NORKA
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Traditions > Food and Drink

Food and Drink

One of the strongest connections to our family history is through foods. A taste of a food that our grandmothers made can instantly transport us back to our childhood. 

The colonists in Norka largely continued the food traditions of their ancestors. Over time, influences from ethnic Russian foods and the availability of local agricultural products modified their diets. These adopted foods, such as Kraut Kuche or Bierock, have in many cases become traditional for the Volga Germans.

Listed below are some of the foods and drinks that were commonly made by those living in Norka and their descendants now living around the globe.

Main Dishes (Broda)

  • Kraut Kuche or Kraut Bierock (a form of pirog)
  • Kartoffelklösse (potato dumplings)
  • Butter Klösse (butter balls or dumplings)
  • Erdbeerklöße (strawberry dumplings)
  • Wurst (sausages)
  • Gebackenes Hühnchen (baked chicken)
  • Schinken (ham)

Soups (Suppe)

  • Schnitzsuppe (dried fruit soup)
  • Nudelsuppe (noodle soup)
  • ​Grün Bohne Suppe (green bean soup)
  • Kartoffel Suppe (potato soup)

Salads (Salat)

  • Sauerkraut (pickled cabbage)

Breads (Brot)

  • Roggen Brot​ (rye bread)

Beverages (Getränke)

  • Tee (tea) - Most homes had a samovar which was used to heat and boil water.
  • Kaffee (coffee)
  • Bier (beer)
  • Wein (wine)
  • ​Schnapps (distilled alcohol flavored with fruit)

Desserts

  • Krebbel (a fried pastry)
  • Riwwelkuchen
  • Pfefferkuchen
  • Schicht kuchen (Napoleons)
  • Brenich (a holiday shortbread cookie also known as Springerle)
Contact us to share your favorite family recipes.

Our three children grew up with Volga German foods, not only the goodies their Grandma Mollie made but those from our own kitchen, as well. I still make my grandma's rye bread, Riwwelkuchen, Grebbel, and Bierok (also known as Kraut Kuchen, but we called them "Beer Hogs" as kids because we couldn't say Bierok!)
 
For our kids, now grown with families of their own, it just isn't Christmas without homemade German noodle soup and butter glace. Again, when we were little, my sister and I "Americanized" the word butter glace. In our family, it's noodle soup and butterballs. Our oldest son is such a fan of this soup that his siblings and two young daughters affectionately call him "Buttergut" at Christmas time. 
 
And the traditions live on!

Courtesy of Vickie Willman Burns

Sources

Dalhaimer Bartkowski, Anna. Value Meals on the Volga: Sharing Our Heritage with New Generations: Eating Traditions from Mariental, Russia. N.p.: Infinite Adventure, 2006. Print.

Long, James. From Privileged to Dispossessed. Lincoln, Nebraska: U of Nebraska, 1988. 264. Print.

Küche Kochen. Lincoln, Nebraska: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1973. Print.

The German Kitchen. Portland, Oregon: Brethren Congregational Church, 1961. Print.
Last updated July 27, 2017.
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About
    • Reviews
    • Contact
  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johann Baptist Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • Weddings
      • Communion
      • Prayers
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
      • Sonntagsblatt der Omaha Tribune
    • Related Links