Foreigners eat Russian dishes. How do foreigners feel about Russian food? Russian dishes in European style
Culinary delights that foreigners see on the festive tables of Russians sometimes drive them into a stupor. However, not all traditional European dishes were able to take root in Russia. So, what kind of products and dishes of domestic cuisine do foreigners consider strange and even disgusting, and what kind of foreign cuisine will not all Russians dare to try?
Food that confuses foreigners
Buckwheat
This cereal tops the list of "Russian" products that other peoples strongly reject. This cereal in Europe is called Tatar or Saracen grain, it is used to feed birds. Buckwheat is also sold in Europe in specialized diet food departments. But Russians do not eat such a product because of the unusual processing - the groats are not fried and are carefully crushed.
In addition to residents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, buckwheat has admirers in Korea, where sae meduk buns are made from it. In Japan, buckwheat flour is used to make noodles. Jews also eat porridge mixed with pasta and fried onions.
Buckwheat is a cereal with the highest protein content, it also contains vitamins A, C, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium. 100 grams of buckwheat porridge is only 97 calories.
The homeland of buckwheat is not Greece at all, but the Himalayas. The cultivation of cereals in Russia was mainly carried out by Greek monks, hence the name. There is an opinion that buckwheat tastes good only if it is included in the diet of a person from childhood. Having tasted porridge for the first time in adulthood, people feel bitterness and a chemical aftertaste.
Salted cucumbers
This is another product that is practically not eaten in Western Europe and America (with the exception of Germans and residents of Eastern Europe - Hungarians, Poles, Czechs). In the West, it is customary to pickle cucumbers using sugar and vinegar, and fermentation is a long process, as a result of which a product with a specific sour taste is obtained. But it should be said that pickled cucumbers are healthier than pickled ones, as they contain lactic acid, which has a beneficial effect on digestion.
Strange salad vinaigrette and "disgusting" pickle
With undisguised surprise and distrust, foreigners treat vinaigrette and pickle. The first in Europe is called “Russian salad” and is considered an ugly combination of products, the presence of pickles enhances this effect. Rassolnik is also a very specific dish of Russian cuisine; not every European (if it is not a Pole) has the courage to try soup with boiled pickles.
fish eggs
Red caviar is a delicacy in Russian cuisine, obtained from salmon fish - trout, chum salmon, pink salmon. The nutritional value of this product is very high, it contains vitamins PP, E, C, A, B1, B2, it is also rich in minerals - phosphorus, fluorine, sodium, magnesium.However, Americans and Europeans (except the French and Germans) do not share our gastronomic delight. They consider "fish eggs" as waste, along with the rest of the entrails. Even more foreigners are surprised by the tradition of eating red caviar with pancakes; they are not used to savory fillings. In addition to Russians, Japanese and Finns willingly eat caviar.
Kefir
A healthy milk drink did not please gourmets all over the world with its dense texture, mild taste, high acidity and lack of sweetness.
The opinion of foreigners about kefir is not softened even by the fact that this drink has no equal in terms of usefulness. It contains 30 types of lactobacilli, kefir fungus, calcium, B vitamins and other substances that have a positive effect on health.
Dill
If the previously listed products cause bewilderment among foreigners, then dill deserves real hatred. Europeans traveling in Russia call the popularity of this fragrant herb a plague. Indeed, dill is added not only to national Russian cuisine, but also to places where it definitely does not belong - to Italian pizza, Mexican burrito, Greek salad. The presence of this component is noted not only on the table of ordinary families, catering establishments in the outback, but also on prestigious metropolitan restaurants.
English journalist Sean Walker even set up a Dillwatch Facebook community in which gourmets scold dill in unison. But in fact, this herb is in demand not only in Russia, but also in Bulgaria, Serbia, Sweden and Canada.
Dried fish
Freshwater dried fish causes real disgust among foreigners - they find its smell simply unbearable and do not even dare to try it. Bream, silver bream, pike, asp, roach, dried sabrefish are not eaten anywhere except in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
As snacks for beer in different countries of the world, as a rule, they eat sausages, steaks, smoked meat, fried krill, smoked cheese, chips, onion rings, meat barbecue, sea fish in batter. And only here they traditionally eat dried fatty ram. Even the omnivorous Chinese and French, lovers of frogs and oysters, are surprised that someone can eat dried fish.
