Russian Blog
This is a blog by JustRussian about learning Russian. You will find useful tips for learning Russian, Russian courses available in London, information about Russian culture and links to websites with information for students of Russian.
Learning about Russian food
By Vlada 12 April 09
Notes from a student of Russian in London, or things you may be interested to know but may not learn in your Russian lessons. By one of Vlada’s students
Russian cuisine has a dodgy reputation in the West. Mention that you’re going to Russia and folks who’ve never been there will issue dark warnings about thin gruel, boiled cabbage and offal stew. I heard these myself from well-meaning relatives who’d actually visited in Soviet times:
“Everything’s tinned or tasteless. Often both.”
Well, I don’t know if that was ever true – but I do know it’s not now. Russian food is tasty, hearty and filling. And don’t be panicked by the food vocabulary you’ve learned in your Russian lessons; cabbage pies (‘pirogi’) may sound pretty appalling, but in fact they’re delicious.
If you’re lucky enough to be invited to dinner by Russians, you’ll get the full gamut of traditional ‘formal’ dishes. There will almost certainly be Russian salad (known to Russians as ‘salad Olivier’ after the eponymous Frenchman who, legend tells, remembered he had dinner guests minutes before their arrival and simply chucked his leftovers together in a bowl with mayonnaise). This is a glutinous, creamy pleasure that’s particularly delicious with a glass of ice cold vodka. Ironically, Russian salad is probably most widely enjoyed not in its homeland, but in Spain, where it’s a popular tapas dish. One of the supreme delights known to man is a cold Russian salad eaten on a hot Spanish evening, washed down with a glass of aromatic Rioja.
Don’t tell the Russians.
Your hosts will probably serve other salads, too. Two big-time favourites are ‘Vinaigrette’ and ‘Beetroot salad’. The former has nothing to do with its French namesake. As usual with Russian words lifted from French, the meaning has become comically corrupted. ‘Vinaigrette’ is a cold salad of diced, cooked root vegetables (beetroot, carrot, potato, peas), plus finely chopped raw onion and picked gherkins. To a Western palate, it’s a peculiar-sounding combo. But trust me: it’s delicious.
Beetroot salad is simply finely grated cooked beetroot and hard cheese mixed with mayonnaise and grated garlic. A dietician’s worst nightmare, for sure, but all the nicer for that.
Actually, a lot of Russian food isn’t very diet-friendly. This is high octane stuff for a harsh climate, so be prepared. When you’ve eaten, you’ll really know it. And if you’re smart, you’ll take the digestion pills Russians all seem to produce at the end of formal meals. Best not to ask what’s in them. Whatever it is, it beats Bisodol.
Also best not to be vegetarian. That’s if you can figure out how to say ‘vegetarian’ in the first place. It’s not a word that crops up in your Russian lessons because, er, it probably doesn’t exist. Russians are committed carnivores, and will assume you’re sick if you ask for something without meat. If you’re lucky, they’ll produce a potato. There’s no real way to sugar this: vegetarians have a tough time in Russia (and don’t be fooled by Russian salad: it’s got boiled chicken in it).
But not, thank God, meat-eaters. Russian hot food means big, full-on stews like beef Stroganoff and hot soups like Shee and Borsch. Both consist of strong meat stock with various vegetables floating in them. With Borsch, of course, the principal ingredient is the peripatetic beetroot, but don’t be put off if you’re not a fan: although it contains LOTS of beetroot, Borsch has its own unique flavour that is oddly un-beetroot-like. Made well, it’s one of the most delicious soups in creation.
There’s plenty of other great Russian foods (marinated, barbecued ‘Shashlik’, pork roasted with garlic, salted gherkins), but you can discover them yourself. I’ll leave you with just three important Russian food-related factoids:
• Russians love garlic. They really love garlic.
• If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise: Bear steak. Honest.
• Hope you like dill. That’s all I’m saying.