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Annette Ogrodnik Corona. The New Ukrainian Cookbook. New York: Hippocrene Books. 2012. xvii+270 pp. Index. Illustrations by Laurette Kovary. $29.95 hc.
The classic Ukrainian cookbook written in English has long been Savella Stechishin's Traditional Ukrainian Cookery, first published in 1957. This book was extremely popular and went through eighteen printings, selling 80,000 copies. But it has been out of print since 1995, and copies of it sell for over $265 (U.S.) on Amazon.com. I belong to a number of Ukrainian online discussion groups and the topic of a new cookbook that would replace Stechishin's classic has come up again and again. I am happy to report that Ogrodnik Corona's The New Ukrainian Cookbook is the book that people have long been waiting for.
The New Ukrainian Cookbook book, like Stechishin's classic, presents more than recipes; it provides cultural information about Ukrainian foodways and about the use of food in custom and ritual. As Ogrodnik Corona tells us, her earliest and fondest memories are of her grandmother's kitchen where food was part of an entire culture. The author tries to recreate her own experience by putting her numerous recipes in cultural context and giving us a sense of Ukrainian life.
The book begins with maps and information about Ukraine, its foodways, and the importance of food in Ukrainian culture. Next come the recipes. These are given roughly in the order in which they would be served during a fancy, multi-course meal: first, the appetizers, then, the soups and salads, then, the various components of a main course such as vegetables and grains, meat and fish, breads and pasta. The main course section is followed by one on eggs and omelettes. The book concludes with a section on desserts and various flavoured alcoholic beverages. Each chapter begins with a discussion of how a particular food category is served and consumed. We learn about the appearance of various dishes, typical accompaniments to them, the etiquette that goes...