Varényky or варе́ники (Pierogi)

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Varenyky in Ukraine are a popular dish, served both as a common everyday meal and as a part of some traditional celebrations, such as Christmas Eve Supper, Ukrainian: Свята вечеря (Sviata Vecheria). ^[c In some regions in or bordering modern-day Western Ukraine, particularly in Carpathian Ruthenia and Galicia, the terms varenyky and pyrohy are used to denote the same dish. The name pyrohy is also common among Canadian Ukrainians. This can be attributed to the history of Ukrainian and Rusyn immigration to Canada, which came not from the Russian Empire, but predominantly from the former Austria-Hungary, where the local dialects had many common words with Polish, German, Romanian, and other Central European languages.

Traditional Ukrainian varenyky with sour cream (smetana)

In other regions of Ukraine, the names pyrohy and pyrizhky refer to baked pies and buns as opposed to the boiled dumplings. The name of a popular type of Polish pierogi, pierogi ruskie (“Ruthenian pierogi”), is related to Rus’, the historical region and naming of Eastern Slavs and the ancient kingdom from which Ukrainians descend.

Varenyky are considered by Ukrainians as one of their national dishes and plays a fundamental role in Ukrainian culture. Contrary to many other countries that share these dumplings Ukrainians tended to use fermented milk products (Ukrainian: kesla moloko or Ryazhenka) to bind the dough together however today eggs tend to be used instead. Typical Ukrainian fillings for varenyky include cottage cheese, potato, boiled beans, mushy peas, sauerkraut, plum (and other fruits), potato and cheese, cabbage, meat, fish, buckwheat.

In Ukraine varenyky are traditionally eaten with sour cream Ukrainian: сметана (smetana) and butter, as well as with fried onions and fried pieces of bacon and pork fat, Ukrainian: shkvarky. Whilst traditionally savoury varenyky can also be served as a dessert by simply substituting the filling of the dumpling to a sweeter one. Dessert varenyky fillings include sour cherry, blueberries, sweet cottage cheese, billberies and other fruits. The central regions of Ukraine famous for their more unusual varenyky, Poltava being known for its flour varenyky filling-the dumplings are filling with a mixture of flour, lard and fried pieces of bacon .

Ukrainian varenyky filled with sour cherries as a dessert

Varenekyky are so favoured in Ukraine that every year there is a festival commemorating them at the Ukrainian ski resort town of Bukovel in the Carpathian Mountains. In 2013 a snow monument to varenyky was made in Bukovel and applied for the Guiness Book of Records as the biggest snow varenyk in the world.

In Ukraine varenyky are not just a national dish, but also played a symbolic and ritualistic role. Ukrainian ancestors equated varenyk with a young moon since they have a similar shape and used the dumplings as part of pagan and sacrificial rituals. For example cheese varenyky would be sacrificed nears water springs and years ago Ukrainian peasants also believed that varenyky helped bring a rich harvest, so they took homemade dumplings along to the fields.^[