# so tell me about russian food..... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 4, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287 "2008-07-04T12:42:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/1 "2008-07-04T12:42:47Z")
recent started working with a russian gentleman, who introduced me to a russian market in the local nashville area, but i know NOthing about russian food. I’d like to try to make some, but dont know whats good or even whats russian _L_ so some suggestions, things i might try, or online cookbooks(preferably with english/cyrillc printings of ingredients as the market isnt too english friendly)? ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/2 "2008-07-04T12:57:14Z")
[Borstj](http://www.chefsclasses.com/recipes/borstj.html) served with vodka Bread and salt with vodka Something, something with vodka As long as there´s vodka, he´ll be fine (or at least all the Russians I´ve ever met have been) And Borstj is quite good. Sorry to not be able to point in any other directions. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/3 "2008-07-04T13:00:24Z")
well i’m not cookin any borscht. he offered to bring me some the next time his wife cooked… and anyone who offers to bring thier wifes cooking to thier boss must have something to brag about at home. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/4 "2008-07-04T13:05:25Z")
This question got me hungry so I started hunting around for some other recipes and I guess this site right [here](http://www.waytorussia.net/WhatIsRussia/RussianFood.html) has a few. I´m gonna start experimenting in the kitchen when I get home! But don´t forget the vodka 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/5 "2008-07-04T13:06:50Z")
The market near me has, in the deli section, this awesome Russian garlic encrusted and studded ham. Whole cloves of garlic throughout, that are sliced thin right along with the meat. There are also some tasty Russian “hunter’s sausage” things in the refrigerated case. I guess they’re the sort of thing Slim Jims are supposed to be like, only they’re even better! Don’t knock the borscht. There’s nothing icky canned beety about a good borscht. Properly made, it’s this amazing savory/sweet broth of life! ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/6 "2008-07-04T13:15:39Z")
When I travel to Russia with work, I get to eat at the works canteen. Fantastic home made soups (well they say it’s a soup, by my standards they were all more like stews), plnty of generic meat with rice, meat with pasta typ mals also. They don’t stint on the calories there, presumably because of the cold environemnt. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/7 "2008-07-04T13:19:59Z")
First of all, its ‘borshch’ - борщ, no matter what they say, and it is delicious. I make it every once in a while when it’s cold. In the soup department, there’s also soljanka - Солянка - which is like borshch but without the beets, and saltier. Then there’s a lot of potato based oven dishes which are really good, and salads of different varieties, covered in mayonaise. For instance, you can make a herring/gherkin/potato salad which is nice. Also, pretty much **every** Russian dish includes lots and lots of dill, for some reason. Also, there’s the ‘blin’ - блин, which is a pancake off sorts. In Russia, street vendors sell them and there’s also some fastfood bliny restaurants. You can get them filled with sweet marmelade, or some creamy yogurty type of curd cheese called ‘tvorog’ - творог, but also with salmon or cheese. Finally, there’s pel’meni - Пельмени, which is a bit like ravioli, filled with minced meat, most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/8 "2008-07-04T22:02:31Z")
In my experience, Ukrainian food (which is very similar to Russian), consists of certain basics: Salt, fat, overcooked vegetables, salt, boiled meat, grease. salt, nasty-looking preserved fish, and, oh, did I mention salt? My mother in law was Ukrainian. I hated her food. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/9 "2008-07-04T22:32:47Z")
I dunno. I spent the weekend with a Russian family out in the country on Kamchatka, and I’ve never eaten so much in my life but I can’t say it was Russian so much as it was just good, hearty food you’d get from your gramma in Wisconsin, assuming she was an excellent cook. No beef tongue, no fish jelly. Just awesome belly-filling food. When people think “Russian food” they think something really ethnic like borscht or pirozhkee, but Russians are damn fine cooks and it’s like saying “what do Americans cook?” Well, some of us Americans cook all sorts of stuff. For breakfast I did like the ‘turd balls’ as we called them. They’re little chocolatey doughy balls you can buy. They’re like a doughnut hole, but thicker more like a brownie, but not quite as sweet. They go great with coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/10 "2008-07-04T22:58:31Z")
