Ukrainian Cuisine as a Modern Identification Marker

Author

Bondarenko Halyna

a Ph.D. in History, a chief research fellow at the Ukrainian Ethnological Centre Department of M. Rylskyi Institute of Art Studies, Folkloristics and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine).

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3448-494X

Ukrainian Cuisine as a Modern Identification Marker

Abstract

The connection between culinary traditions and Ukrainian identity is described in the article. It is found out that food can be a marker of identity, helping to develop a system of connections and mutual support in the community. Gastronomic practice unites people with their cultural heritage, history, and the totality of knowledge, values, and practices acquired by an ethnic group. The social, cultural, symbolic status of food in eating habits contribute to the preservation of national identity. The national cultural heritage includes also traditional and regional products. Their loss because of the occupation of part of the country’s territories by Russia is perceived painfully precisely due to the iconic nature of some of them (for example, Kherson watermelons, Melitopol cherries). The authors of cultural and anthropological studies of emigrant communities emphasize the importance of food practices in shaping their common ethnic identity, believing that it is of paramount importance for the formation of migrants’ views on their own history. The significance of food as an identification marker in the lives has become more important because of the war and the forced migration of 5 million people in Ukraine. The results of our research on the adaptation of Ukrainian refugees to living conditions in Poland, Germany, the United States, Sweden, and Australia show the importance of maintaining the daily food practices and the availability of familiar products for Ukrainian immigrants. The symbolic and communicative functions of food are increasingly important in the times of war. Ukrainians abroad celebrate calendar holidays and Independence Day together. Tastings of Ukrainian dishes are held for representatives of the host communities (at the family, neighbourhood, and community levels). They are considered as a promotion of native culture. The most common dishes are borsch, varenyky, cabbage rolls, potato pancakes, and pies. National dishes are also used in modern cultural diplomacy. They are cooked for receptions in embassies and at charity events of Ukrainian communities, which contributes to the formation of a positive image of the country.

Keywords

Ukrainian cuisine, identity markers, migrants, cultural diplomacy.

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