26 Comments
It feels so weird to translate каша as porridge, not just as kasha 8-o lol
Short answer: honestly, I don't know, which is why I haven't been reporting it and have been trying to train myself to use cereal or porridge instead :-/
In my experience, kasha Russian style is really not exactly synonymous with porridge or cereal, but I don't know if it's actually a common enough word for English speakers to make it a valid translation...? And porridge is probably the closest widespread English word that covers similar ground to kasha, and definitely what we call porridge generally would fit within the wider meaning of what would be called kasha.
Most English speakers would see porridge and think quite narrowly of oats, possibly cooked with milk, eaten for breakfast, but if you cooked buckwheat and call it buckwheat porridge people would know what it meant.
I think probably the only people I personally know who would use kasha in English are either Eastern Europeans, study(ied) a Slavic language, or picked it up from someone who fits in one or other of those categories.
I guess you could argue that anyone who knows to translate it as kasha will know it well enough to recognise it as a type of porridge, so you're not going to be teaching anyone 'wrong' by making it an acceptable translation? I guess that's a judgement call.
Yeah, the short answer is really that I don't know, which is unhelpful but sadly truthful. Sorry. I won't complain if you start allowing it ;-p but in the meantime I'm trying to retrain my fingers to see каша and write porridge ;-)
I'm waffling! ... and now I've made myself hungry!
I would definitely allow it. I sometimes see kasha at American supermarkets here in Boston. Mostly very metropolitan or very Slavic people would use it though (not that the two are by any means exclusive) seeing as it isn't a very popular food.
It's definitely my first choice for the translation (and in the US, "porridge" is a rarely-used word outside of fairy tales - I've been feeling kind of weird using that.)
yeah, in America "oatmeal" is a common new type of porridge, people only really eat oatmeal which is usually cooked with water or milk and commonly sweet. "oatmeal" is already accepted as an answer, but if it isnt the 'oatmeal' we know in America, we should treat this word like "borsch" and only accept kasha so people google the food and learn what it is
1109
People in the US understand that "hot cereal" refers to any cooked-grain meal. However, in the US for many years, there were only a few types of such cereals: oatmeal (cooked oats), grits (cooked processed corn), and Cream of Wheat (a processed wheat cereal). But then other combinations of grains started appearing, but I think those are largely referred to simply as "hot cereal".
So, it's time for a new word to cover the things that aren't the three I listed above, and Kasha sounds like it's the perfect choice.
I've seen kasha sometimes in English translations of Russian books. I'd say it should be accepted.
I don't think kasha would generally be translated as porridge, which as said, is to the anglophonic mind quite narrowly oats cooked in milk (or sometimes water, but usually milk). I do notice upon checking that GT translates it that way, though.
Since it's a close equivalent, I'd still accept porridge, but perhaps not as a best translation, since it creates a response of "But this is not kasha" / "But this is not porridge"
I'd certainly suggest accepting kasha since we don't really have an exact name for that dish. We have things like buckwheat / pearl barley and so forth, but "we" tend to use them to bulk out soups rather than as a dish alone - seeing them more as an ingredient than something to be eaten as a meal.
I'd also suggest accepting kasha as per general good practice when not having an extant translation / cultural presence of the thing in question, outside from as a cultural import that kept its name.
For example, in English we say "omelette" / "omelet", not "pancake", since an omelette is not a pancake; it's just that they look a bit like each other and have similar ingredients.
Most on topic regards kasha itself, if it's of any value as an international standard, the EN wiki article about kasha just calls it kasha:
I think you should. The word kasha is not a super-common English word, but it definitely has a life of its own!
Is it just a coincidence that каша is very similar to "gachas", Spanish for porridge (oat grains and milk)?
Living in the USA, I see that "каша" is normally called hot cereal opposed to "хлопья" - cereal. There are some brands that call buckwheat "Kasha". Porridge is never used in American English. It belongs in Britain.
As a Polishman, I don't even see much similarity between what I understand as porridge (owsianka = овсянка) and kasza, and my first thought when I hear 'kasza', as the most popular (I think) type of kasza in Poland is kasza gryczana - гречневая каша... Овсянка is something I'd eat for breakfast (as the only thing for breakfast) and каша as one of the things on my plate during the second course of the lunch/dinner... does this sound 'familiar' for any Russians?
I'm not Russian, but my impression is that both овсянка and гречка are каша. In my Russian cookbooks, I also see "rice pudding" (rice cooked in milk with sugar) labeled as каша, as well as corn, wheat, and barley-based dishes. I agree with the others who have said that in American English, "porridge" is what people eat in fairy tales. We usually call each dish after the ingredients, like "oatmeal", "cream of wheat", "rice pudding"... although, I think that savory (not sweet) каша of all types is often called "pilaf". I would just use "kasha" as the translation for каша. (Thanks to the Russian language developers for all their work and for asking about this.)
The course is made for the American English speakers, and there's a term for "каша" - "hot cereal".
That works for the breakfast portion of the definition but not the savory portion of the definition. At least, when eating buckwheat with dinner, I would never say, "Oh, I put too much salt in this hot cereal."
When you cook pilaf than there's a name in Russian for it - "плов", another common name for savory side - "гарнир". Nobody calls it "каша" then.
We usually do not call pilaf каша. Maybe you can say it is one in a purely descriptive sense, i.e. same as "a candy cane is a candy" and "a Big Mac is a sandwich". For example, when trying to explain it to a person who does not know what it is. Even then I would prefer to say that pilaf is just "rice with some spices and often meat".
A typical каша is mostly grains boiled in water or milk. How much liquid? Well, I know how I distinguish different concentrations for rice (which can be just rice or it can be каша). If it is sticky and the water has been absorbed—it's no каша. If it is still wet and squishy, I would call it a каша. Same with buckwheat.
You are sure that no one calls buckwheat каша? Or barley? So, this isn't каша then? http://www.videoculinary.ru/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/grechnevaya-kasha-s-myasom-po-uzbekski-ili_final-1024x576.jpg Or this? http://www.legkogotovit.com/downloads/image/57/orig/kasha_2.jpg I think you are mistaken. However, I'm not a native Russian speaker, so I'll let the moderators answer this.
каша is used for porridge like things in Russian even though гречка is considered каша. It is kind of confusing for non-Russians when they first encounter this. Buckwheat the way it is served in Russian cuisine is more akin to rice or couscous like any other staple that's not soft and moist.
I have no idea what porridge is, other than that awful stuff described in Charles Dicken's novel. "Please sir. May I have some more?" I hope каша is better than that. From what others have written here, I suppose it is some sort of hot cereal. In this part of the world, I have never seen any kind hot cereal other than grits.
Каша is an umbrella term for hot meals made of cooked grains (flakes or not). Usually it is mostly grains (i.e. you might have oatmeal with pieces of dried fruit, potato chips and nuts but that is not a typical kind of каша)
What part of the world are you from? If you happened to live in the USA you will find rolled oats, cream of wheat in every store, if you look in some specialized stores you will be lucky to find millet and buckwheat. All these could be used to make a hot cereal for breakfast. I heard of grits but as all the corn is GMO I never buy it.
- 1109
Wiktionary also defines Каша as "3. mess, chaos" Sound colloquial, but there it is. Такая каша!!!
