Italian University of Gastronomic Sciences and the international organization Slow Food have collaborated to release the “Ark of Taste. Ukraine” atlas, featuring 85 traditional products, animals, and dishes of Ukraine. The atlas includes information about their regional features, connection with the biocultural space, ways of application or preparation.
The Red Book of Food
“The Ark of Taste” is a food initiative that aims to help small-scale industries that are threatened by industrial agriculture and environmental degradation. The project’s scientific commission finds and registers rare but with sufficient potential products, plants, and animal breeds. This way, “The Ark of Taste” preserves local culinary traditions and cultures that are on the verge of extinction.
The “Ark of Taste” is guided by unique criteria, including taste, territorial connection, traditional production, non-industrial nature, and the risk of extinction. This project seeks to promote and support traditional culinary techniques and local flavors, bringing attention to the need to preserve them.
Preserving traditions
The Ukrainian “Ark of Taste” atlas features many traditional dishes, including Lviv cheesecake, uzvar, Easter cake, gayoshi, shkvar pogachi or Yavoriv pie. The atlas offers recipes, ways of preparation, and regional features. This helps to spread knowledge about Ukrainian culinary culture while preserving its traditions.
Global Initiative
The “Ark of Taste” project started in 1996, and to date, eight other atlases have been published, showcasing traditional foods from Albania, Brazil, Estonia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, and Tanzania. The ninth, the Ukrainian atlas, continues to help preserve and promote traditional culinary techniques and flavors.
“The Ark of Taste” is a significant global initiative aimed at preserving traditional culinary techniques and flavors from around the world. The Ukrainian atlas “Ark of Taste”, featuring astonishing variety of traditional products, animals, and dishes unique to Ukraine, is an exciting addition to the project.
