# Tell Me About Russian Food **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 28, 2023, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466 "2023-02-28T02:47:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/41 "2023-02-28T23:15:33Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Try the Borscht, assuming you like beet soup. If that doesn’t wow you, or they don’t offer it, it might be a pass. I have a difficult time imagining any place that even purports to be Russian, without serving borscht. And I was going to mention bliny, before @terentii beat me to it. Maslenitsa is on the early side this year; it looks like you just missed it. And they’re not the same as crepes, but also not the same as American pancakes-- The consistency is somewhere in between. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/42 "2023-02-28T23:29:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Actually, the most memorable food for me was a simple butter-on-baguette I had one morning at a cheap-ass inn in Paris. Probably because 1) I was not expecting anything and 2) my delight in how something so simple and pure could be so good. That’s one of my fondest memories of Paris too. I love a good Continental breakfast with fresh breads, sweet butter, jam, juice, and strong black coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/43 "2023-03-01T00:33:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Pirogi are large pies that can be filled with anything from veg to fish. For me, perogies are potato dumplings. Is there a difference in the words here? ❓ ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/44 "2023-03-01T00:44:26Z")
I thought perogies were Polish, and peroshkies were Russian, but maybe it’s just the same word, essentially? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/45 "2023-03-01T00:46:05Z")
A Russian pirog is a type of pastry pie. Looks like this: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Fish_pie.JPG/530px-Fish_pie.JPG) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Fish_pie.JPG/530px-Fish_pie.JPG) A Polish pieróg (pl. pierogi) is this: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Pierogi_z_cebulk%C4%85.jpg/440px-Pierogi_z_cebulk%C4%85.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Pierogi_z_cebulk%C4%85.jpg/440px-Pierogi_z_cebulk%C4%85.jpg) The Russian equivalent would be _vareniki_. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/46 "2023-03-01T00:46:38Z")
THere’s a lot of overlap in Eastern European cuisine, but I grew up being told that perogies were Ukrainian. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/47 "2023-03-01T00:48:02Z")
In Ukrainian, they are called _varenyky_. But people borrow whatever term is more familiar in North America. Plus Poland and Ukraine have overlapped geographically over time, so I wouldn’t be surprised if in Western Ukraine they are called something like _perogi_. I’m not going to hazard a guess as to who made them first. Romanians have them as _coltunasi_. In Slovakia, _pirohy_. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/48 "2023-03-01T00:49:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Golubtsy (cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and ground meat) are also common in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. They’re usually covered with tomato sauce and served with sour cream. These, we just called “cabbage rolls”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/49 "2023-03-01T00:52:31Z")
All the words are related, of course (and also related to the English word “pie”). And most of the foods would be familiar to any Slavic culture. But precisely which word goes with which food might vary. From what I understand, Ukrainians eat the same potato-and-cheese dumplings that Poles do, but the Ukranian word for them is vareniki (like the Russian word, apparently). I wouldn’t begin to venture to guess who first created the dish. And meanwhile, Ukraine also has a word that’s very much like “pierogi”, except that there, it refers to a fruit-filled dessert. I was very surprised, a decade or two ago, when I had a Ukrainian friend over for dinner, and he was excited when he saw that I had made vareniki. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/50 "2023-03-01T00:52:49Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > As mom’s side of the family is from Ukraine, or Romania, or Poland or Russia In the prairie town I grew up, there were a lot of inter-connected families. Some identified as Hungarian, some as Romanian, and some as Ukrainian, if I remember correctly. They were all from the same town. How they self-identified for immigration purposes depended on when they left, and where the border happened to be that year. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/51 "2023-03-01T00:55:05Z")
_Gołąbki_ in Poland, but in Chicago, many people would be familiar with some Anglicization like _galumpki_ or similar (I’ve heard a number of variations.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/52 "2023-03-01T00:55:13Z")
Yes, I’ve heard the term “vareniki” being used, but it’s not the one that has entered Saskatchewan culture. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/53 "2023-03-01T00:55:41Z")
What’s _vareniki_ v _perogi_ there? Or is it some kind of salacious slang? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/54 "2023-03-01T00:58:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ukrainians eat the same potato-and-cheese dumplings that Poles do Those are one specific type of _pierogi_: _pierogi ruskie_ (“Ruthenian pierogi.”) It is one of the most popular ones. They can have meat, just cheese, just potato, sauerkraut, fruits, etc., as a filling (I suspect you’re probably well aware, but in case there is any confusion.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/55 "2023-03-01T00:59:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What’s _vareniki_ v _perogi_ there? “Perogi” is the standard term for a little potato dumpling, which is generally attributed to Ukrainian culture. “vareniki” is a term I’ve occasionally come across as an alternative name for a perogi, but it is not common. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/56 "2023-03-01T01:00:43Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “Perogi” is the standard term for a little potato dumpling, which is generally attributed to Ukrainian culture. This sounds a little different than what is pictured above. Can you describe your _perogi_ in more detail? Is it dough folded over a filling or something else? Does it have to be potato? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/57 "2023-03-01T01:01:48Z")
Just checked the freezer; thought I had some frozen perogies, but came up empty. However, I do have a package of “Baba Jenny’s Ukrainian Foods Cabbage Rolls Sweet Leaf”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/58 "2023-03-01T01:06:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > (I suspect you’re probably well aware, but in case there is any confusion.) Around here, you’ll find all the varieties, but if someone says just “pierogi”, without any qualifiers, they usually mean potatoes-and-cheese, while the others would be (e.g.) “sauerkraut pierogi”, or “fruit pierogi”, or the like. Though we do occasionally get folks at the fish fry asking what the pierogi are filled with, so that’s not a universal assumption (answer, potato, cheese, and chopped onion, because that’s the version our family recipe is for). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/59 "2023-03-01T01:08:35Z")
Yes, pirog is the Russian word for pie. Pirozhok is the diminutive. Pirogi and pirozhki are the plurals. Back in the '90s, one company started selling Australian meat pies in Moscow. Russians were asking each other “WTF is a ‘pie’?” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466/60 "2023-03-01T01:08:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Around here, you’ll find all the varieties, but if someone says just “pierogi”, without any qualifiers, they usually mean potatoes-and-cheese, while the others would be (e.g.) “sauerkraut pierogi”, or “fruit pierogi”, or the like. Ah, here in Chicago, I don’t think there is a standard expectation with generic “pierogi.” It would be like asking for “pizza” or “ice cream” and no further info. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-russian-food/980466.md?page=4)