Due to uncooperative internet (and the self-control to hold on just a while longer before finally revealing a post I've been preparing for almost a week, now), I failed to post anything yesterday. While this may have made some cry in happiness, for me it created a sense of guilt and a missed opportunity.
So, today, I thought I would categorically talk about every "non-American" food I've had in Russia, including a little bit of Georgian cuisine and the Russian take on what can be American staples.
Blini, as you can see, are essentially the Russian version of crepes. They are one of the most commonly found foods on the streets (followed by pirozhki and, oddly enough, Russian-style pizzas), and are usually served stuffed with some type of filling. This can range from meat, to cheese, to fruit, to smetana; and apparently, they are wonderfully easy to make.
My personal rating: I absolutely love these. Most Russians do, too; I've heard multiple stories from people of when their host families would make blini-- they would have to eat as many blini as they could manage before they left home, because it was a well-known fact that by the time they would return home, all of the blini would be gone. As a delicious and quintessentially Russian food that is super easy to find, I give this dish five stars (out of five possible).
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
Pirozhki are small stuffed Russian pies. They can be filled with, once again, almost anything: cabbage and/or meat is quite popular, as well as potatoes and onions; and Princess's personal favorite is the pirozhok filled with eggs and rice. Not all pirozhki are savory, however-- there are also lemon pirozhki, apple pirozhki... If you really wanted to, it would probably be possible to have a pirozhok for every meal of the day.
My personal rating: Again, five stars. The bread used to bake these is absolutely phenomenal; and I have as of yet to actually eat a pirozhok that I haven't liked. (The way that I know you could have a pirozhok for every meal of every day? When Princess and I first got to Russia, we discovered that there was a cafe at the bottom of our university that had an entire window filled with pirozhki. One day, when Princess wanted to break a large bill, we bought one of almost every kind of pirozhok and split them, so we could both see how they tasted. Suffice it to say, that was a great day.) Pirozhki are also super easy to find-- they sell them all over the place, in cafes, bakeries, street vendors, etc.-- so they also win in the overall food category.
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
Pelmeni are like Russian-style ravioli. They are almost always filled with meat (don't ask me why, that's just the way it is), and they are usually in a strange circle shape. You can have pelmeni fried or boiled in broth; either way, they are asolutely delicious.
My personal rating: Actually, a 4.8. While these are absolutely delicious and many places will claim to have them, they are not quite as readily available as blini or pirozhki. However, the taste makes it so that I can't give them too much less than five stars...
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
As far as I can tell, syrniki are basically fried tvorog, which is fine by me. This is yet another one of those quintessentially Russian foods. All the syrniki I've gotten to try have been sweet; and, in true Russian fashion, they were eaten with smetana.
My personal rating: 4 out of 5. These are fantastic, but you can't really eat too many of them, and they're rather difficult to find. I loved these when I got to eat them, but I haven't been able to find some since.
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
And now that I've kept mentioning tvorog and smetana without an explanation...
Smetana and tvorog are both very important parts of Russian cuisine. Smetana is the Russian version of sour cream, except it is slightly thinner and thus easier to slather. Russians eat smetana on EVERYTHING: on pasta, on carbs, even in soup. (In fact, when Russians put smetana in soup, it is said to be "making the soup soft".) Tvorog is somewhat like the lovechild between feta cheese and cottage cheese, with a generally sweeter taste; it can be eaten mixed with smetana or even yogurt, and is one of my personal favorite foods.
My personal rating: Five out of five. I love both of these, even if when I first was introduced to them I wasn't entirely sure about my feelings for them. (I thought the tvorog was a bunch of flour until it glooped out of the bag; then I was just disturbed.) These are also super easy to buy, super tasty, and make pretty much everything better.
Kolbasa is supposed to be the Russian version of the sausage. It comes in many forms-- a tube, a normal hot dog, etc.-- but the main way I was introduced to it was when my host mom near the Glass Monster used to cut it up and shove it on the stove in the same pan she was using to reheat pasta. (I don't know why it was always that combination; but it was.)
Now, it should be noted, if you are British in particular, or expecting anything resembling an actual sausage, kolbasa will leave you feeling incredibly disappointed. (I only know this because the British girls on our exchange program invested in a proper British sausage after reaching wits' end.)
My rating: I really don't have one. I don't hate these, but I don't love them, either; and while they're quite cheap, and readily available, I wouldn't necessarily take the effort to buy them. So, my official rating is a quite definite ???????????.
I love malinka, just because to us Westerners, they're good, old-fashioned raspberries. Can't go wrong with that.
I like these far less; they're quite bitter, though tolerable. My least favorite?
