Kutia is a traditional Ukrainian sweet pudding made with wheat berries, poppy seeds, honey, and salt, and is served hot or chilled. It is part of the Christmas Eve menu and has variations in ingredients. It is the first course of a vegetarian meal and has symbolic meanings. Some customs surrounding it are not religious.
Kutia is a traditional sweet grainy Ukrainian pudding. It is an important part of the traditional Christmas Eve menu in Ukraine and for some Ukrainian origins in other countries. The ingredients may vary slightly but always include wheat berries, poppy seeds, honey and salt. Kutia is also a traditional Christmas food in parts of Poland, where it is called kutia wigilijna or Christmas Eve kutia. An alternative spelling is “kutya”.
The dish resembles cereal porridge or soup and is served hot or chilled to room temperature. Dried wheat berries are simmered for several hours in water with a little salt until soft but not falling apart. Poppy seeds and honey are added to the berries after cooking is complete. Sometimes poppy seeds are soaked or boiled and then ground, but in many versions of the dish, they are left whole. Modernized recipes are sometimes cooked after the cooked wheat berries have been mixed with the other ingredients.
Over the years, and as Ukrainians and those of Polish descent have moved to other parts of the world, the variations in kutia ingredients have become numerous. Some common additions include raisins or currants, almonds, pecans or other nuts, cinnamon, and sugar. Polish recipes often included alcohol, usually spirits, and modern variations sometimes call for rum or other spirits. Other possible additions include figs, dates, vanilla, lemon zest and chopped apple. The milk or cream is sometimes replaced with some of the water.
In Ukrainian and Polish traditions, kutia is the first course of a vegetarian meal on Christmas Eve. This meal traditionally begins after the children of the house have sighted the evening’s first star and comprises 12 courses, many of which have symbolic meanings. The wheat in kutia represents the staff of life while the honey is symbolic of the spirit of Christ.
Kutia is an ancient dish and some customs surrounding it are not religious. One tradition, which appears to be dying out, was for Ukrainian families to throw portions of grain onto the ceiling during Christmas Eve celebrations. The amount of grain attached to the ceiling was said to correspond to the good fortune the family would experience in the coming year. Some Ukrainian families placed a plate of kutia and a lit candle on a windowsill on Christmas Eve in honor of their ancestors or, after World War I, those soldiers who died fighting for Ukrainian independence in 1918.
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