Food / Кухня

Beef Stroganov originated in Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. It is named for a member of the influential Stroganov family. There is some disagreement about the exact origin of the dish. Some say it was created by a French chef working for the Stroganov family, while others say it is a refined version of older Russian dishes.

Bliny in Russian culture

Russians eat both sweet and savory bliny. Savory bliny can be eaten as a main course, whereas sweet bliny can be for dessert or with tea. Russians eat bliny regularly. There are even Russian fast food chains that specialize in bliny such as Teremok. 

Bliny are an important part of the spring holiday Maslenitsa. There are different explanations for why people prepare bliny for Maslenitsa. It is a very old holiday, celebrated as early as the 2nd century A.D. Therefore, there are many versions of the original traditions. One explanation for the appearance of bliny at Maslenitsa is that the blin was seen as a symbol of the sun. Another explanation has roots in Slavic ancestor worship. Springtime, it was thought, was a time when the worlds of the living and dead were closer. Bliny, which are very thin, represent the thin border between worlds. Bliny were prepared and left as offerings for the dead.

After Russia adopted Christianity, Maslenitsa became part of the festivities leading up to the Great Lent when people traditionally fast and abstain from certain foods.

Russian sayings about bliny

"Первый блин комом." (Pervee blin komom). "The first crepe is always lumpy." Things don't always turn out perfectly the first time you try them.

You can't cook a pancake for the whole world, на весь мир не испечешь блин (na ves mir ne ispechyosh blin) means you can't please everyone.

Что блин по маслу (chto blin po máslu), or like a pancake over butter, means something is done easily without any effort.

Russians also say блин! (blin!) in a similar way that English speakers say darn or shoot! Blin is the singular of pancake, but it also sounds a little bit like a Russian curse word, just like darn sounds close to damn.

Kasha in Russian culture

Kasha has been a part of Russian cuisine for centuries. The first mention of it in Russian writing dates back to documents from the late 7th century. a "foundational dish" in Russian cooking, eaten by people from all walks of life, kasha is certainly a staple of the Russian diet. It is eaten in Russia for breakfast, as a main dish, or as a side dish for lunch or dinner. 

There are many different kinds of kasha, and a variety of ways to eat kasha. You can make kasha from basically any type of grain including wheat, barley, oat, millet, rice, and rye, although buckwheat (гречка) is the most common. For breakfast, kasha is eaten either with butter, milk, fruit, or jam. For lunch, you can prepare it with a variety of vegetables and/or meats.

Kasha is prepared for everyday consumption, but is also associated with certain ceremonies or special events including baptisms, weddings, funerals, and religious holidays like Christmas. 

Russian sayings about kasha

There are a lot of sayings in Russian that refer to kasha. Here are just a few:

You can say that someone has kasha in their head каша в голове (kasha v golove) to imply that they are stupid.

There are many sayings about kasha that demonstrate its important place in the Russian diet. For example, где каша, там наши (gde kasha, tam nashi) which means "where there's kasha, there's our people" or 

You can say "you can't spoil kasha with butter" кашу маслом не испортишь (kashoo maslom ni isportish) to mean, you can't ruin something by adding something good, even if you add too much.

You can also say "you've boiled the kasha, now don't spare the butter" to mean, you've started something so you should finish it, and do it the right way by saying заварил кашу, так не жалей масла (zavaril kashoo, tak ni zhalei masla).

People also use to cook kasha, заварить кашу (zavareet kashoo) to mean to start trouble, or to deal with kasha, расхлёбывать кашу (raskhlyobyvat kashoo) to deal with trouble/problems.

Olivye in Russian culture

Olivye is a traditional food made at new year's. It is eaten in Russia and many former Soviet countries. In other countries around the world it is called Russian salad, but in Russia and some other Eastern European countries, people use the name olivye. The salad was invented in the 1860s in Moscow by a Belgian chef named Lucien Olivier, for whom the dish is named. Olivier was a chef in the Hermitage, one of Moscow's famous restaurants. 

The original recipe underwent some changes over the 150+ years since its creation. Gourmet ingredients were substituted for more common ones. However, the name remained the same. Today there are many different variations to Olivye salad. The main two types are with or without meat.

Pelmeni in Russian culture

Pelmeni are dumplings with a variety of fillings including meat and potatoes. It is unknown when exactly pelmeni became a part of Russian cuisine. Some believe they came to Russia from Northwest China and came to Russia with the Mongols. Others believe they originated with the indigenous population of Siberia, most likely the Komi people. According to Folk Ways Today, "in the Komi language, “pelnyan” means “bread-ear,” a reference to the food’s ear-like shape." As often happens with language, the word changed when it was adopted into Russian, becoming the word pelmen we know today. Pelmeni is the plural.

Pelmeni were particularly popular with Russian hunters.

Russian sayings about pelmeni

An equivalent of "all good things to those who wait" in Russian is пельмешки не терпят спешки (pelmeshki ni terpyat speshki), literally pelmeni can't stand speed demons. Good things take time.