Varenye is a popular whole-fruit preserve, widespread in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

(

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Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

), as well as the

Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...

. It is made by

cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...

berries, other fruits, or more rarely

nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

, or

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

, in sugar syrup.Варенье
Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона, СПб., 1890–1907 (''Varenye'' in

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume encyclopaedia in Russian. It contains 121,240 articles, 7,800 images, and 235 maps. It was published in the Russian Em ...

, St. Petersburg, 1890–1907)В. В. Похлёбкин, ''Кулинарный словарь от А до Я'', статья
Варенье
', изд. Центрполиграф, 2000, (

William Pokhlyobkin William August Vasilyevich Pokhlyobkin (August 20, 1923 – April 15 (burial date), 2000; , Viliyam Vasilievich Pokhlyobkin) was a Soviet and Russian historian specializing in Scandinavian studies, heraldry, the diplomacy and international ...

, ''Culinary Dictionary'', Centrpoligraf publishing house, 2000) In some traditional recipes, other sweeteners such as

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

treacle Treacle () is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar.Oxford Dictionary The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and black treacle, a darker variety similar to molasses. Black treacle has a distinctiv ...

are used instead of or in addition to sugar. Varenye is similar to

jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

except the fruits are not

macerated Maceration is the process of preparing foods through the softening or breaking into pieces using a liquid. Raw, dried or preserved fruit or vegetables are soaked in a liquid to soften the food, or absorb the flavor of the liquid into the food. ...

, and no

gelling agent In polymer chemistry, gelation (gel transition) is the formation of a gel from a system with polymers. Branched polymers can form Cross-link, links between the chains, which lead to progressively larger polymers. As the linking continues, larger ...

is added. It is characterized by a thick but transparent syrup having the natural colour of the fruits.

Etymology, translations, and cultural references

''Varenye'' is an old Slavic word which is used in

East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of the Slavic languages, distinct from the West Slavic languages, West and South Slavic languages. East Slavic languages are currently spoken natively throughout Eastern Europe, ...

in a more general sense to refer to any type of sweet fruit preserve. The word has common etymological roots with the verbs denoting cooking, boiling, brewing, or stewing (, , ). In

literary translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

s, especially of children's books, into Russian, the term is often used to replace less-common loanwords, such as

confiture A confiture is any fruit jam, marmalade, paste, sweetmeat, or fruit stewed in thick syrup. Confit, the root of the word, comes from the French word ''confire'', which literally means 'preserved'; a confit being any type of food that is cooked ...

marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

. Examples are the translations of ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'', ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'',''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'', and the animated movies about

Karlsson-on-the-Roof Karlsson-on-the-Roof () is a character who features in a series of children's books by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Lindgren may have borrowed the idea for the series from a similar story about Mr. O'Malley in the comic strip '' Barnaby' ...

. The same is true when translating from Russian. For instance, the making of

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...

varenye is described in

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's novel ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'' (VI-2). In her classic translation,

Constance Garnett Constance Clara Garnett (; 19 December 1861 – 17 December 1946) was an English translator of nineteenth-century Russian literature. She was the first English translator to render numerous volumes of Anton Chekhov's work into English and the ...

refers to the activity as "jam-making". In the popular

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

children's book ''A Tale About a War Secret, About the Boy Nipper-Pipper, and His Word of Honour'' by

Arkady Gaidar Arkady Petrovich Gaidar (, born Golikov, ; – 26 October 1941) was a Russian literature, Russian Soviet writer, whose stories were very popular among Soviet children, and a Red Army commander.Arkady Gaidar. Biography. Timeline. Works by Arkady ...

the

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

Little Baddun betrays his friends for "a barrel of varenye and a basket of biscuits" (; again, in English translation ''jam'' is used instead of varenye). This phrase became an

idiomatic expression An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a figurative or non-literal meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiomatic expression's meaning is different from the lite ...

for betrayal or

selling out To "sell out" is to compromise one's integrity, morality, Authenticity (philosophy), authenticity, or Principle#As moral law, principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money or power. In terms of music or art, selling out is associated w ...

in Russian, similar to

thirty pieces of silver Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to the chief priests and agreed to hand ...

