Russian cooking magazine

Food is a big part of Russian culture, although due to the shear size and ethnic diversity within this great nation, it is a subject which is not always easy to define. The cuisine of Russia is extremely varied, having its foundations in the peasant food of the rural population and also being influenced by recent trends of European migration. While people in the different areas and economic classes of Russia may eat very different food, there are some dishes that are unmistakably and quintessentially Russian. Russian food has had a little bit of a renaissance in recent years, as cooking magazine and book publications have become more interested in international cuisine. The continuing globalisation of taste means that Russian food is likely to become more well known in the future.

The often harsh climate of Russia has helped to influence the cuisine, with foods like fish, game, poultry, berries, honey and mushrooms making up the early national menu. Crops of wheat, barley, rye and millet took care of the grain requirements of the early Russian people - with all of these crops still being farmed and used to this day. These crops are used in the production of many products, including different breads, pancakes and cereals, as well as in the alcoholic beverages beer and vodka. The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries saw a great expansion in the territory of Russia, bringing a great variety of new and refined food that expanded the Russian palette beyond the basics of the past.

Some of the then exotic dishes that were brought into Russia included ice cream, chocolate and wine. While these foods and drinks were at first only affordable to the Russian aristocracy, they later became less expensive and filtered down to the middle and lower classes. The 18th and 19th centuries saw Russian cuisine influenced greatly by German, French and Austrian dishes, with many Russian favourites like Beef Stroganoff and Chicken Kiev coming from this period of Russian history. The diet of Russian people has always consisted of a great variety of soup dishes and a lot of meat consumption.

Soup has always been an important part of the Russian diet, with both cold and hot soups often finding their way on to Russian menus. Soups in Russia can be divided into seven separate categories: cold kvass based coups, light stew based soups, noodle soups, cabbage soups, meat broth soups, fish soups, and grain and vegetable soups. Some of the more popular soup dishes include: Okroshka - a cold kvass based soup with two vegetables included as well, Botvin`ya - a hard to make boiled fish soup, Shchi - a popular first course cabbage soup, and Rassolnik - a hot soup made with a cucumber base. If soups are the popular choice for a first course in Russia, meat dishes are definitely the popular choice for the main course.

Meat was often traditionally boiled to make a soup and then included as the main meal along with other foods. Some popular dishes that have made their way onto some cooking magazine and book pages are: Studen´, Pelmeni, Kotlety and Shashlyk. While these Russian dishes may not have the same level of popularity as Italian or Indian cuisine, they are increasingly being tried out by people from other nations. While once it may have been a rare sight to see these recipes outside of Russia, food media proliferation and the globalisation of culture mean that they are now being cooked by people all over the world.