Job Discussion Forums

[saikonaut]

hello,

So, what are your favorite types of Russian food?

I am an American going to Russia for the first time.

I am not really asking what types of foods I should expect, as I'm sure I can find a lot of similar stuff, but more in particular what should I expect that is typically Russian?

For what its worth, I'll be in Moscow initially and then middle Russia (not positive where exactly).

Is it possible to find some cheesecake outside of Moscow?

Thank you![/i]

[saikonaut]

BTW it doesn't have to be traditional, as long as its origin is in Russia or one of the ex-protectorates.

Links to webpages with photos or even recipes would be great

Thanks!

[Buck Turgidson]

What Russian food do I like? I actually didn't eat much traditionally Russian food. Mostly mashed potatoes, macaroni, and soup. I do love the bread. And they make a spread from eggplant and garlic which is delictable. Blini (pancakes) are great. I never thought of putting sour cream on pancakes. It's not bad.

And I may be the only American who loves salo. Salo is what we hillbillys used to call 'fatback' It is cured pork fat. I prefer the smoked kind myself.

In Moscow you will have more opportunities to eat traditional Russian cuisine.

Things I hated:

Okroshka - this is cold 'soup' made from kvass (a fermented beverage like beer) with meat and veggies.

Kholodets - cold congealed fat mixed with meat. It reminds me of beef jello.

mayonaise - it's not Russian, but for some reason they put it on seemingly EVERYTHING. In a restaurant make sure you tell them no mayonaise (unless of course you like it) otherwise there will be a big wad of it on your entre.

bon apetit

Buck

[Brooks]

I guess I would say pelmini, which is a Russian dumpling. Poles and Chinese people and even Nepalese eat dumplings.

I used to buy those Uncle Ben`s sauces too.
In the US Uncle Ben`s is just rice.

One thing I don`t like is kefir, and milk I couldn`t drink straight.
Kvas I have never liked.
My favorite beer was Afanasi.
I tended to buy imported food like German cheese and yogurt, as well as frozen vegetables from Belgium and Poland.

Russia imports a lot of food. I think 40%.

Where I was living (Irkutsk), the diet tended to be bland and there were not many restaurants to go to. Probably because people there couldn`t afford to go out to eat.

I had salo in Krakow, Poland. Yeah I liked it but you can`t eat that every day. Ukrainians like salo more than Russians.

Brooks

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello Saikonaut:

As Buck mentioned, I'd have to say that Russian bread is among the best in the world, especially the whole-grain black bread, which can be as good as eating cake.

I also like 'teftelli', which is the Russian equivalent of Swedish meatballs, and 'sudak', which is a baked fish, often served with CHEESE. I love cheese.

In general, you can pretty much find anything your little heart desires these days, but you may need to look around a bit. I have been very satisfied here in Samara with both the quantity and quality of restaurants, as well as the general availabilty of imported 'goodies' in the shops with names we all know and trust.

And it would be cruel not to mention that staple of all Russian staples: the cabbage! called 'kapusta' in Russian. Cooked well and with the right spices, it can be a meal in and of itself. I especially like it when it's mixed together with pork and potatoes. Yummy!

BonAppetit
kEnt

[saikonaut]

hello,

A lot of people (outside the forum) have been telling me about Pelmini- it must be good.

They mentioned the pancakes too, and that a lot of food in Russia comes from Ukraine.

I can live with imports- I love Asian food

Kent- the black bread sounds good!

I also LOVE cheese!! Teftelli "meatballs" sound good.

I will probably eat at restaurants a lot because I'm not a big cook

How's the wine selection in Samara, Kent?

Uh oh, I may be in trouble. I neither like cabbage nor a lot of soups. I'm weird like that- don't like salads either, and only some fruits (strawberries, bananas, a few others).

In short, I eat meat. Not grey meat though!!

Thanks everyone!

[Buck Turgidson]

Pelmeni gets old pretty quick, but it is convenient.

I have been told that borschch is actually a Ukrainian invention. At least the Ukrainians believe this. And another common dish - 'plov' (a dish with rice and pork or chicken) is from central asia, as is shaurma, which is essentially a burrito made with mutton [and of course a dollop of mayonaise ]. You can find shaurma stands all over the place in the summer. You have probably heard of 'shashlik,' which is barbaque. They marinade the meat in kefir or beer or (you guessed it) mayonaise.

If you are ever in Tatar land try the chak chak. I think it is made of honey and flour. It tastes a lot like Captain Crunch (the original flavor). If you travel through Kazan' the vendors will shove it in your face at the station.

The wine sucks (only my opinion). The most common is a saccharine sweet red called Kagor. This is the wine they use at church. Mostly the wines were too sweet for my liking. But you can buy imports at normal western prices. Having said that, the champagne is outstanding (and cheap). There are numerous brands of good Russian beer now too.

And of course you will be in vodka heaven.

