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In English, kasha usually refers to pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In various East-Central and Eastern European countries, ''kasha'' can apply to any kind of cooked
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either in water or milk, and therefore the term coincides with the English definition of '
porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
', but the word can also refer to the grain before preparation, which corresponds to the definition of ' groats'. This understanding of kasha concerns mainly Belarus (), the Czech Republic (),
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
(), Poland (), Romania and the Republic of Moldova (), Russia (), Slovakia (), Kazakhstan, and Ukraine (), where the term, besides buckwheat, can apply to wheat, barley, oats,
millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
and
rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
. Kashas have been an important element of Slavic diet for at least 1,000 years. This English-language usage probably originated with Jewish immigrants, as did the form ''kashi'' (literally translated as "porridges"). File:Kashagrains.png, Buckwheat
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s File:Гречка (каша).jpg, Buckwheat with onions


In Ashkenazi Jewish culture

As an Ashkenazi-Jewish comfort food, kasha is often served with onions and brown gravy on top of
farfalle Farfalle () are a type of pasta commonly known as bow-tie pasta or butterfly pasta. The name is derived from the Italian word ''farfalle'' ( butterflies). In the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, farfalle are known as ''strichetti'' (a local word ...
, known as kasha varnishkes. Kasha is a popular filling for knishes and is sometimes included in matzah-ball soup.


In Czechia

In Czech the cognate () has a wider meaning that also encompasses mashed potato (), pease pudding (), etc.


In Poland

In
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
, cooked buckwheat groats are referred to as . can apply to many kinds of groats:
millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
(), barley (), pearl barley (), oats (), as well as porridge made from farina (). Bulgur can be also be referred to as a type of kasza in Polish (). As Polish
blood sausage A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used. In Europe and the A ...
is prepared with buckwheat, barley or rice, it is called kaszanka (kasha sausage). Annual (2013) per capita consumption of groats in Poland is approx. per year ( a month).


In Russia

The largest gross buckwheat consumption per capita is in Russia, with per year, followed by Ukraine, with per year. The share of buckwheat in the total consumption of cereals in Russia is 20%. In Russian, buckwheat is referred to formally as (), or colloquially as (). Buckwheat grain and buckwheat groats are known as (). Corresponding words in
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
are ''gretshkes/greytshkelach'' and ''retshkes/reytshkelach''. The most popular kasha recipe in Russia is that of crumbly cooked buckwheat seasoned with butter. Buckwheat kasha can be eaten at any time of the day, either as a separate dish or as a side dish. Other popular kasha recipes are made with millet, semolina () and oatmeal. Cooked with milk and sugar, they are often seen as a breakfast staple, especially for children. Pearl barley porridge is less popular but also eaten. Kasha is one of the Russian national dishes, together with
shchi Shchi ( rus, щи, p=ɕːi, a=Ru-щи.ogg) is a Russian-style cabbage soup. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi (russian: зел ...
. This fact is commemorated in the Russian saying, "" (), which literally translates as "shchi and kasha are our food" or "cabbage soup and porridge are what we eat". The expression has an implied figurative meaning of "it is enough to eat those two meals to live" or "it doesn't matter what happens in Russia at large, we still live the same way." Butter is often eaten with most kasha recipes, hence another Russian saying: "", which translates to "you'll never spoil kasha with a lot of butter".Nourish Your Language: Foodie Words Refashioned
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See also

* Grit * Gruel * Jewish cuisine * Kaszanka * Kashk * List of ancient dishes and foods * List of buckwheat dishes *
List of English words of Russian origin ''This page transcribes Russian (written in Cyrillic script) using the IPA. For a quick overview of Russian pronunciation, see Help:IPA/Russian''. Many languages, including English, contain words (Russianisms) most likely borrowed from the Ru ...
*
List of English words of Ukrainian origin English words of Ukrainian origin are words in the English language that have been borrowed or derived from the Ukrainian language. Some of them may have entered English via Russian, Polish, or Yiddish, among others. They may have originated in ...
* List of porridges *
List of Russian dishes This is a list of notable dishes found in Russian cuisine. Russian cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Russian Empire. The cuisine is diverse, with Northeast European/Baltic, Caucasian, Central Asian, Siberian, East ...


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Jewish baked goods Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Belarusian cuisine Cereals Czech cuisine Lithuanian cuisine Porridges Ukrainian cuisine Buckwheat dishes National dishes Russian cuisine Slovak cuisine