Catherine the Great & the Volga Germans

"What do Catherine the Great and the State of Kansas have in common?” - I assumed she had a wayward son that carried on.

So, I didn't know what this was until you said "cabbage burger," and then a flood of childhood memories came flooding in. My adoptive family are Volga German-Americans, and every year we had two big family get-togethers: one on or around the 4th of July and one over New Years. All the moms, grandmas, and aunts would gather in the kitchen and craft the most wonderful food, and among them would be cabbage burgers. I can still taste them to this day despite not having eaten one for for nearly twenty years. I'll have to pull out the family cook book and make some!

When you asked, “What does Catherine the Great and Kansas have in common?” I was (internally) jumping up and down and raising my hand high!!! Volga Germans! My people! Thanks so much for an excellent overview of their history! And I agree, Bierocks are excellent!

My mom made these. Her parents were Volga Germans. I don't think she used any sauerkraut and instead of putting the mustard in the rolls, we dipped them in mustard as we ate them. She called them cabbage pockets.

I love how this is a history channel disguised (very competently) as a cooking channel.

“What do Catherine the Great and the State of Kansas have in common?” - You know this is going to be a fun adventure which is like a Tuesday on this channel lmao

Volga Germans descendant here! 🙌🏻 From the ones that settled in Argentina. We call these Pirok, and boy, oh boy, are they a trademark of my family's cuisine. Eating this meal immediately throws me back decades to my childhood. Thank you for making this video. :')

I was born in Kansas, and grew up on these. Wonderfully they freeze well once baked. I’m an old man and live alone. I usually make batches of 24, eat a few and freeze the balance for a quick microwave meal. And yes, I’m of German descent.

I am screaming with joy. I am a Volga German from Kansas and Nebraska where they are called Runzas. Thank you for honoring the overlooked foods of the heartland. Love you.

Max voraciously eating a childhood comfort food is such a mood

My family are Black Sea Germans (the western brothers of the Volga Germans) and I just want to say thank you for sharing the history of my people so well.

I am soooo excited to have found your video! My father is 100% Volga-German, born and bred in Kansas, and even though I know the history and have eaten the food, it's so exciting to see someone else talk about it! Thanks for promoting our ethnicity 😊

"I could eat all of these. Not in one sitting... but in two!" "I might eat all of them - don't judge me." So relatable! And the best endorsement of a recipe I've ever heard.

Dear Max, I'm writing to say "You nailed it!!!" Thanks for doing a video on my people. We call ourselves Germans from Russia. My grandparents immigrated from Russia in 1905 and settled in Colorado to farm. Both my parents, though born in Colorado, spoke German as their first language. My father was in the Military Police in the US Army during WWII because he was English-German bilingual. I grew up in California but remember the best days were when my mom made Kraut Burgers for dinner. It was quite an undetaking because she started by making the dough. My dad did not like caraway seeds so asked that she leave those out. She did not use sauerkraut either but just cabbage, onions and meat She rolled out the dough just like you did but brought four corners up over the mixture and pinched them together. Looked like X on top. My husband, a history PhD, and I love your show and watch it all the time. You are a delight. You really brought the past alive for me today!

I am a Volga German from Russia, but now from Switzerland :) it was a great episode, thank you for reviewing part of the story and a great recipe)😅

Many Volga Germans also settled in North Dakota. Prairie Public, the PBS station in North Dakota, has a series called, "The Germans from Russia". Episodes cover their history, culture, customs and their food. It's quite interesting to watch and learn. Also, I believe that North Dakota State University in Fargo has a museum and archives devoted to them.

Oh shit, I am Volga German! Never would‘ve expected an episode on us! In a book detailing our family history, we have quite a large section on Catherine the Great and her part in us coming to Russia

Fun fact: There's an entire town in Kansas named after Catherine the Great called "Catharine". Volga German immigrants founded and settled Catharine in April 1876, naming it after Katharinenstadt, the town they came from in Russia. Katharinenstadt was the economic center of the German colonies in Russia, and home to many Roman Catholics.

Fresno , California is another city that many Volga river Germans settled in. When i was a kid my grandma Mary and her sisters would get together once, sometimes twice a year and make beerok and verinika from scratch. It was a three day process and the smells that my grandma Mary's kitchen produced were ftom heaven! They made and rolled all the dough by hand, cooked the roast, cabbage and onions, ( over here making with sauerkraut is thankfully unknown) (also brushed with egg yolk at the end gives them a much nicer color ) potatoes and apples for verinik, and usually snickerdoodle cookies as well, if it was late in the year they would make "Russian " wedding cookies which were balls of unsweetened dough with powdered sugar and walnuts. Their beerok were the BEST on this planet, sadly they are all gone now. That entire generation is mostly gone, aside from one of my grandmas sisters who is still alive ! I remembery great Grandma didnt speak English , so when we went to visit they would have to tell her in German what we were talking about. Fresno has a chapter of American Historical Society of Germans from Russia as well. Locally there is a girl on facebook who makes and sells very good and authentic beerok , the Edison Social Club used to make them twice a year but stupid covid ruined that, and theyre all getting up in age so ... Fresno is also famous for its German sausage that is made locally. The entire rest of the state , doesnt even know what beerok are , like when i lived in Ft Lauderdale for a while, nobody knew what these delicious foods were. I remember Christmas would be beerok , potato salad, verinik, various cold cuts snd cheeses, piles of German and Italian sausage (for the few Italians in the family ) and of course the most delicious cake on earth ,kuga. Kuga is a coffee type cake with apple, apricot, peach or raspberry/struedahl topping. Thankfully you can still find German sausage ,Kuga and beerok locally, but none of it is as good as grandma Mary and the Fries , Weisbrodt and Pierini clan made each year .

We have a Community cookbook with a receipe that literally lists "a pinch of this" and "a pinch of that" listed as ingredients.