The Snickers Aesthetic

First things first: I am required to let y'all know that, "the content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Ukrainian Government.” Also, while I am discussing brand-name products and stores in this entry, this does not constitute any endorsement of these products or businesses. 

Ukraine has a thing for Snickers.


The well-known candy bar can be found virtually anywhere: grocery store checkout lines, bulk sweets sections, gas stations, street kiosks, train stations, bus stops... pretty much anywhere. It comes in the original flavor, as well as the hazelnut version and the white chocolate version.

Hey look! A white chocolate Snickers! 

You can buy the fun-size, the regular size, or the giant "batonchyk" that includes three bars. But the ubiquity of Snickers here goes far beyond the simple preponderance of Snickers candy bars. In Ukraine, Snickers is an aesthetic. It is as though some quintessential Snickersness exists in the realm of Forms, along with Justice and Love and other such Platonic ideals, and various desserts strive in their own way to attain it. One does not necessarily have to be a Snickers bar to embody Snickers - at least in Ukraine.

Defining the Snickers Aesthetic
A Snickers bar is essentially nougat topped with caramel and chopped peanuts, coated in chocolate. When manifested in other forms, the most commonly expressed components of the Snickers Aesthetic are the chocolate and the chopped nuts. However, more thorough attention to Snickersness also attends to the nougat, the caramel, and the overall structure and balance of these elements.

Measuring Up: Striving for Snickersness
I live in a mid-size city not exactly known for its cuisine, yet there is a plethora of Snickers-themed desserts here. I made it my mission to find and try them all, and to figure out which ones most closely embody the Snickers bar. Or perhaps, Snickersness transcends the candy bar itself, and there is some secret to understanding Snickers to which these desserts hold the key. After all, the majority of Snickers-themed desserts do not actually contain Snickers bars. Assuming a true ideal of Snickersness exists, how do these desserts measure up? What is the essence of Snickers?

The Disappointing: Snickers Cake 1

The first Snickers cake I tried is sold in the two main grocery chains here: Cilpo and Delikat. It possesses two of the core components of the Snickers Aesthetic: chocolate, and chopped nuts. The caramel appears to be represented by the strange orangey-colored cake, which tastes strongly of molasses and is slightly bitter. Even the most abstract representation of nougat, however, is absent. I asked to buy 100 grams of this cake, but the woman in the bakery department protested that that was an inconveniently small amount to buy, so I got stuck with 200 grams. It took me two days to finish eating my giant piece of this cake that bears a resemblance to Snickers only in its name.

Creative License: Snickers Cake 2
While Cilpo sells only one Snickers cake, Delikat sells two - both simply called "Snickers Cake" (Торт Снікерс). This naturally raises the question: What is the difference? Can two different cakes be equally Snickers-like, or will one necessarily be closer to the true Snickers? Anyway, Snickers Cake 2 embodies Snickersness in its structure by including nuts within the cake itself, and not just sprinkled on the top (after all, the nuts in a Snickers bar are contained within). The caramel-ish frosting is a nod to true caramel, and it envelopes a rather abstract representation of nougat: dry, chalky marshmallows somewhat like what you might find in a box of stale Lucky Charms. The result is rather puzzling. However, I suspect that this cake is closer to true Snickersness, partially because of its attempt at acknowledging the nougat, and partially because it does not possess the bitter molasses taste of the first one. However, it is still a strange cake and seems to maintain a primarily symbolic connection to the Snickers bar. Fortunately, the bakery lady at Delikat let me buy just 100 grams of this one.

Identity Crisis: The Snickers Cake that is Really a Twix Cake 
Ukraine has a couple of chain restaurants where one can quickly and cheaply get some buffet-style Ukrainian dishes, and one such place is Час Поїсти ("Time to Eat"). I spotted a Snickers cake at a Час Поїсти, and noted that it is markedly different from the two grocery store Snickers cakes.

