Bizarre Russian Foods

[peacetraveler22]

Remember my post about the Ukrainian market? I wrote there that I love food and my position hasn't changed. In America, we're getting ready to enter the most delicious time of year. We'll celebrate Christmas in less than two weeks. For my family, this means big gatherings and feasts. I can't really say I love Russian food. During my visits I tried some local cuisine, but didn't like most of it. I'm a very picky eater, not liking fish, seafood or a lot of meat. Recently on a popular U.S. website there was an article entitled "17 Bizarre Foods Every Russian Grew Up With." Maybe you'll find it amusing. I picked the most interesting dishes from the list and I've tasted a lot of the items. For me, the most disgusting delicacies are all the food molds stuffed with meats, herring and other treats. Like this photo, where the dish is called "herring under fur coat." :)

1. Olivye salad. I tasted this last New Year's eve. I don't like mayonnaise, so I can't eat it. I never put dressing on anything, or even ketchup, mustard or other condiments. I eat most things plain.



2. Salo. I think this is now more closely associated with Ukraine. I tasted it in Kyiv - ah, chewy fat! Not to my liking. I eat a lot of chicken and steak and all fat must be trimmed. I know some people enjoy this part of the meat but it gags me.



3. Kvas. You can easily find this in America, but the taste is too strong for me. During my recent trip to Russia, I tasted birch beer for the first time. Delicious and lighter!



4. Kompot. This drink I really like! I've had it in several Russian cafes, including Cafe Mu-Mu where I tasted it for the first time. Similar to American fruit punch, but more tasty with the real fruit thrown in.



5. Varenyky. Is this common in modern day Russia? I remember it being the national dish in Ukraine, available everywhere with a wide variety of stuffing like meat, potatoes and sweet fruits.



6. Kishka. Never tasted it and there's too much meat involved!! I doubt I would like it. Maybe I'll be brave next time and take a bite.



7. Blini w/Caviar. I can't eat it though I tried during a New Year's eve celebration last year with a Russian family. Too salty, and I don't like the strong fishy taste.



8. Kholodets. This is the most interesting dish! I remember at the holidays seeing all kinds of creative molds made out of swans, birds, animals, etc. Very strange and funny. :) During Valentine's Day, maybe they produce heart shaped molds? I also ate a version of this at Cafe Mu-Mu and didn't like it. The jelly texture is odd and the minced meat wasn't very good quality.



9. Herring, mayo and pickle sandwich. When we were completely drunk at the seedy St. Petersburg vodka bar, the guys tried to get me to eat this as a snack. I refused and ate cheese and crackers instead. This thick brown bread would have been much better to soak up the poison!! Perhaps this is why I needed help walking home at the end of the night! :) Pickles - I hate this food more than any other!



10. No words for this photo! :))



11. In Russia, I'm completely addicted to the sweets and candies. This is my favorite. Each time I visit, my host always has a bunch in the refrigerator and I eat these bars daily. Delicious!



What's your favorite national dish?

Also, I wonder whether it's interesting to readers if I write about how an average American family celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas? I can take photos and write about my family celebrations if it's an interesting topic? What do you think? Vote below please.

Comments

kholodets is a memory of boullion

[steelbear.livejournal.com]

in addition of the qtk opinion: a jelly in kholodets should be the result of a boiling extraction of moisture from beef tea. cause any thickeners just transform a bouillon to a polimeric gel. it seems to me the real emotion be carried by a real kholodets is a taste of hard boiled beef with piquant greens; so savoury as only the memory about a tiny sip of a hottest spicy soup on the icy wind at a winter river shore can be turned to the reality and be presented by the real kholodets. and... do not you think to collect and prepare the best russian recipes be published by your russian readers and friends by youself? in home we cook our food quite differently and authentic then restaurants do the same. by the way, the very interesting part of the russian cookery is the siberian and russian north cuisine. due to you prefer a light food you can discover a list of russian north or siberian diches that can be resound with your own style of nutrition.

Re: kholodets is a memory of boullion

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Of course, home cooked meals are always better than restaurants. This is the same no matter the country. :)

Re: kholodets is a memory of boullion

[steelbear.livejournal.com]

may be except of a high-end quality restaurants. one of them

http://www.monte.hr/

they cook absolutely unforgetable food and pose the captivating old wine (the italian valpolichello and the croatian teran)

Re: kholodets is a memory of boullion

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Restaurant looks nice, but I'm not the type of girl who likes fancy places.

Re: kholodets is a memory of boullion

[steelbear.livejournal.com]

It does not matter how it looks. the deal is that their dishes are very delicious and savoury. and i'm not sure that (for example) smoked tomatoes under the pressure of 10 bars can be cooked in home kitchen as easy as to sneeze. at the same time i'm not fancy guy like you is not fancy girl and if my brother-in-low didn't invite me to the restaurant I would never have thought I'll have ever visited it.