, such as Polish pierogi, Polish and Ukrainian uszka, Russian pelmeni, Italian ravioli or tortellini, German Maultaschen, and Chinese jiaozi and wonton. The dough is traditionally made of flour, water and eggs, kneaded and rolled out into thin sheets. Some modern-day cooks use frozen dough sheets or wonton wrappers. Ready-made kreplach are also sold in the kosher freezer section of supermarkets.
Bigos, often translated into English as hunter's stew, is a Polish dish of chopped meat of various kinds stewed with sauerkraut, shredded fresh cabbage and spices. It is served hot and can be enriched with additional vegetables and wine. Originally from Poland, the dish also became traditional in the areas of the vast Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Wigilia is the traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper in Poland, held on December 24. The term is often applied to the whole of Christmas Eve, extending further to Pasterka—midnight Mass, held in Roman Catholic churches all over Poland and in Polish communities worldwide at or before midnight. The custom is sometimes referred to as "wieczerza" or "wieczerza wigilijna", in Old Polish meaning evening repast, linked to the late church service, Vespers from the Latin.
A twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper is traditionally prepared to commemorate Jesus' twelve disciples in Central, Northern and Eastern European cultures, especially those that were formerly part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and neighbouring countries. The tradition is especially cultivated in modern-day Poland, where alternatively thirteen meatless dishes on Christmas Eve are sometimes served.
Kalduny or kolduny are dumplings stuffed with meat, mushrooms or other ingredients, made in Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Polish cuisines, akin to the Polish pierogi, Russian pelmeni and the Ukrainian varenyky.
Belarusian cuisine refers to the culinary traditions native to Belarus. It shares many similarities with cuisines of other Eastern, Central and Northeastern European countries, based predominantly on meat and various vegetables typical for the region.
Smetana is the English-language name for the types of sour cream traditionally prevalent in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia. It is a dairy product produced by souring heavy cream. It is similar to crème fraîche, but nowadays mainly sold with 9% to 42% milkfat content depending on the country. Its cooking properties are different from crème fraîche and the lighter sour creams sold in the US, which contain 12 to 16% butterfat. It is widely used in cooking and baking.
Kluski is a generic Polish name for all kinds of soft dumplings, usually without a filling.
A sour cereal soup is a Slavic traditional soup made with various types of cereals such as rye, wheat and oats, which are fermented to create a sourdough-like soup base and stirred into a pot of stock which may or may not contain meat such as boiled sausage and bacon, along with other ingredients such as hard-boiled eggs, potatoes and dried mushrooms.
Knedle, is a dish of boiled ball- or oval-shaped dumplings with a filling. The dough can be potato-based or made of choux pastry; sometimes it is curd-based. It is filled with fruits, mushrooms, curd cheese, meat etc. Knedle are popular in Central and Eastern European countries. The fruit-filled variant can be eaten as dessert, a main dish, or side dish.
Pirog is a baked case of dough with either sweet or savory filling. The dish is common in Eastern European cuisines.
Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough, often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled with meat, fish, tofu, cheese, vegetables, or a combination. Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of cooking methods and are found in many world cuisines.
Jiaozi are a type of Chinese dumpling. Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together. Jiaozi can be boiled (shuǐjiǎo), steamed (zhēngjiǎo), pan-fried (jiānjiǎo), or deep-fried (zhàjiǎo), and are traditionally served with a black vinegar and sesame oil dip. They can also be served in a soup. Jiaozi have great cultural significance within China. Jiaozi are one of the major dishes eaten during the Chinese New Year throughout northern China and eaten all year round in the northern provinces. Their resemblance to the gold and silver ingots (sycee) used in Imperial China has meant that they symbolize wealth and good fortune.