What food of the neighbors did not take root in Russian cuisine
Lamprey
Lamprey - a delicacy among the inhabitants of the Baltic countries - is practically absent on the tables of Russian housewives. This creature looks like something between a fish and a worm. In fact, it belongs to the jawless order. The body of the lamprey is without scales and bones and practically without entrails. It should also be noted the pleasant taste - not similar to fish, but rather reminiscent of chicken. Lampreys are fried, smoked hot and cold.
It is extremely popular in Moldova, Serbia, Israel, Czech Republic, but not in Russia. It can be bought only in large supermarkets, its consumers, as a rule, are supporters of a healthy lifestyle. And in the outback it is difficult to find such a product, which is explained by sluggish demand. And this is at a low price, interesting taste, long shelf life. Another advantage of celery is that it can be eaten boiled, baked and fresh. The root is added to soups, vegetable dishes, salads, casseroles. The stems are used to make juices, dressings for meat dishes. There are a lot of ideas for cooking celery.
goat meat
Dietary and rich in amino acids, goat meat, widely popular in Asia, Central and South America, Africa, is not in high demand among Russians and Europeans. The reason for this is the specific smell and rigidity. In Russia, goats are bred mainly in individual homestead farms for milk production. These animals do not require troublesome care, they consume little feed, but even taking into account these advantages, goat meat does not compete with the usual varieties of meat - pork, chicken and beef.
This is a traditional product in the diet of Asians, it is also used in a number of European countries - France, Germany, Hungary. Horsemeat is also loved in Japan. Roast is prepared from meat, added to sausages to improve the consistency and taste. But most of Russia does not favor this product, with the exception of Yakutia, Bashkortostan and Tatarstan.
This is explained by the fact that the horse is treated as a noble intelligent animal, an assistant in the household. So, there is it - a cultural taboo.
In this, the Gypsies, Indians, British and Americans are in solidarity with the Russians. In addition, breeding horses requires a lot of space. Keeping animals in a closed space negatively affects the taste of meat.
At the end of May, Natalia Vodianova brought her husband Antoine Arnault to her small homeland, to Nizhny Novgorod. The model's mother thoroughly prepared for the meeting: she baked pies, made Russian salad, herring under a fur coat. But the Frenchman didn’t appreciate the usual food for us, comparing jelly with cat food. And what do foreigners think about other favorite Russian dishes?
It is difficult to explain why jelly, usually served as a dessert, ended up on the table at the beginning of the meal. It is even more difficult to explain why it was made from meat. And it is almost impossible to convince foreigners that jelly is delicious. Especially if you mention hooves and ears in the list of ingredients. But it is possible to reconcile a foreign guest with this peculiar dish - this is the fifth attempt.
Girl, Italy: “When I saw him for the first time (visiting an almost stranger, you can’t refuse), I thought I would die. I really love all sorts of fats, but this terrible thing looked just disgusting. Then I realized that a lot depends on who prepares it. I can eat it."
Girl, USA: “Are you sure. that food has to move like that? There is definitely something wrong with the texture of this dish.”
If jelly takes a confident leading position in the anti-rating of Russian dishes, then the situation with kvass is more or less acceptable. Some compare it with weak sour beer, others consider it as an alternative to soda in the heat, others even love it, but in half the cases kvass does not cause any emotions. Although funny sayings about the drink still occur.
Guy, Germany: “I want to try kvass, many people told me about it. Friends tried it and didn't like it at all. It's bread and water, right? It’s very interesting to drink this, the idea is quite wild. ”
But okroshka, the main ingredient of which is kvass, causes foreigners not so much disgust as a lot of questions. Why pour a salad over a drink when you can eat it on its own?
Girl, Canada: “We took everything that was on the table, including drinks, and collected it on one plate. Poor food, poor kvass, even poor kefir. Why all this suffering?
Man, Vietnam: “Okroshka, probably only for the Russian soul. I can hardly understand it, while others do not perceive it as a human dish.
