Hospitable hostess Paraska from the village of Kosmach told how to bake real Hutsul kulichs

Easter in 2022 is celebrated on April 24 by Orthodox Christians. In the last week of Lent, people observe centuries-old traditions and prepare for the Bright Easter holiday. There are many recipes for Easter cakes, but we must not forget that the kulich is only a symbol of the holiday, and it is much more important before Easter to devote time to prayers to the Lord. Today's edition. "Site" will tell about how the Easter cake is baked on the milk of the mistress Paraska in the Ukrainian village of Kosmach.



The village of Kosmach is one of the oldest settlements of the Hutsuls, the first written mention of the village dates back to 1412. The largest village in Ukraine is located in the Carpathians. The villagers still keep the traditions of folk art crafts. In almost every house, the family honors the traditions of their ancestors and is engaged in one of the crafts: weaving, painting pisanka, embroidery, wood carving, making folk musical instruments.

A resident of the village of Kosmach Paraska follows the Hutsul traditions of her family - she has been baking Easter cakes for 27 years. Baking cakes is always preceded by prayer. Although the hostess has an oven in the house, Kulichi Paraska always bakes in the oven. The whole family gathers in the kitchen to join the cause and help Paraska.



According to Ukrainian tradition, cakes are not covered with glaze. Instead, grandchildren and daughters-in-law make special decorations on Easter cakes out of dough. Each decoration has its own meaning. We will talk about this at the end of the article and leave a video where the hostess shares a family recipe for Easter cake. Now let's start cooking. Mrs. Paraska prepares a large batch of cakes for the whole family, if necessary, you can reduce the number of products by 2 times.



YouTube ingredients

• 4kg flour
• 2 liters of milk
• 1 kg of sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 70 ml of vegetable oil
• 5 eggs
• 20 yolks
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 150g pressed yeast
• 500g butter

Preparation

1. Homemade milk the hostess pours into a deep pan and brings to a boil. Paraska then adds 1 kg of sugar and stirs it until completely dissolved. Then salt and 50 ml of vegetable oil are added. Now the milk must be poured into a bowl and cooled.
   
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2. When the milk has cooled, and firewood begins to crackle in the oven, Paraska begins to mix the dough: the yeast must be dissolved in warm milk.
3. In a separate bowl, mix 5 eggs with protein and 20 egg yolks with vinegar and salt. Everything should be well whipped with a wreath and mix the egg mixture with milk.
4. Butter should be melted and added to milk. The flour is sifted and gradually mixed with liquid ingredients.
   
   
   
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5. Next, the hostess mixes the dough with her hands until the oil stops sticking to her hands. Parasca mixes the dough for 1 hour and leaves the dough in a warm place for 1.5 hours.
6. When the dough has come up, the hostess lubricates the molds for baking with lard, and the dough mixes and divides with her hands into portions.
   
   
   
   
7. Children help Paraska make jewelry for cakes. When the cakes are decorated, they should be left for another 30 minutes for the dough to rise.
8. Each kulich now needs to be crossed and sent to the oven for about an hour. The Kulichi this time at Paraski were famous!
   
   
   
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Be sure to watch the video in which Mrs. Paraska reveals the secrets of baking Easter Hutsul cakes. Subscribe to the channel “Our Besaghi – My recipes” to learn a lot of new and interesting about the recipes and traditions of Ukrainian housewives.

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In the Hutsul region, according to tradition, strangers should not be in the house. The thoughts of the hostess should be bright, you can not speak loudly while baking cookies. Often, the Hutsuls sing Ukrainian folk songs while cooking cakes with the whole family. Hutsul kulich differs from others in that it is not covered with glaze. Instead, it is customary to decorate pastries.

Paraska says there must be a cross on the bread because Christ is resurrected. Also, cakes are decorated with flowers from dough, cones, twigs and birds: “All living things rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the cuckoo brings the bright news that Christ is resurrected,” says Ms. Paraska.

During the war, it is especially important to remember your culture and cherish the traditions of your people. People who value their land, their traditions and try to protect themselves and their loved ones from the enemy are invincible. Throughout its history, Ukrainians have repeatedly fought for their independence and repeatedly proved that their will is invincible. May God protect us from evil and forgive us our sins. We wish all of us peace and a bright Easter, dear reader.