Kasha

This article is about the food. For other uses, see Kasha (disambiguation).
Kasha

Buckwheat kasha
Type Porridge
Main ingredients Cereal (buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, millet or rye)
Cookbook:Kasha  Kasha
Buckwheat grains
Lemon barley pilaf

Kasha is a term used in Central and Eastern Europe, especially Russia and Ukraine, and the United States for the pseudocereal buckwheat. The largest gross consumption per capita is in Russia 15 kg per year and Ukraine 12 kg per year.[1] The share of buckwheat in the total consumption of cereals in Russia is 20%.[2]

This English-language usage probably originated with Jewish immigrants, as did the form קאַשי "kashi" (technically plural, literally translated as "porridges").[3]

The word kasha was introduced into American English by Jewish immigrants and it generally refers to roasted whole-grain buckwheat of buckwheat groats. However, in Slavic Europe, it refers to porridge in general and can be made from buckwheat or any cereal wheat, barley, oats, millet and rye. At least 1,000 years old, kasha is one of the oldest known dishes in Central European and Eastern European cuisine.[4][5]

In Russian, buckwheat is referred to formally as гречиха (grechikha) and buckwheat grain and buckwheat groats as гречневая крупа (grechnevaya krupa). Informally buckwheat grain and buckwheat groats are called гречка (grechka), and the porridge made from buckwheat groats is known as гречневая каша (grechnevaya kasha). In Polish, buckwheat porridge is referred to as kasza gryczana. Annual (2013) per capita consumption of groats in Poland ca. 1,56 kg per year (0,13 kg in a month).[6]

In Russian culture

Kasha is commemorated in the Russian saying "щи да каша – пища наша" (shchi da kasha – pishcha nasha) literally "shchi and kasha are our food" or, more loosely, "cabbage soup and porridge are all we need to live on".

In Jewish culture

As an Ashkenazi-Jewish comfort food, kasha is often served with onions and brown gravy on top of bow tie pasta, known as Kashe varnishkes (or Kasha varnishkas).[7] Kasha is a popular filling for knishes[8] and is sometimes included in matzah-ball soup.

See also

References

Look up kasha in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ↑ No 8 [008] 26 жовтня, 2007; [www.agro-business.com.ua/.../1655-2013-06-25-11]
  2. ↑ Russian Market of Buckwheat in 2009 - September 2010
  3. ↑ Steinmetz, Sol. Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms. p. 42. ISBN 0-7425-4387-0.
  4. ↑ Molokhovets, Elena (1998). Classic Russian Cooking. Indiana University Press. p. 331.
  5. ↑ http://www.lesliebeck.com/ingredients/kasha
  6. ↑ Biuletyn Informacyjny ARR 4/2013, Handel Wewnętrzny 4/2013 IBRKK
  7. ↑ "Le Cordon Jew". May 22, 2008. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  8. ↑ . Retrieved May 30, 2007.