Okroshka is a cold salad, but borscht is a hot salad. Cream soups or puree soups are more popular in Europe, which is why the traditional dish of Ukrainian cuisine seems thick, fatty and rich to many foreigners. The guests do not experience stormy delight from the first dish of sorrel, calling it "a strange soup with a strange spinach."
Italians - about borscht with sour cream:
- Do you need to stir the white in the middle?
- Maybe it's with beets?
- It doesn't look good, but it's delicious.
- Great! It was invented by the Bolsheviks!
Vareniki and dumplings
In different cuisines of the world, there are variations of dough with filling: gedza, khinkali, ravioli. Therefore, there are no questions about dumplings or dumplings, especially homemade ones. Unless the combination of dough and cottage cheese will seem strange to some. But the Hungarians will definitely appreciate sweet dumplings: they somehow eat "turosh chusa" - noodles with cottage cheese and sour cream.
Russian culturologist - about the Germans: “Dumplings aroused great interest in them. My colleagues then discussed “large ravioli with potatoes” for several days. It's funny that at the same time they eat only a couple of pieces at a time.
Herring under a Fur Coat
A deceptive dish to some foreigners seems like a cake with pink cream. But inside - a surprise - they are waiting for fish, vegetables and mayonnaise. "Very salty fish" and "too much sauce" are the most common comments about the salad and the hostess who prepared it. But there are also connoisseurs of herring under a fur coat.
Girl, Colombia: “We have a similar salad: beets, eggs, carrots and potatoes. But it doesn’t look so elegant, it’s just all mixed up.”
“You don’t add onions and garlic to sweets, do you?” - Foreigners ask cautiously, apparently realizing all the inconsistency of Russian cuisine. But then they scatter in compliments, trying pancakes with all kinds of fillings. And they suggest that pancakes can be eaten all day: sweet - for breakfast, with meat - for lunch, with caviar - for dinner.
02 Condensed milk- a delicacy that first causes bewildered glances among foreigners, and then - an exclamation of surprised pleasure. To heighten the effect, serve condensed milk in an authentic Soviet-designed jar and sternly punch a couple of holes in the lid with a can opener right in front of an astonished audience. Accompany the performance with a sentimental story about how you loved condensed milk as a child and what value it had for a Soviet person.
03 Glazed cheeses. Incredibly, this delicacy familiar to us is very surprising to foreigners. Among all the solemn (on the occasion of her arrival, of course) culinary variety, my friend of mine chose a simple cheese that happened to be on the table. She liked the cheese so much that the same day we went to the store and bought her a couple more. And then a dozen more - as gifts to her family. Judging by the Facebook post, the entire extended German family, including the golden retriever, was delighted.
04 Chocolate candies- a controversial treat, because no matter how high-quality Russian chocolate is, the taste of Swiss chocolate, so affordable in Europe, cannot be surpassed. So it is best to give home-made sweets for the sake of beautiful packaging, designed just for the look of a foreigner eager for Russian patterns.
05 Buckwheat. Arabs have couscous and Russians have buckwheat. It is hardly possible to guarantee that your foreigner will like it, because we, too, do not without exception love this cereal. But it's worth a try: serve porridge in a Khokhloma bowl and hand a wooden spoon to a foreigner. If not the taste of buckwheat, then the entourage will remember this moment for a long time.
06 Kvass. To the Japanese, kvass resembles soy sauce, and to Europeans, dark beer. The Icelanders have something similar, but our kvass is, of course, a very special drink.
07 Mead. In order to intoxicate a foreigner with several types of honey, you can go to Suzdal. Although supermarkets in other cities sometimes have a good selection of bottled mead.
08 Birch juice. This drink is something exotic for us, and even a foreigner can be surprised with it even more so. The very fact that this is juice from a tree is impressive (!).
