Paska

Paska is a sweet Easter bread traditional in Ukraine and widespread across Eastern Europe. Made with butter, eggs and sugar, it also reached emigrant communities in North America, where it took on local variations.

History

Paska is tied to Easter in Eastern Christian traditions, with cultural links to the ancient Byzantine Empire. According to the sources, the oldest preserved Ukrainian recipe comes from a mid-18th-century collection gathered by Colonel Ivan Kuliabka of Lubny, which included spices such as saffron, cinnamon and ginger.

The name derives from the Greek word for Easter and passed into Russian. In some diaspora communities, paska refers to braided loaves, while tall breads resembling the Russian kulich are called baba or babka. Among Mennonite communities in North America, baking the bread was a ritual commemorating Christ's resurrection. From there, and through emigration from Eastern Europe, the custom reached the American Midwest, where the local version adds fresh cheese and egg yolk on top.

Culture

In Ukraine, on Holy Saturday, families fill their Easter basket (koshyk) with painted eggs, paska, sausage, butter and salt. After the morning liturgy, the blessed foods are shared at home. In the west, particularly in the Hutsul region, people walk around the house three times before entering to break the fast.

Modern paskas usually carry a white sugar and egg glaze, topped with coloured wheat grains or poppy seeds. An older custom, still kept in some regions and diaspora homes, decorates the dough with spring motifs such as birds, especially larks. It is eaten with hrudka or syrek, a bland sweet custard resembling cheese, beetroot mixed with horseradish, and sausage.