My favorite thing to get at the Russian market, partly because it’s so easy, but it’s also really good - is pelmeni (not sure about spelling.) It’s kind of like ravioli but it’s seasoned differently and you cover it with Russian sour cream (buy the sour cream at the Russian market - it won’t taste right covered in domestic sour cream, and I’m not saying that to be snobby - I’ve tried.) One of my favorites when I was in Russia was something called (trying to spell phonetically here, and probably way off): guhlopsee. It’s like a little football of meat rolled in cabbage and steamed. Sounds gross, looks gross, smells gross, tastes great. I’ve never had it in the states because I have no clue where to start with regards to making it. Another thing that was on the table at every meal in Russia was FinnCrisp crackers and spreadable cheese. I buy those a lot at the Russian market. Yumm. Oh, and of course Russian beer :). ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/11 "2008-07-04T23:01:29Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Oh, and of course Russian beer :). [/QUOTE] You’re kidding, right? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/12 "2008-07-04T23:09:34Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] You’re kidding, right? [/QUOTE] No, why? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/13 "2008-07-04T23:20:22Z")
Russian cuisine is limited by what will grow in their long-winter climate – they eat a lot of cucumbers, for one thing. Also cabbage. Try making some [shchi.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shchi) Russian [pierogi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi#Russia) are rather different from the Polish pierogi with which more Americans might be familiar. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/14 "2008-07-04T23:25:11Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] No, why? [/QUOTE] Well, maybe the quality of beer in Russia has changed, but when I was there it tasted like the effluent from a nuclear submarine. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/15 "2008-07-04T23:36:30Z")
My Russian professor used to make a dish - basically you put chicken parts, carrots cut into large chunks, and cloves of garlic into a pot (without any liquid) on low heat, and the chicken stews in its own juices over 4 or 5 hours. She said it was Georgian but I’ve noticed Russians seem to call anything with garlic “georgian-style” kind of the way Americans call anything made with avocado “California-style.” ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/16 "2008-07-04T23:56:07Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] Well, maybe the quality of beer in Russia has changed, but when I was there it tasted like the effluent from a nuclear submarine. [/QUOTE] Maybe we were just in different parts. The beer from the baltic region is among the best beer I’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/17 "2008-07-05T02:12:20Z")
Maybe not the best. But it sure tastes good! It’s the same brewing tradtion as the germans and the checks have so it ought to be good 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/18 "2008-07-05T03:03:18Z")
Russian here. Kvass is the ultimate summer beverage, hunter’s sausages are great, Borodinsky bread (a variety of pumpernickel) goes well with butter and raw garlic, and there are quite a few decent varieties of cheese. Boiled young potatoes with some sour cream, dill, and squeezed garlic can be also pretty good. That said, the majority of prepared foods taste like greasy or overboiled ass. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/19 "2008-07-05T03:38:47Z")
[QUOTE=WormTheRed] I´m gonna start experimenting in the kitchen when I get home! [/QUOTE] In Soviet Russia, kitchen experiments on you! ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287/20 "2008-07-05T06:17:52Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] Finally, there’s pel’meni - Пельмени, which is a bit like ravioli, filled with minced meat, most of the time. [/QUOTE] Pelmeni!!! I love these. The other uniquely Russian thing you should try is Blin, which Švejk also mentioned. If you do end up feeling like you should try some Russian vodka, then Zyr, Russian Standard, and Imperia are the best. [QUOTE=Paladud] Russian here. Kvass is the ultimate summer beverage, hunter’s sausages are great, Borodinsky bread (a variety of pumpernickel) goes well with butter and raw garlic, and there are quite a few decent varieties of cheese. Boiled young potatoes with some sour cream, dill, and squeezed garlic can be also pretty good. That said, the majority of prepared foods taste like greasy or overboiled ass. [/QUOTE] You got to learn to tone down the grease. My Grandmother still cooks like that. My Mom does a much better job. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-russian-food/455287.md?page=2)