So, today, I thought I would categorically talk about every "non-American" food I've had in Russia, including a little bit of Georgian cuisine and the Russian take on what can be American staples.
1) Blini
Blini, as you can see, are essentially the Russian version of crepes. They are one of the most commonly found foods on the streets (followed by pirozhki and, oddly enough, Russian-style pizzas), and are usually served stuffed with some type of filling. This can range from meat, to cheese, to fruit, to smetana; and apparently, they are wonderfully easy to make.
My personal rating: I absolutely love these. Most Russians do, too; I've heard multiple stories from people of when their host families would make blini-- they would have to eat as many blini as they could manage before they left home, because it was a well-known fact that by the time they would return home, all of the blini would be gone. As a delicious and quintessentially Russian food that is super easy to find, I give this dish five stars (out of five possible).
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
2) Pirozhki
Pirozhki are small stuffed Russian pies. They can be filled with, once again, almost anything: cabbage and/or meat is quite popular, as well as potatoes and onions; and Princess's personal favorite is the pirozhok filled with eggs and rice. Not all pirozhki are savory, however-- there are also lemon pirozhki, apple pirozhki... If you really wanted to, it would probably be possible to have a pirozhok for every meal of the day.
My personal rating: Again, five stars. The bread used to bake these is absolutely phenomenal; and I have as of yet to actually eat a pirozhok that I haven't liked. (The way that I know you could have a pirozhok for every meal of every day? When Princess and I first got to Russia, we discovered that there was a cafe at the bottom of our university that had an entire window filled with pirozhki. One day, when Princess wanted to break a large bill, we bought one of almost every kind of pirozhok and split them, so we could both see how they tasted. Suffice it to say, that was a great day.) Pirozhki are also super easy to find-- they sell them all over the place, in cafes, bakeries, street vendors, etc.-- so they also win in the overall food category.
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
3) Pelmeni
Pelmeni are like Russian-style ravioli. They are almost always filled with meat (don't ask me why, that's just the way it is), and they are usually in a strange circle shape. You can have pelmeni fried or boiled in broth; either way, they are asolutely delicious.
My personal rating: Actually, a 4.8. While these are absolutely delicious and many places will claim to have them, they are not quite as readily available as blini or pirozhki. However, the taste makes it so that I can't give them too much less than five stars...
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
4) Syrniki
My personal rating: 4 out of 5. These are fantastic, but you can't really eat too many of them, and they're rather difficult to find. I loved these when I got to eat them, but I haven't been able to find some since.
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
And now that I've kept mentioning tvorog and smetana without an explanation...
5) Smetana and Tvorog
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| Tvorog |
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| Smetana |
My personal rating: Five out of five. I love both of these, even if when I first was introduced to them I wasn't entirely sure about my feelings for them. (I thought the tvorog was a bunch of flour until it glooped out of the bag; then I was just disturbed.) These are also super easy to buy, super tasty, and make pretty much everything better.
6) Kolbasa
Kolbasa is supposed to be the Russian version of the sausage. It comes in many forms-- a tube, a normal hot dog, etc.-- but the main way I was introduced to it was when my host mom near the Glass Monster used to cut it up and shove it on the stove in the same pan she was using to reheat pasta. (I don't know why it was always that combination; but it was.)
Now, it should be noted, if you are British in particular, or expecting anything resembling an actual sausage, kolbasa will leave you feeling incredibly disappointed. (I only know this because the British girls on our exchange program invested in a proper British sausage after reaching wits' end.)
My rating: I really don't have one. I don't hate these, but I don't love them, either; and while they're quite cheap, and readily available, I wouldn't necessarily take the effort to buy them. So, my official rating is a quite definite ???????????.
7) Oladushki
Oladushki are basically like smaller, fatter versions of blini. (Okay, so TECHNICALLY they aren't quite; but, for all effective purposes, they really are.) They're usually hand-sized (meaning they can fit into the palm of your hand), and they're absolutely delicious with preserves and smetana.
My rating: Five out of five. I love these, and eat them just as quickly as blini. Because they basically are. And they're apparently super simple to make, so that's a plus, too.
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
8. Sosiska v teste
Sosiska v teste is literally the Russian version of a pig-in-a-blanket. The name literally means "sausage in dough"; and, if you couldn't tell from the picture, that's exactly what it is.
My rating: This is another one of the ones where I don't really have a rating for it, just because it's not my kind of thing. Overall, it tasted fine; but I'm not going to go out of my way to have it or anything.
Recipe forthcoming only by request.