09 vodka foreigners can be safely presented: they don’t know how to drink like we do in one gulp, but they know a lot of cocktails based on it. Of the colorful options - you can give "Putinka", or take the Stolichnaya or Russian Standard brands, which are promoted in the world. Also, vodka, prepared and bottled in the city where you live, has cultural value. There is an opinion that only some kind of tincture is better than vodka, but be careful with it. In one volunteer camp in France, I saw with my own eyes how the French brutally and unceremoniously criticized the Brest Zubrovka, a whole liter of which a girl from Belarus brought as a gift. So keep in mind that the French or Italians spoiled with their own drinks may not appreciate the originality of our alcohol.
Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thanks for that
for discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us at Facebook and In contact with
Traveling the world, visiting new restaurants and meeting different people, it is always interesting to touch another culture through local food. Some dishes arouse genuine interest, others seem ordinary, and still others frighten with their exoticism. At the same time, we do not often evaluate the food we have been accustomed to since childhood as critically. Just think, borscht with meatballs!
The national cuisine of any country always reflects not only the peculiarities of the climate, but also the features of the people inhabiting it. Us in website It became very interesting how famous Russian cuisine is abroad. Are our pelmeni and okroshka to the taste of guests from abroad?
Speaking of dill...
Many, many foreigners who come to Russia note a huge amount of dill, which we like to add to almost all dishes. Even in those where it is not expected at all.
“Dill is terrible. I can't eat it anymore, I'm just tired of it! I can't believe they put it in just about everything." - reluctant_redditer .
However, we note that dill contains a huge amount of useful substances and vitamins, it is useful for blood, brain vessels, digestion, and vision.
Aspic
A cold appetizer made from jelly-like meat broth is present not only in Russian, but also in other cuisines of the world. The main difference between aspic, brawn or other similar aspic is that gelling agents are separately added to them - gelatin or agar-agar. This is not required for the preparation of jelly, the desired consistency is achieved by long-term digestion of the legs, tail and head of the animal in the broth - they contain a lot of collagen.
It is difficult to name the exact reasons, but jelly more often than other dishes arouses suspicion and rejection among foreigners.
“I just can’t look at all this mayonnaise. Has he taken over everything? Much can be understood, but a few layers ... "- Flashdance007 .
“There was too much mayonnaise. There's always too much mayonnaise..." - Msknowbody .
Buckwheat
Buckwheat comes from northern India and Nepal. Having made a long journey through Asia, in the 15th century it took root in Russia.
In addition to Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union, buckwheat is consumed in Israel, China, Korea and Japan. Very little is eaten in the rest of the world. Not everyone likes her. The fact is that a person who has not been accustomed to its taste since childhood, having tasted it, will feel bitterness and a strange aftertaste.
Now in Europe there is a surge of interest in buckwheat because of its beneficial properties, nutritional value, dietary value and hypoallergenicity.
“I am a vegetarian and it was very difficult for me to find healthy and suitable food for such cold weather. Buckwheat has become my super-escape in all meals of the day,” says Schell, a student from India.
Syrniki
Cottage cheese, from which cheesecakes are made, was known in ancient Rome, but we called it “cheese” because it was obtained from raw milk. It began to be called cottage cheese only in the 18th century, when Peter I brought hard (rennet) cheeses from Europe and established their production in Russia.
Sometimes you can come across the name “cottage cheese”, but it didn’t take root very much, and no matter how you call this light dish, which can be both a dessert and a full breakfast, it will not become less tasty.
“I spent 2 weeks in Russia with my now ex-boyfriend, and his babushka made syrniki all the time. She even made her own cottage cheese! I'm hooked! We ate them with berry jam, which they also pick themselves,” la_pluie .
Solyanka
Solyanka was first mentioned in the 18th century. As the historian of Russian culinary Pavel Syutkin writes, "then, of course, she is not yet a soup (stew), but a hot dish of cabbage, cucumbers, meat, poultry, fish, mushrooms or other products."
Solyanka in the form of a first course appears in the 2nd half of the 19th century. There was no single, “classic” recipe - “... with sturgeon, capers, lemon, smoked meats. Each innkeeper showed his talent in it, attracting customers with unimaginable tastes and smells.
Laura Hancock from Detroit: Solyanka is probably my favorite Russian soup, mostly because it is very salty. It has pickles and sausages and bacon and chicken and capers and cabbage.”
