Russian Food Defined

Russian Food is hearty and filling, appropriate to the cold climate in Russia. The staple food are meat, butter, bread and potatoes. Because of the climate vegetables other than potatoes and cabbage don't play a large a part of traditional Russian cuisine. Mushrooms are adored and mushroom gathering is a popular activity in the country, wooded areas. Apples, pears and berries are the most widely available fruit. Surprisingly Russia grows it's own olives.

Kashas are an important part of the Russian diet. However, unlike our supermarket Kasha which is always buckwheat groats, in Russia Kasha can be made from many other grains as well. Millet, rice, and semolina are only some of the kasha grains. Kasha is versatile and can be cooked sweet savory,with cheese or as porridge. Kasha is arguably one of the most important Russian food.

Meat or pork is cooked in many ways and often accompanied by souring agents such as sour cream or borscht. Borscht is made of fermented beats. Russians like a sour kick to their food. A delicious Russian dish, golubski,combines chopped meat and the beloved cabbage. The famous dish, beef stroganoff contains Russian favorites, beef, mushrooms and sour cream. There are many variations of beef stroganoff but to be authentic it must contain sour cream.

Soups are served almost everyday. Many soups can be served hot or cold. The famous borscht, when mostly just beats is often served cold. When cooked with beef, it's usually a hot soup. Schav or sorrel soup can also be served hot or cold but either way it must be served with sour cream. Potato soup is common and can sometimes be very heavy with with butter or cream.

Beverages popular in Russia are tea and kvass. Kvass is a fermented beverage made from stale bread. A traditional beverage, it is so popular that it is sold bottles similar to sodas. Tea has been important to Russia since the 1600's. Russian Caravan tea is favored for it's smoky strong flavor. The tea originated on the caravan route to Russia from China and developed a smoky flavor from the campfires burned along the extremely long trip. The most famous of Russian beverages, vodka, is consumed in alarming quantities.

A fascinating historical cook book about traditional Russian cuisine is Classic Russian Cooking: A Gift to Young Housewives by Elena Molokhovets. A more modern and useful Russian cookbook is A Taste of Russia by Darra Goldstein.