The popular belief that Russians survive on a diet of potatoes and beetroot alone, with a healthy portion of ogurtsi (small cucumbers) and vodka to aid the digestion is not actually that far from the truth. These are indeed national favourites. However, with a little less prejudice and a desire to discover the truth, your stay in St Petersburg can be enriched and your palate educated by the wealth of cuisines on offer.

Foreign influences

      From the Ukrainsky borshch, that infamous but delicious beetroot soup, normally served in a gorshok (deep clay pot) with petrushka and smetana (fresh parsley and sour cream), to the frozen sibirskie pelmeny, a small boiled pastry parcel of meat, mushrooms or potatoes, the national cookbook is as comprehensive as the country is big.
      The years since perestroika have seen a renewal of the European influence in every walk of Russian life, including the kitchen. The sunny summer streets of towns buzz with cafe-life, and with trendy bars below street level. In addition to the foreign fads, there is a noticeable revival of traditional Russian restaurants catering for every pocket from the modest student stipend to the extravagant, no-holds-barred, novy-Russky (new-Russian) cash-filled handbags for men.
      In the 19th century, Russia was in thrall to all things French, and borrowed from Paris not only its food, but also its theatre, poetry, architecture and fashion in hats. The French influence is felt in the penchant for thick sauces for meat, in the love of complicated salads, and in the huge variety of cream-filled tortes to be eaten at the end of the meal with chai (tea). One such cake is the ptiche moloko (bird's milk), so called because it is supposed to be so fine that it cannot possibly be created by humans.

Tempted by zakuski

      The glory of Russian cuisine is the genuine desire of the host to see his or her guests fed and watered to absolute capacity – a desire that springs from the quintessence of the Russian soul: generosity and pride.

It is the tradition to load the dinner table in advance with a vast variety of delicious zakuski (hors d'oeuvres). The zakuska plays an important role in the process of dining in Russia, and can save the inexperienced from certain disaster when drinking with the locals. Russians may have a big heart, but their capacity to consume alcohol is tremendous.       As a guest in a private home you will be treated in style to the best your host has to offer.       However, don't expect any leniency when it comes to drinking, you will have to imbibe your share. Toasting is as important, and here, too, you won't be let off the hook with a moderate "cheers". Toasts can last for minutes and are a science of their own. The formula to remember is your host, the women present and the spread in front of you. In fact, the zakuski are the main event of the meal, and it is an experience as daunting as it is appetising to look on a table laden with red and black caviar, a selection of cold meats, garlic sausage, smoked sturgeon, salmon, the array of potato salads, mushrooms in sour cream, bowls of pickled cabbage, beetroot vinaigrette, goat's cheese, as well as the usual liquid ensemble of deep-chilled vodka, shampanskoye, and syrupy Georgian wines.

      Every hostess will confide in you her secret recipes and claim that nobody beats hers. Popular favourites include seledka pod shuboi, literally "salted herring in a fur coat", which is a delicious combination of fish, beetroot, boiled (and grated) egg and mayonnaise, and domashni piroshki (homemade pies), which can be stuffed with a variety of cabbage, meat, mushrooms or apricots. By the time the second course arrives, most diners are already too replete to lift a fork.

Asian specialities

      Russians can also call on the spicy southern, almost Mediterranean traditions in food. The cuisines of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgizstan - which make liberal use of typical Asian ingredients such as coriander leaf, fruit and meat cooked together, walnuts, vine leaves, chillis, beans and flavoured breads - can be found in the Russian home as well as on the menu in restaurants.
      Meat in these Asian countries will more often than not be boiled - with the tasty exception of shashlik, which is normally made from sheep and grilled over hot charcoal.
      This favoured dish is known throughout the Russian Federation, and the chef, normally the man of the house, will be passionate about the preparation and cooking of what some may simply call a barbecue.
      The pelmeny puts in an appearance wherever you are in or around Russia: you'll find it smaller than usual in Siberia - but made in vast quantities for the winter; it comes large, flat, fried and known as cheburek throughout Central Asia and the Transcaucasus, or manti in Kazakhstan; the more wholesome version in Georgia is known as the khinkali. All of these are found on the zakuski section of the menu, and the most expensive restaurants will have them waiting on the table when customers arrive.
      Other zakuski include zhulien (julienne), thin slices of smoked and non-smoked red and white sturgeon, and kolbasa (salamilike spicy sausages). Salat (salad) is often simply a mixture of tomatoes and cucumbers, but green salads comprise travky (literally "grasses") which in reality can be a refreshing plate of fresh basil, dill and other green herbs.