Okroshka
What to expect from people who come to the country for the first time? For them, all this is a culture shock, they seem to be thrown into the sea, but they don’t know how to swim! Also, the Americans must have arrived in some prostration when visiting Russia. What do they think Americans about Russian food?..
I must say right away that I will talk about the food that Russians eat, and not about original Russian food, so that there are no misunderstandings. 🙂
What do Americans think of Russian food?
Pickles-jam
This is what they love. My husband enjoys eating pickles, they are much tastier than their American pickles (as pickles are called). I've tried it myself, I can confirm. Only Hungarian cucumbers are tastier than ours. 🙂
They wrap jam just as well, especially with pancakes.
Salads
I don't think Americans understand Russian salads with lots of ingredients and lots of mayonnaise.
"Herring under a Fur Coat? So these ingredients don’t really fit together!” the Americans say. We usually buy Russian salad (Olivier) in Houston's international store, this is the salad he likes.
Vegetable stews and other vegetable dishes
Americans hate vegetables in their blood! At least that's how it seemed to me. For example, cabbage in their supermarkets is sold only for foreigners. Well, in vain!
Offal, liver, heart, brains
Oh, it’s really bad for me ... Not every Russian will eat it, let alone conservative Americans. They accept only MEAT, and three types: pork, beef and chicken.
Buckwheat
Well, is it worth saying that buckwheat is not sold in the USA? As I said in the article, buckwheat can only be bought in international stores, we have one in Houston, the Armenians keep it. 🙂 When I bought kosher buckwheat there and cooked it, my American ate with pleasure and said “not bad”! Before that, of course, he had never tried this cereal. Now he constantly asks me to cook buckwheat.
Borsch
I can safely say that many Americans love borscht. I do not know why. Mine would sometimes go to a Russian shop specifically to buy Russian borscht (40 minutes by car from our house). Well, that was before me. Although in general, Americans usually eat cream soups (I personally don’t understand their taste) and chicken noodle soups.
Dumplings
Recently, the American ambassador admitted that he loves Russian dumplings with sour cream! That's where he got caught.
pies
I made pies with an unusual filling - with cheese and minced chicken, my husband appreciated immediately and then begged for a long time to make the same. He also treated his friend from work, who at first looked at the pie very suspiciously, and then tried it and he also liked it. Another time I made pies with potatoes and ground beef, there was no such blind delight from these. I ate a couple and that's about it.
Salted herring and caviar
My husband liked the salted herring from the Mumu cafe very much. When he was in Moscow, he ordered it every day. And he only squinted at the red caviar, and when he decided to try it, he spat for a long time.
Mushrooms
Americans eat nothing but mushrooms. However, for them there is no such food as fried potatoes with mushrooms (I love it, but my husband found it very boring). Mushrooms are not considered a full-fledged dish, well, you can add them a little bit for taste to chicken gravy, and that's it.
Dairy
Our dairy products are very diverse and, of course, Americans would like it if they wanted to radically change their lifestyle. But for now, they're more attracted to the juicy burger. 🙂
In the US, in general, there is nothing from fermented milk products except yogurt, some strange cottage cheese and cheese. No yogurt and ryazhenka for you. I advise you to read the article (with photo), if you are interested in what we generally sell.
Aspic
No, well, Americans do not respond with great enthusiasm about Russian food, of course, but JELLY FROM MEAT ?! Are you serious?? However, if they give it a try (try), then everything can change and jelly can become one of their favorite dishes. 🙂
Salo
Yes, this is a Ukrainian "treat", but the Americans don't care! =) They don't understand how fat can be eaten at all. Although they themselves are not averse to eating a couple of pieces of fried bacon for breakfast. Such a light and healthy breakfast... 🙂
Kissel
In addition to the Finns, no one understands the love for jelly, probably. Including the Americans. They won't stop asking if it's a drink or a dessert? And then the drink should be liquid, but THIS is some kind of thick ...
Tea
Our love of tea would be supported by the British, but not by the Americans. Last but not least, coffee. But in general, mine only drinks cold cappuccino and, of course, soda.
Gingerbread
Since gingerbread is sold in international stores in the United States, then someone needs it, right? 🙂 I have noticed more than once that Americans buy them.
