With another day in Ukraine ahead of me, I set out at 9 a.m. to explore one of its incredible traditional markets. Come with me as I try lots of unique Ukrainian street food while I explore the historical Privoz Market in Odessa, Ukraine!
the market is the oldest open-air market in Odessa and dates back to 1827. My guide Natasha from Tours by Locals told me it was made up of indoor and outdoor areas, including three buildings.
We walked through a covered part and into an open-air market area where there were vendors selling sandals, glasses, fresh donuts, baklava, and more. I started with a glazed donut stuffed with a creamy marmalade.
Then, I visited a vendor selling knives and a woman selling raw chicken, organs, chicken thighs, and more.
Then, we entered the meat building of Privoz Market, where there were tons of butchers selling pork, beef, lamb, and more. I could see full animal carcasses and more. I loved watching the butchers break down and carve the meat! I saw another woman selling pork, including pig heads and salo, which is pork lard. She gave me some salo as a gift!
From the butcher building, we headed into a building where Privoz Market vendors sold mostly cheese, other dairy, pastries, and salami. Next to the bread were mountains of cottage cheese!
The cheese was amazing. She even gave me some for free to take with me. Then, I tried a bite of the Pagach bread, which was stuffed with cabbage.
The woman’s sister next door makes a cheesecake with raisins called Syrnyi Pyrih. Next, I saw another woman selling lots of cakes!
She gave me a delicious fruitcake called perekladanets, which had a cookie crust and cream, as well as tiramisu. Then, I saw some flatbread similar to Armenian lavash, as well as string cheese and flavored cheeses.
I tried some dense, fresh cheese with dill at another vendor, as well as a smoky, dense string cheese. They kept feeding me more!
As we continued exploring Privoz Market, we came across a woman selling tons of sausages. Some were pork with paprika, spicy beef pastirma, and a smoky horse sausage called Mahan! I followed that with salo with garlic.
Next were salo with pepper, salo with garlic and pepper, salo with beef, and delicious ham. I was so full! Then, I tried some thick, floral honey and honeycomb from a vendor selling 6 varieties and honey vodka!
Outside, we came across the market, where we got some coffee and water. All of the clothing here is new. There was also a guy selling wood crafts, including utensils and maces, as well as hats and embroidered cloth.
Then, we found a guy who grinds, mixes, and sells spices. It was so aromatic and reminded me of Morocco. Next, I met a man who sharpens knives in his stall. He cut a newspaper with it and some hair off of his arm! He gave me a knife as a gift!
Then, I found the produce area of Privoz Market, where I saw some Georgian candy called churchkhela, dried fruits, walnuts, and more. She let me try dried apricot! After that, we met a guy selling fresh pomegranate, grapefruit, and orange juices and a woman selling fruit plants.
Further on, I tried some sweet strawberries from the southern part of Ukraine and kvass, a non-alcoholic drink made from rye bread. It was dark, bubbly, and refreshing.
We continued down a tight alley to the fish market, where we saw smoked, raw, and frozen fish. I saw sturgeon, shrimp, salted fish, and live river and lake crayfish in covered baskets!
Finally, I finished with a small glass of red wine for 6 hryvnia/$0.22 USD and some dry white wine. The white was fruity and felt bubbly like champagne!
I hope you liked coming with me to have Ukrainian street food in Privoz Market in Odessa, Ukraine! If you did, please give this video a thumbs up and leave a comment below. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell so you don’t miss any of my travel/food adventures around the world!
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