Udmurt Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Udmurt Federal Research Center, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Izhevsk, Russian Federation, elvpopova@yandex.ru
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article examines dishes with the blood of domestic animals and poultry in the structure of traditional and modern, everyday and ritual cuisine of the Udmurt people of different local groups and the Besermians. The study provides cooking technologies and
local features: soups and porridges, blood casseroles with cereals and vegetables, bread and pastries with blood, blood dumplings for soups and blood sausages. The article considers the ritual purpose of such dishes, their inclusion in modern ethnocultural projects and restaurant menus.
Objective: to identify the local features of dishes using the blood of domestic animals and birds in the cuisine of the Udmurt and Besermyan peoples, including their ritual purpose.
Research materials: field ethnographic materials, written sources, culinary publications, photos and videos.
Results and novelty of the research: based on a wide range of ethnographic material and a corpus of folklore and linguistic sources, local variants and technologies for cooking 21 dishes using the blood of domestic animals and birds (soups, porridges, casseroles, sausages,
bread, bakery products) have been identified and described for the first time. Such dishes predominate in the cuisine of the Southern Udmurt people, there are fewer of them in the Northern Udmurt and Besermyan peoples. The study confirms the earlier assumption that some dishes entered the cuisine of the Southern Udmurts as a result of early contacts with the Turkic peoples (Tatars and Bashkirs). Blood is perceived as a product with high taste and value characteristics. The dishes retain traditional cooking and baking technologies, which is reflected in their names. The blood in the ritual dishes symbolized the integrity of the victim, and common meals had the character of guest visits. Dishes with blood are gradually disappearing from the diet, but today they are included in the menu of Udmurt cuisine restaurants and are presented as important dishes of national cuisine.
Key words: blood dishes, black pudding, blood sausage, food heritage, food culture, folk cuisine, gastronomic tourism, Finno-Ugric peoples, Udmurts, Besermyans
For citation: Popova E. V. Dishes with blood in Udmurt and Besermyan folk cuisine: local variants and cooking features // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2026; 16 (2/65): 321–333. DOI: 10.30624/2220-4156-2026-16-2-321-333