Okroshka
What-what is this? Salad with kvass No, these Russians are still crazy...
So the fairy tale (or rather the article) is over, and whoever listened (or rather read) - well done! 🙂 So we found out that in general, Americans do not respond very well to Russian food. Well, in vain! Our food will still be healthier. In fact, I sincerely wonder how in a country with such ugly food preferences, life expectancy is almost 10 years longer than in Russia? And what do you think?
You may be interested in:
Would you like to receive articles from this blog by email?
Perhaps more than the mysterious Russian soul, foreigners visiting Mother Russia are surprised only by our cuisine. Americans turned out to be one of the most squeamish about food-a-la-rus, which is only worth their tasting of fat. But the Germans show amazing loyalty to our cuisine. Which domestic dishes plunge foreigners into shock, and which ones make them touched with delight, the editors of the Otdykh project will tell in their own rating of the most discussed dishes of Russian cuisine among foreigners.
Salo
Of course, many may argue about whether lard is our original product. However, most foreigners do not distinguish between Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian food. So it is Russian fat that is hotly discussed on the Internet. As it turned out, fat causes a storm of emotions among foreigners (the countries of the former CIS do not count). Americans, Chinese, French, Italians and even seemingly omnivorous Germans call bacon nothing more than “raw salted fat”, which they usually throw in the trash. Even bacon, in principle, is the same fat, only with layers of meat, they are ready to eat only cooked (fried, baked or stewed). I wonder if they know that many of our compatriots use it with sweet tea?
Aspic
Jelly is no less bewildering for the Western brother. Before they force Russian jelly to taste, foreigners will have to explain for a long time why meat is added to jelly, and even generously flavored with horseradish. Americans consider this idea simply disgusting, because their jelly is a priori sweet. You can finally finish off foreigners with a description of the technology for preparing this elastic dish - you need to boil pork hooves. It would never occur to anyone to eat offal. The least snobs in this matter were the Germans. The descendants of the Aryans in their homeland eat brawn - an analogue of jelly, only it is prepared from the head of a pig. To keep the dish longer, the Germans add vinegar to it.
Borscht and okroshka
In general, our use of a large amount of soups delights many foreigners. Despite the fact that our first courses are not to everyone's taste, Europeans still recognize that this is a healthier food than their usual dry food. Shchi, hodgepodge, and especially borscht and okroshka, which are more famous abroad, evoke polar reviews: either sharp rejection or strong support. True, there are also funny cases: for example, for some Latin Americans, our borscht resembles hot gazpacho, although they do not taste the same at all. That is why they eat it. This soup is also recognized by the Chinese living in the northern provinces, those closer to Russia. Beetroot is an unusual product for representatives of the Celestial Empire and it is surprising that it is she who paints the soup so richly. Most Europeans are wary of borscht: boiled cabbage and beets are embarrassing. Although the curious French and Italians are ready to experiment. Beets are nonsense to most Americans because they consider this ingredient to be livestock feed.
But okroshka makes everyone smile, because, as foreign nationals are sure, you can mix sausage, cucumbers, eggs with kefir or mineral water, and then eat all this only as a joke. From their point of view, this is tantamount to filling the salad with Coca-Cola and gobbling up this dish. What to say about okroshka on kvass.
"Herring under a fur coat" and "Olivier"
If many Europeans and Asians are still ready to put up with beets in borscht and vinaigrette, then not everyone can cope with the “rotten fish” in the salad “Herring under a fur coat”. The fact is that “rotten” Americans call any marinated, but not heat-treated fish. And again, lovers of this dish can be found among part of the Chinese and Germans. True, the latter use this salad in a slightly different form: they twist fish and beets, and then mix them with mayonnaise.
It would seem that okroshka is a liquid Olivier salad. But if not everyone agrees to try the soup, then the Russian Salad, which is what they called Olivier abroad, evokes mostly positive reviews. Americans compare it to their potato salad (however, only potatoes are common ingredients), diluted with sausage, egg and vegetables. If these culinary zealots liked this dish, what can we say about the rest. Russian salad is respected by the Chinese, French, Italians, British, Germans and even Chileans. Slightly less popular is the salad of crab sticks.
