Russian cuisine

[1] During the Peter and Catherine the Great era, minced meat was incorporated into dishes and other European countries' cuisine was also mixed into Russian foods.

In the last era (Petersburg cuisine), many French, German, Dutch, and Italian meals were incorporated into Russian foods, such as lamb and pork.

Due to the long-lasting cold weather in Russia, many dishes were made to be preserved, so they would not have to take extra trips in the freezing snowy days.

[2] Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of plentiful fish, pork, poultry, caviar, mushrooms, berries, and honey.

Crops of rye, wheat, barley and millet provided the ingredients for a plethora of breads, pancakes, pies, cereals, beer and vodka.

It was during this time period that smoked meats and fish, pastry cooking, salads, and green vegetables, chocolate, ice cream, wines, and juice were imported from abroad.

In the north of Russia, it incorporates local berries such as cloudberry or crowberry, fish such as cod, game meat such as elk, or even edible moss known as yagel.

Often, the mustard, chopped hard-boiled yolks, pepper and pickle brine are combined into a spicy sauce that is added to the soup to taste.

[7] It is served chilled, typically over finely chopped beetroot, cucumbers, radishes and spring onion, together with halved hard-boiled eggs and sprinkled with fresh dill.

Older tradition called for thickening shchi with a sort of roux, made by scalding a portion of the flour with a boiling broth, without frying it first, to increase the soup's caloric content, especially if the meat was not used; but about late XVIII century, and especially in the higher-class cooking, this was abandoned for the sake of the finer taste.

[12] Vinegret (from French vinaigrette) is a salad made of boiled beets, potatoes, carrots, pickles, onions, sauerkraut, and sometimes peas or white beans.

While average-priced tushyonka contains a large portion of lard and jelly, this very non-meaty addition to meat can be used as a sauce for enriching rice or buckwheat kasha's taste.

They are akin to vareniki, a Ukrainian variety of dumplings with a filling made of, most commonly, mashed potatoes, farmer's cheese, or cherries.

Shashlyk is a form of shish kebab (marinated meat grilled on a skewer) popular in former Soviet Union countries, notably in Georgia, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan.

Kholodets (or studen'): Jellied chopped pieces of pork or veal meat with some spices added (pepper, parsley, garlic, bay leaf) and minor amounts of vegetables (carrots, onions).

Blin had a somewhat ritual significance for early Slavic peoples in pre-Christian times since they were a symbol of the sun, due to their round form.

Vatrushka is a kind of cake with a ring of dough and tvorog (cottage cheese) in the middle, often with raisins or bits of fruit, from about five inches to two and a half feet in diameter.

Kulich is a kind of Easter bread that is traditional in the Orthodox Christian faith and is eaten in countries like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Historically, it was often served with cheese paska bearing the symbol XB (from the traditional Easter greeting of Христос воскресе, "Christ is Risen").

Paskha is a festive dish made in Eastern Orthodox countries which consists of food that is forbidden during the fast of Great Lent.

[22] In Imperial Russia, the "small jellied sweetmeats" were served for tea "with a white foamy top, a bit like marshmallow, but tasting of pure fruit".

Zefir (may also be spelled zephyr or zephir) is a type of soft confectionery made by whipping fruit and berry purée (mostly apple puree) with sugar and egg whites with subsequent addition of a gelling agent like pectin, carrageenan, agar, or gelatine.

[26][27] It consists of the sweetened juice of berries, like mors, but it is thickened with cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot; sometimes red wine or fresh or dried fruits are added.

Of Russia's alcoholic beverages, perhaps the most ancient is Medovukha, a sweet, low-alcohol drink, made with fermented honey with the addition of various spices.

A stronger honey-based beverage, stavlenniy myod, also exists in Russia and is broadly equivalent to Scandinavian mead; it is typically made with the admixture of berry juices.

Vodka can be either grain or potato based and is frequently flavored with a great variety of ingredients ranging from hot-pepper and horseradish to fruits and berries.

Beer continued to be made throughout Russian history, but real growth came in the 18th century when many breweries were founded in order to supply the newly modernized and expanded imperial army and fleet.

A real explosion in the popularity of beer came in the last decades of the Soviet Era and has continued into the present day, with Russia now ranking as the fourth largest producer in the world.

The basic method of preparing kvass includes water, flour and liquid malt; these ingredients are used to make a dough that is subjected to fermentation.

Domestic cultivation exists in the southern regions of the country (mostly in Krasnodar Krai), but local supply is very limited compared to national consumption.