Traditional dishes

      The Russian cookbook may now be as cosmopolitan as any other, but the traditional meals as eaten during the reign of the tsars would have been very different. Kisel (blancmange), made from oatmeal, was the basis of most meals and was eaten with savoury and sweet foods alike. Shchi, a soup made from kislaya kapusta (sauerkraut) and meat or fish, would probably feature in every main meal of the day. The fruits of Russia's abundant forests have long been harvested. Berries such as brusnika, chernika, klyukva, zemlinika, golubika, malina and yeshevika (foxberry, bilberry, cranberry, wild strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry) were gathered and used to make preserves, jams, desserts and drinks - as indeed they are still today. Vegetables such as brukva, (swede) redka, (radish) markov (carrot) and chesnok (garlic) were staple foods, too.
      What remains traditional today is the blin (pancake), which is eaten both as a savoury and sweet dish. Bliny with lots of honey, smetana and red caviar are natural choices of filling for hungry Russians. Bliny are eaten at Maslinitsa, the week leading up to the veliki post (great fast of seven weeks) before Easter, which in turn is celebrated at the end with a kulich, a light, Easter cake similar to the Italian Christmas panettone. A delicious sweet dish, paskha, synonymous with the celebration of Easter is prepared from tvorog (curds) with dried fruits and sugar added for sweetness.

The upper echelons of society would have known a different menu, one which shocked many visiting dignitaries with its richness and quality. Carp in smetana, baked osyotr (sturgeon) and okorok of ham (baked leg of ham in pastry with fruit and spices) were some of the dishes served to important visitors and the ruling class. Great pies offish and meat, zapikanky (bakes) of rice, smetana, eggs and sugar and kulebyaki (more pies) with fillings of cabbage, mushrooms and meat, or fish, were common for those that could afford it. Khren (horseradish sauce) was often the only addition to the natural juices that the dish was cooked in. Kholodets (aspic) is another favourite method of preparing meat and fish.

Welcome treats

      Possibly the greatest sign of respect that can be shown to a guest is the giving of karavai, an intricately decorated bread shaped like a cake, which is presented normally at the border of a village or as the guest enters the house, and is accompanied by a small pot of salt. This ritual symbolises the wealth of the village or host. One is expected to break off a corner, dip it in the salt and taste it before advancing.
      As bread was eaten with every meal and was what people survived on during the harder times, it was seen as dear to life and therefore a sign of readiness to welcome newcomers. It is a tradition often observed at weddings, when the two newly related mothers prepare the karavai for the newlyweds' return.
      The gribok (mushroom) is at the heart of a national pastime: whole families spend their weekends together in the country, gathering mushrooms to preserve for the rest of the year in various concoctions of vinegar, spices and herbs. The culture of mushroom-gathering is one instilled from an early age and most Russians will be able to recite a lengthy list of edible and deadly sorts. The marinading of griby and ogurtsi (mushrooms and cucumbers) is another passion of the Russians, and one of the few occasions when Russian men will glady role up their sleeves and help out in the kitchen.
      A real treat when visiting Russia is tasting the ikra (caviar) which comes in chornaya and krasnaya (black and red) and is sold by the kilo to the rich and in little tins to the tourists. Be sure to check the date stamped on the packaging before making your purchase. Red caviar is best eaten on white bread spread with a generous layer of butter, and black from little egg-baskets (made from the white of hard-boiled eggs, carefully cut into a basket form). Despite being significantly cheaper than at home, black caviar in a restaurant can still push up your bill dramatically.

Date of publication : 20-05-2007 (Viewings of article : 4785)
Published : Stolz