Kissel is a thick, fruity drink made from fruit juice or berry purée set lightly with potato starch. It sits somewhere between a drink and a dessert — too fluid to eat with a spoon, too substantial to gulp like water — and it is one of the most genuinely distinctive items on any Eastern European drinks list. Sweet, vivid, and unlike anything you will find in a Western café.
What Kissel Is
Kissel (also spelled kisel, kisiel, or киселю depending on the language) is one of the oldest drinks in Eastern European culinary tradition. Historical records place it among the earliest documented foods of the region — drunk centuries before tea became common and long before soft drinks existed as a category.
The name comes from the word for “sour” — a reference to the traditional versions made from fermented grain. Modern kissel has moved decisively away from grain and towards fruit, but the word stuck. What you get today is a vivid, lightly thickened fruit drink that bears little resemblance to its ancient ancestor and a great deal of resemblance to the sort of thing you might wish existed after eating a rich meal.
The defining characteristic is texture. Most drinks are thin. Kissel is not. The potato starch used to thicken it creates a consistency that clings slightly to the glass, coats the tongue briefly, and delivers flavour more slowly and completely than a juice or cordial would. It is not thick like yoghurt — it is thick like a very light fruit soup. The distinction matters.
Drink or Dessert?
This is the question kissel refuses to answer definitively, and that ambiguity is one of its most appealing qualities.
In Eastern Europe, kissel occupies a category that does not quite exist in British food culture. It is drunk — from a glass or a bowl — but it is sweet enough and substantial enough to function as a light pudding. It is frequently served at the end of a meal, where it provides sweetness and a sense of completion without the heaviness of a proper dessert. It is also drunk mid-afternoon or with a light meal, in which case it leans more towards the drink end of the spectrum.
The thickness level is adjustable. A thinner kissel — less starch — is more drink-like and refreshing. A thicker kissel is almost a sauce you can pour into a glass. Somewhere in between is where most people prefer it: fluid enough to drink, substantial enough to feel like something.
The colour is always striking. Berry kissel is deep pink or purple. Cherry kissel is vivid red. Sour apple kissel is a golden amber. Whatever the fruit, kissel announces itself visually before you have taken a sip.
How It’s Made
The method is quick and straightforward. Fresh or frozen berries and fruit are cooked down into a juice or purée, then strained. The liquid is sweetened to taste. Potato starch — not cornflour, not arrowroot, not gelatine — is dissolved in cold water and stirred into the warm fruit liquid. The mixture is heated, stirring constantly, until it thickens. It thickens fast and should be served immediately or cooled depending on whether you want it warm or cold.
The ratio of starch to liquid determines the final consistency. More starch and kissel becomes a dessert gel — the thick version sometimes served as a pudding in school canteens, eaten with a spoon. Less starch and it remains a drinkable liquid with just enough body to feel different from juice.
The fruit matters. Sour cherries, black or red currants, cranberries, and strawberries all produce excellent kissel because their natural tartness balances the added sugar. Milder fruits work but can make kissel taste flat if the sweet-acid balance is not right.
How to Enjoy Kissel
The short answer: at the right temperature, with patience.
Kissel is served either warm or at room temperature. Cold kissel — straight from the fridge — is less common and less recommended. The texture behaves differently when cold, becoming slightly stodgy. At room temperature or gently warm, it flows properly and the flavour is at its most vivid.
Drink it slowly. Kissel is not a drink to gulp. The thickness and sweetness mean that pace matters — it delivers more pleasure when you give it time.
At Varenik & Pelmen, kissel is on the drinks menu alongside kompot, uzvar, and our house lemonade. It is the most distinctive drink we serve — the one that people tend to ask about before they order and want to explain to the person next to them after. That reaction is not unusual. Kissel tends to make an impression.
If you are choosing between the three fruit drinks we offer — kompot, uzvar, kissel — think of it this way: kompot is a drink, uzvar is a warm brew, and kissel is an experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is kissel a drink or a dessert?
Both, depending on the thickness and the context. Thin kissel is drunk from a glass as a sweet beverage, often at the end of a meal. Thick kissel is served in a bowl and eaten like a pudding. Most modern kissel sits somewhere between the two — fluid enough to drink, substantial enough to satisfy a sweet craving. It is one of the few things in Eastern European food culture that genuinely refuses to be categorised.
What does kissel taste like?
Sweet, intensely fruity, and lightly tangy. The flavour is more concentrated than fruit juice because the fruit is cooked down rather than pressed raw. The starch thickening does not add flavour — it just changes the texture. Cherry kissel tastes of cherries. Blackcurrant kissel tastes boldly of blackcurrants. The sweetness is rounded rather than sharp. The overall effect is fruity, vivid, and warming.
What is kissel made from?
Fruit (fresh, frozen, or preserved), water, sugar, and potato starch. The fruit is cooked to produce a juice or purée, which is then sweetened and thickened with dissolved potato starch. No artificial thickeners, no preservatives. It is a genuinely simple drink that happens to feel unusual.
How do you drink kissel?
From a glass or a bowl, slowly. Kissel is best at room temperature or gently warm. Sip it rather than gulping — the texture and sweetness make it more satisfying when you take your time. It is not a drink to rush through between bites of food. It is a drink to finish a meal with, or to sit with quietly when you want something sweet but not heavy.