Shashlik and dumplings
Surely, many readers have already been puzzled: is it possible that all our dishes are not to the liking of foreigners. We can assure you that it is not. It was just these culinary delights that struck them the most. Positive emotions are evoked by our main meat dishes. In general, Europeans consider meat one of the key components of the Russian meal. Although shish kebab is not our original dish, nevertheless it is associated with Russia, and our “barbecue” is very sympathetic. Turns out it's all about the marinade. From other meat dishes, the Chinese distinguish cutlets, servelat, meat in French. Italians, Australians and French are not against dumplings.
Russian cuisine is difficult to describe in one word, it is too capacious and broad concept: it includes the traditional food of Russian peasants, gourmet French dishes that have long taken root in our country, dishes of the twentieth century, invented in Soviet times in cramped Khrushchev kitchens. In short, Russian cuisine consists mainly of quite varied, but fatty, nutritious and even heavy dishes. And if the Chinese love everything spicy, the Japanese - insipid, the Americans - sweet, then Russians, according to foreigners, eat sour and salty most of all.
Most foreigners know little about Russian cuisine: at best, they will remember the famous pancakes with caviar. But those who were lucky enough to visit our country talk about some Russian dishes with pleasure, and with disgust about others. Someone is delighted after trying the famous borscht and Olivier salad, someone finds our food too high-calorie and even unpleasant. There are even some dishes that almost all foreigners call disgusting - and first of all, Americans speak so negatively about them.
Firstly, this is fat - perhaps not a native Russian product, but very popular in our country. Americans are generally horrified that Russians eat lumps of fat that foreigners simply throw away. Yes, and aspic seems incredibly nasty to them - how can you eat frozen cold meat jelly covered with a crust of fat? Although fruit jelly does not cause such disgust in them ...
Second, many foreigners are suspicious of all meats other than beef, pork, and chicken. Americans don't eat lamb, rabbit meat, let alone such exotic meats as horse meat. And they don’t understand that offal can also be edible - after all, before in the United States, offal was given only to slaves. Therefore, they are very surprised that we are happy to eat the liver, hearts, lungs and tongue.
Like other northern peoples, Russians love salted or dried fish. But the Americans call such fish raw, since it has not been subjected to heat treatment. And no American will even try raw fish. For the same reason, Japanese sushi and rolls are nowhere near as popular in the US as they are in Russia. And Russian herring evokes in them about the same feelings as fresh raw fish.
Another feature of Russian cuisine that often surprises foreigners is a large number of soups. According to American Tim Kerby, who has been living in Russia for several years, soup is a completely normal dish for a foreigner, but it is eaten much less often in other countries. Foreigners are especially ambiguous about borscht - someone calls it disgusting hot and liquid beetroot salad, while someone really likes it.
Pancakes as one of the national Russian dishes are not surprising to foreigners - they are eaten by both Americans and Europeans, similar cakes can be found in Asian countries. But if in America pancakes and pancakes are only dessert dishes served with jam, sugar, marmalade, then in Russia they cook the so-called hearty pancakes with meat, fish, caviar, which seem strange to visitors from other countries.
Many Europeans are surprised that Russians eat little greens - and only parsley and dill. Cilantro, basil, savory are far from being so popular in Russia. And if parsley is loved and eaten in Europe, then they treat dill with prejudice and do not understand Russian love for this too odorous and peculiar grass.
The most popular drink in Russia is tea, which also often surprises foreigners who drink it occasionally and prefer coffee. And, of course, everyone thinks that the most favorite Russian drink is vodka, and they are surprised when they find out that beer is very popular in Russia.
Among the most delicious Russian dishes, foreigners call milk, kefir, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese, fish and bread. Many people say that Russian sliced loaf is tastier than the best French bread. And because of the shape, Russian bread is called "brick".
Every cuisine in the world has its own characteristics, amazing, strange and unusual dishes. All these statements about Russian cuisine indicate that it is original, interesting and not spoiled by mass love for fast food, flavor enhancers and preservatives. We can be proud of our national cuisine and culinary habits.