Yea, they eat soup almost every day. In the US I eat soup maybe 5 times a year. They were shocked to hear it. Of course this was the reason I had that persistent cough over there. And they don't seem to have lettuce over there. A salad usually consists of potatoes or cucumbers or mushrooms. Fruit is readily available all year round.

Buck

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello Saikonaut and all others:

Just a quick follow-up note on food and wine. What a GREAT topic! First, I tend to think of 'pelmeni' more as a kind of ravioli than as a dumpling, but what the heck do I know about food? They are filled either with cheese, meat or mushrooms, or sometimes a combination of the three. VERY yummy on a cold day. And easy to prepare, as you can now buy them frozen.

As for wine: Maybe it's just Samara, but I'd say the selection is OUTstanding these days. Much of it comes from Moldavia, and they are known for making very good wine.

I agree with Buck about the champagne; cheap and VERY good. One brand in particular even comes from Togliatti, which is just around the corner from Samara.

And finally: Russians do eat a lot of meat; don't worry. This isn't like Korea or Japan where fish and rice are served all day long. Speaking of which: Russians love their 'kolbasa', which we would call salami or beefstick. I swear to God it must come in a million different varieties ... to suit every taste imaginable. Smoked, salted, with LOTS of fat or with less, spicy, tangy, you name it, it's here. Made from beef, pork or chicken, it's available EVERYWHERE.

When I'm feeling lazy, I sometimes buy one of these beefsticks ... along with a few hundred grams of fresh made-on-the-farm cheese and make myself a big sandwich on that black, whole-grain bread. Oh yeah ... sometimes I add a little mayonaise! With a bag of Lay's barbecue chips, I'm good to go.

Regards,
kEnT

[rogan]

Champagne at $2 a bottle is as good as French champagne but a fraction of the price.

The producers did a deal with the French and agreed NEVER to export it. That's the only legal way they could call it Champagne.

Disagree with yu KeNt about the wine. Sure there's a good selection but it's more like sugar flavoured water. It was Stalin, I think who popularised that Moldavian wine. That's no recommendation !

Pilmini, quick and cheap and often served with mayo (as is everything) - fairly unimpressive, not to my taste.

Kolbasa, yes !
Mushrooms - all sorts available on any market, and wonderful.
Soup, thin and slurpy - Russians slurp !

Any meal cooked by Lena is a delight.

Shashlik any time from Spring through to Autumn, but not on the embankment in Samara - ALL the locals are convinced it's made with dog meat !

Beer - all sorts, but take an empty container along to the Brewery and buy "Fresh Beer" on draught.

[M.]

try Akroschka.... and Iorsch.... although the latter is a drink of a shot of vodka in a pint of beer......

M.

[Brooks]

I thought Russian champagne was fine.

Russia imports wine. I remember Hungarian, Bulgarian, Georgian and Moldovian. Hungarian is the best of the bunch.

What I heard in Irkutsk was that people in Moscow, St. Pete and that area drank beer, wine, vodka, everything. But the real Russians (from Siberia) drank more vodka. And for less than four dollars, you can get a half a liter.
Although I did not drink it, I remember people liking the black label Stolichnaya. Put it in the freezer for a while, and have a taste. With a pickle, of course. Smell the pickle, drink the vodka, then eat the pickle.

Plov is good. At the school where I worked was an Uzbek cook, and she made it.

Has anyone ever drunk Baltika one to nine? I drank number four, and didn`t like it so I never had any higher number.

Brooks

[Buck Turgidson]

I tried the gamut of Baltica. 1 is non alcoholic (or is it 0?) Anything above 7 is too strong for my taste. I think they may even fortify it. I came to prefer Starii Mel'nik. I also liked Staropramen, which I think is Polish actually. Problem was that it usually sat in the kiosks for months and got old. Actually this is a problem generally for instance at kiosks out in the boonies near bus stops just don't sell the pricier stuff that often.

Buck

[usfemme]

I did the impossible. I'm vegetarian, and I ate a huge variety of food! I personally loved blinis (very thin pancakes) smothered with sour cream. As someone else said, mayonnaise and sour cream are put on nearly everything. I also loved (I'm not sure how to spell this with Latin letters, so I'll write how it sounds) tavorik. It tastes just like a super rich yogurt. Danissimo (Dannon yogurt company) made my favorite -- pear. I ate lots of beet salads. A TON of potatoes. Oddly enough, I didn't eat that much cabbage. Eggplant quite a bit. My only problem is that I'm a milkaholic, and the only milk I saw for sale was in little plastic bags! I'm sure Russians would be astonished to see the gallons of milk in the US that we buy.

[Brooks]

Staropramen is brewed in Prague.
I was only in Prague for a day a few years ago, but I made sure I had Staropramen on tap.
And a pint went for a measly 40 US cents.

Pure bliss.

Brooks

[scot47]

In my lengthy and serious career as a drinker I never found anything like STOLICHNAYA - straight out of the freezer -WOW

Sometimes I regret that I am now temperance !