Interestingly, this is the only Snickers cake I have found that does not contain nuts. In lieu, it includes biscuits for crunch. But if this cake comprises biscuits, caramel, and chocolate, isn't it a Twix cake? Twix is also sold in Ukraine, but it does not seem to hold the same cultural sway as Snickers. This cake was rather enjoyable, but it puzzles me. Does Love try to be Justice? Then why does a Twix cake try to be a Snickers cake? To jump philosophical traditions, this cake needs to find its Dharma. It would be a darn good Twix cake, but as a Snickers cake it seems out of place. Oh well. Who am I to crush its dreams?

om nom nom 

Paradox: The Snickers Bubble-Waffle
Ukraine is the first place I have ever encountered the phenomenon known as the bubble waffle, although my wise friend Traci informs me that such waffles have long been a staple of Chinatowns in the US (btw - go read her blog, it's way cooler than mine). I'm not sure exactly how bubble waffles came to catch on in Ukraine, but they are here, and the Snickers bubble waffle poses a paradox: it is the only Snickers dessert I have found that actually contains Snickers, but in its entirety it bears the least resemblance to a Snickers bar. Does the incorporation of a Snickers bar into something not particularly Snickers-like still belong to the Snickers Aesthetic? I have my doubts - but I at least agree that baking Snickers bars into a waffle is a fantastic idea.

A short lesson on Ukrainian bubble waffles: first you pick your batter (vanilla, chocolate, or plain). Then you pick a filling that is baked into the bubbles of the waffle (I promise that "Snickers" is written in the photo to the right, it's just in Russian). While you will note the availability of M&Ms as well, there are no M&Ms cakes or other desserts to be found, so they, like Twix, do not seem to hold the same cultural sway as Snickers. Anyway, next you pick the filling for your waffle, which will be wrapped up like a cone to hold delicious things. I usually choose ice cream, but some people who actually eat vaguely healthy desserts choose fruit.

The chopping of the Snickers

A touch of batter is added into the iron, and then the bits of Snickers bar are carefully placed into each individual bubble spot before the rest of the batter is added. Soon, the almighty waffle iron shall yield a waffle that contains Snickers bars.


As one can see, the dessert itself does not bear the markers of the Snickers Aesthetic - no outwardly visible chocolate or chopped nuts. No nougat or caramel (although I could have added caramel syrup, thereby doubling my sugar high). No layered appearance. But - it is a waffle with Snickers bars in it. That has to count for something.



Snickers, transformed: The Snickers Cheesecake 
When I feel like spending more money than I should, I go to a coffee shop/cafe chain called Чашка ("Chashka", meaning "teacup"). There is sold a Snickers cheesecake that helped inspire this blog. I tried it once for the serious scholarly research that has gone into this entry, and it is now one of my favorite desserts in Cherkasy. Perhaps, it may also be considered a lesson in the Snickers Aesthetic.

Note how the Snickers cheesecake emulates the structure of the Snickers bar: cheesecake stands in for the nougat base. The nuts are not sprinkled on top as some sort of superficial Snickers signifier, but rather are resting in their caramel sauce atop the cake - just as they would be atop the nougat if in a Snickers bar itself. And finally, the dessert is given a chocolate coating which does not intrude upon the other elements of the dessert. As far as I can tell, this is the Snickers Aesthetic par excellence. It is also incredibly delicious.

This picture is here entirely to serve as food porn. 

Perhaps I shall find still more Snickers desserts in Ukraine; the candy has captured dessert makers like no other I have seen here. But most days, when I need a sweet pick-me-up, I still just walk into Cilpo and grab a plain old Snickers bar.

Planes, Trains, and Marshrutkas: Traveling in Ukraine

First things first: I am required to let y'all know that, "the content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Ukrainian Government.”

Hello! I write as a happily liberated human!

When my fellow volunteers and I first got to Ukraine, our ability to travel was very limited. During our first month in our training city, Chernihiv, we weren't allowed to leave town without an official chaperone. At all. Once we finished training and got to site, we weren't allowed to leave site for one month, and weren't allowed to travel internationally or use any of our annual leave time for three months. In other words, we were basically captives. But, I've been at site a whopping 3.5 months now, and I am a fully liberated human! (Well, within certain Peace Corps rules). Anyway - it is time to travel. So, I figured I'd share some of my recent and upcoming adventures, and write a bit about the experience of traveling in Ukraine.

I recently returned from my first major trip since I got here. Ukrainian Independence Day is August 24th, and since it fell on a Thursday this year, most of the locals took the following Friday off to make a four-day weekend. PCVs are advised to do as the locals do, so I along with a couple girlfriends headed south to the port city of Odessa.

*obligatory photos of our weekend in Odessa. We ate tasty food. We drank tasty drinks. We lounged on the beach. It was marvelous. You should definitely go visit Odessa.*

Use the arrow keys to advance the slides above. 

But, rather than talk at length about my vacation, I  think it might be more interesting to talk about the process of getting there. What's it like to get around in Ukraine? (bez car, since PCVs are not permitted to drive).

