Contents
The maximum is in the vastness of the post-Soviet space. And in Europe or anywhere overseas, such food with fire during the day cannot be found.
“Branded” national dishes, incomprehensible to foreigners, are found in almost every country. Except perhaps America – as such, there is no own cuisine at all, the history of the United States is too short. Well, don’t count burgers as national food, really. But in Russia there are a lot of specialty products and specialty Russian dishes. And although there is no exotic in them, such as frog legs or snails, foreigners are often shocked by our food. And we miss the products abroad that cannot be found there.
Forest mushrooms
Almost everyone is able to distinguish a porcini mushroom from a boletus or boletus, and a russula from a toadstool. Milk mushrooms, waves, butter – so many tasty words and recipes! But in the West, mushrooms are not picked. The shops sell “industrial” mushrooms – those that are grown in artificial conditions. That is, champignons, oyster mushrooms, fashionable shiitake and some others. But is it possible to cook such a fragrant soup from them as from white ones?
Boiled condensed milk
Condensed milk is generally a specific product. It is not so easy to find it abroad, and it is simply impossible in boiled form. Such a dessert as bread, covered with a thick layer of boiled water, seems to foreigners at least strange. In the West, they prefer peanut butter – it’s also tasty, but why choose if you can eat both.
Birch juice
Fresh from sawdust. Joke. A drink from the same series as forest mushrooms: who would think of going into the forest to “milk” a birch? It is here, with our forests and ancient culture of gathering, that the gifts of the taiga constitute a huge culinary layer. At one time, birch sap was harvested even on an industrial scale, it was sold in three-liter cans, like ordinary apple juice with pulp.
Omul
This is a freshwater fish that is found mainly on Lake Baikal. Not too greasy, for an amateur – a local delicacy. Especially omul is respected in a slightly salted or dried form. Foreigners do not perceive dried fish at all, it seems spoiled to them. And for our gourmets, this “perversity” is just the zest, the most delicious.
Seeds
Snapping sunflower seeds is a typical Russian habit. More precisely, Slavic. In Europe, you will not find this: it is impossible to imagine that somewhere in Prague or Berlin, grandmothers were sitting on benches and nibbling sunflower seeds. Peeled – yes, perhaps, an irreplaceable thing for smoothies or salads, baked goods. But not in the peel.
Kvass
This is perhaps the most popular summer drink in Russia. But they don’t drink this abroad. You can still find kombucha – there it is affectionately called “kombucha” and is made from ready-made mixtures. True, kvass can be easily made at home. And it will be the most useful and delicious drink, because there are many recipes, you can choose to your taste, and even adapt for yourself.
Sbiteni
There is nothing to discuss here: the recipe for this hot drink was invented in time immemorial. They make sbiten based on honey, add various spices to keep warm in the frost. Originally sbiten, by the way, is a non-alcoholic drink. However, not every Russian person has tried it, not to mention foreigners.
Buckwheat
In the West, they have now tasted this primordially Russian superfood. The benefits of this cereal are no less than in fashionable quinoa: there is no gluten, but a lot of iron and other trace elements. But buckwheat is not sold abroad in packages, like ours. Maximum in small bags, green – not for pleasure, but only for benefit.
Black salt
Or Thursday salt. It was cooked once a year: on Easter week, on Maundy Thursday night. Ordinary coarse salt was mixed with leavened ground or rye bread crumb and roasted in the oven, and on Easter they ate painted eggs with this salt. Sometimes chopped cabbage and spicy herbs, oats were added to the salt. After that, this salt was pounded in a mortar, and a very aromatic seasoning was obtained. You will not find such a specific product anywhere else in the world.
clabber
In fact – just sour milk. Moreover, pasteurized does not sour so pleasantly: it deteriorates, smells bad and is no longer good for anything. And yogurt is a more interesting drink than kefir. And the pancakes on it are wonderful!