Preparation

The making of varenye requires a careful balance between cooking, or sometimes steeping in the hot sugar mixture for just enough time to allow the flavor to be extracted from the fruit, and sugar to penetrate the fruit, and cooking too long that fruit will break down and liquefy. Some fruits with tough skins require cooking for many hours, while others are suitable for making "five-minute varenye" (, ''varenye-pyatiminutka''). For the latter, dry sugar is spread over raw fruit in layers and left for several hours to steep into the fruit. The resulting mixture is then heated for just about five minutes. File:Glaswithvarenie.JPG,

Sour cherry ''Prunus cerasus'' (sour cherry, tart cherry, or dwarf cherry) is an Old World species of ''Prunus'' in the subgenus ''Prunus subg. Cerasus, Cerasus'' (cherries). It has two main groups of cultivars: the dark-red Morello cherry and the lighter- ...

varenye File:Peach muraba.jpg,

Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

varenye File:Blackberry muraba.jpg,

Blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

varenye File:Pine Cones Jam.jpg,

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

cone In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the '' apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines ...

varenye

Usage

Varenye is enjoyed as a dessert and condiment, in particular as a topping for pancakes (

bliny Blini (plural ''blinis'' or ''blini'', rarely ''bliny''; pl., Ukrainian: млинці pl., ''mlyntsi''), singular: blin, are an Eastern European crêpe made from various kinds of flour of buckwheat, wheat, etc. They may be served with smetana ...

oladyi Oladyi ( pl., diminutive: оладушки, ''oladushki'', sg. оладья, ''oladya'' , , ''oladky'') are small thick pancakes or fritters common in Russian and Ukrainian cuisines. The batter for oladyi is made from wheat or (nowadays more ...

syrniki Syrniki (; ; ) are fried Eastern Slavic quark (curd cheese) pancakes. They are a part of Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian (''biezpiena plācenīši'') and Lithuanian cuisine (''varškėčiai''). In Russia, they are also known as tvoro ...

), as a filling for pies (

pirog Pirog ( rus, пиро́г, p=pʲɪˈrok, a=Ru-пирог.ogg, links=yes; , , ; ; ; , ; , ; ; ) is a baked case of dough with either sweet or savory filling.Darra Goldstein. ''A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality'', "Russia ...

i and

pirozhki Pirozhki (, ; , ) are Russian baked or fried yeast-leavened boat-shaped buns with a variety of fillings. Pirozhki are a popular street food and comfort food. They are also popular in other countries. The word ''pirozhki'' is a diminutive of ...

), dumplings (

vareniki Pierogi ( ; ) are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a filling and cooked in boiling water. They are occasionally flavored with a savory or sweet garnish. Typical fillings include potato, cheese, quark, sauerkraut, g ...

), cakes and cookies, and as a sweetener for tea. It is also used as a

spread Spread may refer to: Places * Spread, West Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film. * ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers * "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...

on bread, though due to its liquid consistency it is not well suited for that. Finally, it is eaten on its own as a sweet.

Related specialties

The more general usage of the term varenye in Eastern Europe includes a number of related local specialties.

Raw varenye

In the preparation of "raw varenye" (, ') the heating is omitted completely. The recipes usually include grating of raw berries or other fruits and mixing them with sugar.

Dry varenye

In pre-revolutionary Russia, "dry varenye" (, '; , ') referred to a local variety of

candied fruit Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel (fruit), peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually Food preservation, preserves it. ...

s ( fruit confit) obtained by extracting fruits from varenye syrup and drying them.

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

(today the capital of Ukraine) was particularly famous for this delicacy,В. В. Похлёбкин, ''Большая энциклопедия кулинарного искусства'', статья
Варенье сухое (Киевское)
', изд. Центрполиграф, 2008, (

, ''The Great Encyclopedia of Culinary Art'', Centrpoligraf, 2008)Anne Volokh, ''The Art of Russian Cuisine'', Macmillan, 1983, p. 458 and it regained its popularity in the city in 2016.

Similar dishes

Similar sweets are also made in

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

and in some regions of Central and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

Asia, where they are called

murabba Murabba (from ) is a sweet fruit preserve which is popular in many regions of South Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. It is generally prepared with fruits, sugar, and spices. A similar dish to murabba ( spoon sweets) is al ...

. In Bulgarian,

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

, and

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

cuisines, these kinds of confections are called

slatko Slatko (; ; ; meaning "sweet") is a thin fruit preserve made of fruit or rose petals in Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Serbian cuisine. Almost any kind of fruit can be used, including wild strawberry, blueberry, plum or cherry. Traditions Traditio ...

, and in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, they are known as

spoon sweets Spoon sweets are sweet preserves, served in a spoon as a gesture of hospitality in Bosnia, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Kosovo, Cyprus, the Balkans, parts of the Middle East, and Russia. They can be made from almost any fruit, though sour a ...

. In

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

, they are referred to as

s or fruits

confit Confit (, ) (from the French language, French word ''wikt:confire#French, confire'', literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of food preservation, preservation. Confit, as a cooking term, ...

Notes

References

{{portal bar, Food Condiments Food ingredients Spreads (food) Food preservation Russian desserts Ukrainian desserts Belarusian desserts Azerbaijani desserts