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A knish or knysh ( or , ) is a traditional food of Eastern European origin, characteristic of Ukrainian and Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. It typically consists of a filling covered with dough that is baking or sometimes deep frying.
In most traditional versions, the filling is made entirely of mashed potato, kasha (buckwheat groats), or cheese. Other varieties of fillings include beef, chicken, sweet potatoes, black beans, or spinach.
Knishes may be round, rectangular, or square. They may be entirely covered in dough, or some filling may peek out of the top. Sizes range from those that can be eaten in a single bite hors d'oeuvre to sandwich-sized.
The traditional Ukrainian knysh could be made both with and without a filling. In Volhynia, a special kind of knysh would be baked before Christmas and decorated with crosses or other symbolic figures, playing an important part in festivities. On Christmas Eve, a knysh was used to meet the guests and accompanied kutia, the traditional festive food. One or several knyshes would be put near a didukh, where they remained for two weeks until the end of the holidays. During Epiphany, it would be used as an attribute of the blessing ceremony by the head of the household. Afterward, a knysh would be given to a priest or shared between the family, with the crust being fed to a cow or other household animals, as it was considered to possess its own "soul". In parts of Ukraine, knyshes would also be baked in memory of a deceased person and brought to churches during wake ceremonies, as well as on memorial days. Small varieties of knysh made from sweet dough would also be given to children singing carols (shchedrivky) on New Year's Eve.
In Eastern Galicia, knysh was a daily food of the local population and could have various fillings, such as cabbage and potatoes. Among Boykos from the Carpathian region, knyshes with boiled potato, buckwheat, or cheese were widespread and are still cooked in some places. In Hutsul territories, knyshes without filling were used during confession and on Christmas Eve, meanwhile filled ones would be consumed as ordinary food. In the Ukrainian part of Polesia, knyshes could be baked without a filling or stuffed with various ingredients such as onions, dill, cheese, salo, apples, pears, berries, and poppy seeds. In Chernihiv oblast, knyshes were traditionally baked with hemp seeds. In Dnieper Ukraine, a specialty known as knysh was more similar to a pancake. In modern-day Poltava oblast during the early 19th century, knyshes were baked from rye and buckwheat dough with an addition of pork lard. There and in nearby Chernihiv oblast, knyshes were baked by unmarried girls before the New Year and would be used during a ritual of searching for a potential husband.
The first knish bakery in America was founded in New York City in 1910. Generally recognized as a food made popular in New York City by Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century, the United States underwent a knish renaissance in the 2000s driven by knish specialty establishments such as Knishes and Dishes in Philadelphia, the Knish Shop in Baltimore, Maryland, Buffalo and Bergen in Washington, DC, or My Mother's Knish, in Westlake Village, California.
In the 20th century, New York City and state politicians portrayed themselves eating knishes to show solidarity with Jewish working-class people. The trend declined after suburbanization and the policies of Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani that restricted the sale of knishes from food carts.
Knishes are often purchased from in urban areas with a large Jewish population, sometimes at a hot dog stand, or from a butcher shop. They are still strongly associated with New York City cuisine.
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