9. Pichki
Pichki are Russian-style donuts, though if I had my say, they would be called "the lovechild of funnel cake and donuts". These are super delicious, especially when heated up with powdered sugar on top. (I never said Russian cuisine was diet food...)
My rating: Five out of five. I haven't tried to buy these (my waistline would never forgive me), but I'm pretty sure they would be easy to find; plus, they're absolutely delicious.
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
10. Korzinki s karamelom
This is one of the most brilliant things I have ever eaten. It's a little pastry "basket"-- which explains why the title is "little baskets" in Russian-- with soft caramel and caramel whipped cream. (Unfortunately, this picture is only an approximation.)
My rating: Five out of five. These are absolutely delicious, and since they're offered at a chain restaurant in St. Petersburg (Nyam burg; there are a bunch of them), they're unfortunately easy to get a hold of. Also...
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
11. Shashliki
Shashliki are shish kabobs that are normally cooked outside over an open fire. Remember when I was at the dacha? (If not, refer back to "(Wo)Man in Nature"; it's a longer, but [in my totally unbiased opinion] more interesting post.) Little did I know it at the time, but the chicken we ate at the dacha was shashliki.
My rating: Shashliki are super delicious, super easy, and super fun. How could it be anything other than a five out of five?
12. Kasha
Kasha is a particularly difficult thing to quantify, just because there are so many types. Basically, kasha is the Russian word for any hot cereal; and that includes:
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| Semolina; |
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| Grecha (a.k.a. buckwheat); and |
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| Oatmeal. (Forgive me, can't remember the Russian name at the moment...) |
My rating: Four out of five. Kasha is readily available (obviously), easy to make (obviously), and can be quite tasty; however, as a breakfast, it can also get rather monotonous.
13. Russian Cheese
So, I know what you're thinking: How is cheese a specifically Russian thing? Obviously, it's not; however, the main reason why I bring up Russian cheese is that there's a very particular KIND of cheese much beloved by people in Russia. I have no idea what it's called; however, I have rarely seen a cheese that was totally solid, and instead see cheeses like this:
Now, some might argue that this is simply Swiss cheese; however, to them I say, nay! This cheese is much milder, and much tastier than Swiss cheese.
My rating: Five out of five. Super available, super tasty, and super cheap. Win-win for everyone.
14. Ermigurt
What is Ermigurt, might you ask? Only the strangest concoction ever. Now, true, this picture is of a package of Ermigurt tvorog; however, the principle remains the same: Ermigurt is a brand of dairy products that apparently have so many preservatives in them (and/or so much sugar) that they are sold outside of refrigeration, AND that they are normally not refrigerated even after they are bought.
My rating: Three out of five. Not the biggest fan, personally; they're a little bit on the sickeningly sweet side for me, and I'm just weirded out by the concept of dairy products that don't need to be refrigerated.
15. Kharcho
This soup is technically Georgian, but I ate it out here in Russia, so it's making its way onto this post. Kharcho is a delicious, delicious soup (obviously), with meat, grains, vegetables... It's just awesome.
My rating: Five out of five, for sheer deliciousness. AND, I'm leaving the description vague because...
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
16. Khachapurri
Khachapurri is ALSO Georgian; however, it is absolutely delicious. Khachapurri is bread with this amazing cheese mixture on the inside; kind of like an inside-out pizza without any tomato sauce.
My rating: Absolutely a five out of five. Though the availability depends on the number of Georgian restaurants around.
Recipe forthcoming in the future.
17. Russian-Style Brownie
If you're thinking that that's just a cake with whipped-cream frosting, yes, you are correct. Russians have absolutely no idea what a brownie is supposed to be; so, instead, they have these strange half-versions which are, yes, chocolate pastries, but no, not brownies.
My rating: A four, just because even if it's not technically correct, it's still delicious.
18. Russian-style berries
No, the berries aren't actually Russian-style. However, I thought I should briefly mention three berries that are very important culturally to Russia: malinka, rebinka, and kalinka. All three of these are berries used to help bolster the immune system here in Russia; there's even a famous song named after them. (Note: I have absolutely no claim to this song, have nothing to do with the performers, and only linked this because it was a video available on YouTube that wasn't super long. However, once you hear the melody, it should be familiar enough.) When I lived with my old host mom, she forced me to try all three of them.
So, how do I feel about these berries?
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| Malinka |
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| Rebinka |
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| Kalinka |
These berries are SUPER bitter, SUPER sour, and just generally unpleasant. On another note, don't eat any of the berries that are growing on the trees in the city; with how much pollution there is, any health benefits are far outweighed by the possibility that you'll get terribly sick from eating these. (Thanks, old host mom...)
There it is! NOM!
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