Bierock
Bierock is a yeast dough pastry pocket sandwich with savory filling,[1] originating in Eastern Europe, possibly in Russia. The dish is common among the Volga German community in the United States and Argentina. It was brought to the United States in the 1870s by German Russian Mennonite immigrants.[2] Other spellings are bieroch, beerock, berrock, bierox, beerrock and kraut bierock in the U.S, and pirok or kraut pirok in Argentina.
Type | Sandwich |
---|---|
Place of origin | Eastern Europe |
Bierock is filled with cooked and seasoned ground beef, shredded cabbage[1] and onions, then oven baked until the dough is golden brown. Some variants include grated carrots.
Bierock is similar to both pirogi/pirozhki of Russian cuisine and börek of Turkish cuisine. There is debate about the actual etymology of the word bierock. Traditionally it was supposed that bierock was derived from the Russian word pirog.[3][4][5] However, a recent theory speculates that the word bierock may be derived from börek.[6] This theory is based on both geographic close proximity of the former Volga German ASSR to present day Kazakhstan as well as the influence of considerable population of historically Turkic speaking peoples such as Kazakhs and Tatars living in the Volga region.[7] Neither theory, however, has been conclusively proven.
In Argentina, the Fiesta del Pirok (Bierock Festival) takes place every July, in Crespo, Entre Ríos Province.[8]
See also
References
- Jakle, J.A.; Sculle, K.A. (2002). Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. The road and American culture. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-8018-6920-4. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- Rees, Amanda (2004). The Great Plains region. Greenwood encyclopedia of American regional cultures. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 253. ISBN 0-313-32733-5.
- Andrew F. Smith (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. p. 48. ISBN 9780195307962.
- Timothy J. Kloberdanz (1988). "Symbols of German-Russian Ethnic Identity on the Northern Plains". Great Plains Quarterly. Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 8: 13.
- Timothy J. Kloberdanz; Rosalinda Kloberdanz (1993). Thunder on the Steppe: Volga German Folklife in a Changing Russia. American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.
- "You Say Purek, I Say Beerock". latimes. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- "Turkic words in Russian". Languages Of The World. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- Secretary of Tourism of Argentina