| Ever wondered in a Russian restaurant and got | | | | ever famous "pelmeni" (aka ravioli) - a nice little pack |
| amazed by the amount of calories that each dish | | | | of meat (proteins) and dough (carbs, fiber) that is very |
| contained? Or, maybe, thought why do these Russians | | | | easy to prepare and consume. |
| eat that vegetable soup with meat, then pasta with | | | | It has also created a number of dry snacks, that are |
| meat and then have that sugar-rich drink with plenty of | | | | well preserved and usually consumed together with |
| fruit? Read on, for we are about to tell you where the | | | | some sort of alcoholic drink (beer, vodka, "samogon") |
| Russian food is coming from and, most importantly, | | | | as those too provide high energy boost and produce |
| why is it this way. | | | | sense of warmness, necessary during cold times. |
| For starters, let's remember that Russia, aside from | | | | Most of traditional Russian meals are not spicy. |
| being a land of Tsars, Bolsheviks, Revolution, | | | | However, being such a vast land, Russia inevitably |
| Perestroika and Sputnik is a vast amounts of land. It's | | | | happen to be the place where East and West would |
| so big it takes almost 1/6th of total surface of all land | | | | cross their paths. Roads from Asia lead to Europe - all |
| on Earth. Apparently, the climate there isn't always | | | | the way through Russian spaces. Apparently, getting |
| friendly. In fact, most of the Russia's land experiences | | | | spices and other condiments, not custom to original |
| cold weather approximately 7 - 8 months in a year. | | | | Russian foods, was much easier business for cooks in |
| Which doesn't leave much for warm-loving crops, | | | | Russia, than it was for Europeans. The fact that this |
| animals and other growing or running food that one | | | | land had been a place of many crossroads also |
| can procure. | | | | explains why Russian food has meals similar to those |
| Such conditions required that prepared food has to be | | | | in many different countries. For example, Russian |
| easily preserved and provided enough energy for | | | | vareniki or pelmeni are very similar to ravioli from the |
| people to survive during long cold months when | | | | West and dumplings from East. |
| procurement of food was hard or not possible. This | | | | The energy volume of Russian meals have been, so |
| has led to dishes like "borsh" - heavy vegetable soup | | | | far, rarely superseded. Traditional Russian bread and |
| with cabbage, beet and, in some recipes, small pieces | | | | milk breakfast is hardly anywhere near (calorie-wise) |
| of meat, "okroshka" - another heavy soup based on | | | | to any other breakfast - weather European or Asian. |
| kvas or kefir with (varying from recipe to recipe) | | | | Russian "vareniki" or "pelmeni" with traditional sour |
| pre-boiled eggs, cucumbers, potato, small cubes of | | | | cream are a killer meal that is quite heavy on proteins, |
| meat, onions and a number of additional ingredients or | | | | carbs and fat. |