Everyday Dishes from Corn Flour and Groats in the Nutrition of Ukrainians of East Podolian Prydnistrovia in the Late 19th – Early 21st Centuries

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The article is devoted to the consideration of an integral component of the traditional daily ration of Ukrainians of East PodolianPrydnistrovia – dishes from corn flour and grits, known as a mandatory food for every day during the late 19th – mid 20th centuries, and some of them (for food variety) are still cooked. The work is based on the analysis of ethnographic works, published sources and the corpus of own field materials (interviews with respondents), recorded during the expeditions to the border settlements of Vinnytsia and the north of Odesa regions in 2013–2016. The author is describing the features of cooking the most common corn products – mamalyha and malai. The gastronomic difficulties of life support under extreme circumstances are considered partially. In particular, attention is focused on the consumption in the region of baderevka and badevka, those are rather modest in terms of nutrition boiled liquid soups with corn flour, and which saved Ukrainians during the difficult times of the post-war famine of 1946–1947. The materials of the conducted research have made it possible to confirm the generalizations of ethnologists-researchers of the Ukrainian-Moldovan borderlands and our preliminary conclusions (based on the study of other components of the life-support system) that in the space of the ethno-contact zone (in particular, in the Transdnistrian territories of Eastern Podillia) a typical ethno-specific food complex partially loses its differentiating function and acquires a special format that combines similar or jointly created ethnocultural practices of both Ukrainians and Moldovans. The analysis of the author’s expedition materials, in addition to the factual disclosure of the subject, also serves as a basis for the spatial characterization of the names and realities of this block of ethnoculture, visualized with the help of a special map scheme introduced into scientific circulation. The concluding remarks outline the prospects for implementing the results for modern cultural preservation practices, primarily in the Vinnytsia and Odesa regions.