A Matter of Taste

When I came to Ukraine, I thought I knew all about Russian (and therefore Ukrainian) food—what I liked and (more frequently) didn’t. I figured if I didn’t like something after almost 12 years living in the former Soviet Union, I wouldn’t start liking it now. However I’ve found that a combination of my tastes “maturing” and having more prolonged exposure to some foods which I previously disliked (thanks to living with a Ukrainian family and eating lunch together with my Ukrainian co-workers every day) a lot of things which I disliked before I’ve come to tolerate or even, in some cases, enjoy. Here are some of the things which my attitude towards has changed:

Pickled mushrooms: I don’t actually remember trying pickled mushrooms as a kid, but Ukrainians/Russians love everything picked, and I did try pickled tomatoes (which are among things that I still dislike despite my 2 years of intense exposure) and onions and disliked them, and I know that the idea of pickled mushrooms would have freaked me out. I’ve found, however that I really truly genuinely enjoy them, even in salads which would have sounded weird and gross to me before, such as a combination of pickled mushrooms, onions, cheese, pineapple, boiled eggs, and mayonnaise.

Dried fish are one of the things I remain less than thrilled about.

Borscht (and beets in general): Vegetable soup. I hated it as a kid, but now I can eat it with equanimity, and sometimes even with pleasure. I think a breakthrough moment was realizing that the bright red color doesn’t usually come so much from the beets as from tomato paste, which I actually like… However I’ve found that I don’t mind beets in general so much now either. I can actually make it through a helping of beet salad if I must.

Kvas: A fermented drink usually made out of brown bread. It’s similar to beer, but a bit sweeter, and with much less of an alcoholic taste (it’s considered non-alcoholic—children drink it all the time, but most versions of it have about a 1% alcohol content). I was surprised to find that I don’t mind it, though I can’t usually drink more than one cup, and would never choose it over water or coke or any other traditional cold drink. The best kvas I’ve had was made with birch tree juice—it was lighter and sweeter than usual.

Raw onions and garlic: Ukrainians love these… a lot. As in eat-an-entire-head-of-raw-garlic-in-one-sitting lot. I haven’t gotten to the point of being able to eat raw onions or garlic straight yet but I have no problems with eating salads or other dishes with generous amounts of one and/or the other.

Parsley and dill: Ukrainians put chopped parsley and dill on everything, from soups to salads to meats to potatoes. I still don’t like indiscriminate dumping of copious amounts of both on every dish, but I’ve come to appreciate both flavors in certain contexts.

Kefir: I used to refuse to touch this drink that is like buttermilk or very watery plain yogurt. And while I still won’t drink it by the glassful like Ukrainians, I’ve come to like it as a base for cold soups such as okroshka (which can also be made with kvas, which I’ve also eaten and enjoyed), and may be moving in the direction of actually being able to drink it.

There are, however, things I have not yet made peace with: Dried or raw fish, pickled tomatoes, kholodets (basically beef jello), salo (pig fat… sorta like bacon, but without the strips of meat, and eaten uncooked), mayonnaise. So there’s still room to grow…

Kholodets. Makes me shiver just looking at it.