KYIV – Orysia Paszczak Tracz, writer, translator and The Ukrainian Weekly columnist, presented an illustrated lecture at the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv on July 28. “Perogies on the Prairies: From Ukrainian village to Canadian mainstream” discussed how the Ukrainian varenyk, brought by the original Ukrainian pioneers to western Canada about 125 years ago, is now a staple of the general Canadian menu.
She presented a PowerPoint lecture on perogies (as they are called in Canada), an integral part of Canadian cuisine, showing their presence in everything from long cases of frozen perogies in supermarkets to Canadian politics. This comfort food is a mainstream fast food. There is even a “Spicy Perogy Pizza” – a best-seller, invented by the main chef at the Canadian restaurant chain Boston Pizza.
Even with the knowledgeable audience in attendance, no solution was found to the question of why, how and when varenyky became “pyrohy” in western Ukraine. That is how they arrived in western Canada with the first settlers. The Polish word for this dish is “pierogies,” and the Poles arrived in the U.S. earlier than the Ukrainians. Research shows that varenyky/pyrohy entered Polish cuisine from Ukraine, becoming “pierogies” in the Polish pronunciation, and thus coming into the English language earlier on this continent. It is interesting that because of the popularity of this dish in Manitoba, even the Polish church in Winnipeg holds “perogy suppers,” not “pierogi” suppers. It would be helpful if Ukrainian communities avoided using the Polish term – surely non-Ukrainians can learn, Ms. Tracz noted.
It is common knowledge that Ukrainian churches in North America are “built on perogies,” with the weekly sales of fresh varenyky supporting the income of many parishes.
The event at the Honchar Museum was held in the large exhibition hall then showing “Three dimensions of Vasyl Krychevsky.” A highlight of the evening was the serving of “pareni” – steamed varenyky from the Cherkasy region by Tetiana Shkonda, with a dollop of explanation on their ingredients and preparation. Ms. Shkonda is a valued volunteer at the museum and also feeds Ukrainian soldiers and wounded with her many traditional dishes. She teaches at the Institute of Post-Diploma Training of the National University of Food Technologies in Kyiv.
Ms. Tracz was also presented with the latest volume of the series “Ukraina i Ukraintsi: Poltavshchyna i Slobozhanshchyna” (Ukraine and Ukrainains: Poltava and Slobozhanshchyna Regions) by Ivan Honchar, which was published by the museum. The text is in Ukrainian, French and English, and Ms. Tracz is one of the volume’s translators. So far, four volumes of the 18 have been published.
While she was in Kyiv, Ms. Tracz was interviewed by Lidia Karpenko for Kyiv FM Radio Era, and by Maryna Marchenko for the newspaper Khreshchatyk.