I live about a 10 minute walk from the nearest bus stop - the end of the line for the only marshrutka that comes to my neighborhood, about 12 km outside of the city center. Virtually every journey I take starts with me walking the half-paved road to the bus stop, and hopping into a boxy yellow vehicle that is something between a van and a minibus, and covered in advertisements. We bump along through the village toward the main road into town, make a quick venture in the opposite direction to pick up a few more people, and then flip a u-turn that would probably be illegal in the US to head into the city.

The humble beginning of any adventure, be it to the grocery store or to the mountains in the far west. 

The marshrutka! Transportation isn't always glamorous, but it's how I get to my favorite coffee shops, how I go to see my friends, and how I start virtually any adventurous exploration of my adoptive home. 

The seemingly universal rule of traveling in Ukraine is that you get off the marshrutka somewhere near the McDonald's. McDonald's is very savvy in their marketing, so their restaurants are cleverly placed near most major inter-city travel hubs across Ukraine. McDonald's is also one of the only places open early in the morning (even the coffee shops here don't tend to open until 9am or later - Ukrainians don't seem to be morning people). So, if it's morning-time, I hop off the marshrutka by the McDonald's, grab an egg mcmuffin, and enjoy the privilege of a decent restroom before walking to the vokzal (train station) or the avtostancia (bus station). If it's night-time, I usually just snack on some fries and use the free wi-fi to check in with people before my departure.

WiFi! Bathrooms with toilet paper! Milkshakes that actually resemble milkshakes! Though I don't necessarily like to admit it, McDonald's has become a staple of traveling for me. Many a journey has included a short interlude at this McDonald's in downtown Cherkasy.  

I can head out from Cherkasy either by train or by bus. If I'm lucky, I can get a train straight out of the Cherkasy station. The Odessa-Kyiv train passes through Cherkasy, for example.

Catching the night train from Odessa...

...and hopping off just in time for sunrise in Cherkasy.

However, most of the trains actually come through the neighboring city of Smila. For my next upcoming adventure (Carpathians, here I come!), I'm  heading to Smila first, which means my first marshrutka will take me to a second marshrutka (by way of McDonald's, most likely) and then I will get on a train.

While I imagine that the first-class trains in Ukraine are probably comparable to other trains in Europe, the trains that I can afford on my PCV budget are... an excellent way to experience a post-soviet country...? Something like that. In a typical economy train car, there are horizontal pallets with a bit of cushioning that serve as benches while you are awake, and as beds while you sleep (overnight trains are very common). Imagine bunk beds, but squeezed into a narrow train. It's actually pretty nifty how they fit so many beds into such a tight space - although I thank my lucky stars I am not tall, because people over about 5'9'' must have a hard time fitting.

I was unable to take my own picture of the train interior, because it was full of children on their way back from summer camp, and I did not want to violate their privacy. However, this is a pretty standard Ukrainian 'platzkart" train car - the kind I and my fellow volunteers often ride. Picture courtesy of the very handy Ukrainian Train Guide from UkraineTours.com.

There is no air-conditioning on the trains, and many Ukrainians are superstitious about opening windows, so a ride in the summertime promises to be stuffy and sweaty. I got lucky on my ride back from Odessa - the other people in my section didn't mind that I opened the window, although somebody did close it in the middle of the night while I was asleep...

I am glad that I am not left to my own devices when it comes to buying train tickets. In Ukraine, you can actually buy them at the bank - which is way easier than heading all the way to the station. You can buy tickets online, too, but that defeats the purpose of going and buying them at the bank: the people there share the secrets: Get the bottom bunk, because it is used as a storage bench, and that way you are the one who controls access to your stuff while on the train. Get a bunk toward the middle of the car, so that you are not near the toilet and its potentially offensive odor. The windows only open on one side of the train, so grab a seat on the side where you can open the window. The ladies at the bank who help me buy my train tickets are some of my favorite people. Seriously.

All in all, my trip to and from Odessa required a marshrutka, a trolleybus, a big bus, a taxi, a train, and another marshrutka - but successfully navigating my first big inter-city trip and surviving my first overnight train ride felt like such milestones that I enjoyed the process just as much as the vacation itself. Next stop: the Carpathian Mountains, by way of marshrutka, another marshrutka, one of those notorious overnight trains, a shuttle bus, and, for good measure, a day's journey on horseback.