Kholodets

The story

Kholodets is meat set in its own jelly: pork trotters, beef or chicken simmered for hours until the broth is thick with natural gelatin, then poured over the picked meat and chilled until firm. Ukrainians make it for many occasions. The Vikna news site notes that it is eaten on holidays and ordinary days alike and is a fixture of the New Year table, and its Easter roundup lists kholodets among the meat dishes that fill the table after Lent, together with homemade sausage and roast pork. Because it needs a long simmer and a night in the cold, it is made ahead, which suits the holiday; in 2027 Ukrainian Easter falls on Sunday, May 2. The classic recipe uses no gelatin. Vikna's writers explain that cooks once always used a fatty homemade chicken, while store-bought meat gives a thinner broth that needs a little gelatin. The cooking desk at 24 Kanal recommends trotters, tails or knuckles and a simmer of six to eight hours with no water added along the way. Make it a day or two before Easter and serve it cold with horseradish and mustard.