We have got several different types of tourism, recreational tourism, historical tourism, and cultural tourism are the most common ones; but there are other types of tourism, such as culinary tourism. Culinary tourism is the journey into food as the goal of tourism. Several countries have invested in culinary tourism, such as Spain, Italy, Greece, and Mexico. Though Russia might not come to your mind when you think about culinary tourism, it has several traditional dishes that might surprise you.
Borscht
Borscht is the most well-known dish of Russia in the world; it’s a beet soup with loads of meat, potato, tomato, onion, and carrots. This soup comes with sour cream as the topping, which balances the sweetness of the beets. This famous soup can be served both as a hot or cold soup, so you can find it on the menu of Russian restaurants in summers and winters.
Shchi
Shchi is the Russian-style cabbage soup, which its origin dates back to the 9th century. This soup has several different recipes and names, because when the ingredients of this soup change, the name of the soup changes as well; for example, when you made Shchi with spinach and sorrel, it will be called Green Shchi.
Olivier salad
Don’t let the 'salad' in the name of the food tricks you, Olivier salad is one of the heaviest meals in Russian cuisine. The Russian salad is a mayo-based potato salad, followed by several other ingredients such as carrots, peas, boiled eggs, pickles, and meat. This full-fat salad is one of the main snacks of New Year Eve.
Shuba
Shuba is another kind of Russian salad, which its main ingredient is diced salted herring with layers of baked beets, onions, and carrots. This Russian-favorite salad, which sometimes followed by mayo and boiled eggs, is one of the main dishes of the Russian holidays. You can find it in every Russian house during the holidays, especially during the New Year celebrations.
Pelmeni
Pelmeni is dumplings that have made from unleavened dough and filled with diverse types of meat such as lamb, pork, or beef. Pelmeni has a quite easy recipe, but it’s hard to make at home because it takes lots of time to ready the dough and shaping dumplings. This Russian-favorite dish can be both served with broth or not, but usually has sour cream as a topping.
Beef Stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff is another internationally-known dish of Russia. This dish made from strips of beef and a heavy creamy sauce plus onion and mushrooms. It can be both served solo or beside rice or pasta.
Shashlik
One of the most loved food in Russia is Shashlik. Russians love their Shashlik; you can find an exclusive Shashlik store called ‘shashlychnaya’ in every street of Moscow. Shashlik is a Russian version of kebab, that is grilled cubed meat, veggies, and herbs on skewers. Russians often use pork as their main ingredient, but any kind of meat does the charm.
Pirozhki
You may have already heard about Pirozhki, it’s one of the most beloved, popular street foods in Eastern Europe and Middle-East. Pirozhkis are mini pies that can be both fried on a pan or baked in the oven; they are filled with any ingredients imaginable, including meat, veggies, potatoes, jam, cheese, etc. These little puff pastries are everywhere, even in luxury restaurants, but the best ones usually made in local bakeries; after all, they are street food.
Morozhenoe
Morzhenoe is Russian ice-cream, but only creamier than normal ice-creams. It’s quite common in Russia, and you can find it anywhere from luxury restaurants to street ice-cream push-carts. It also has a variety of topping to choose from, such as fruits, biscuits, nuts, and chocolate.
Though they have all these marvelous food and meals, Russia still doesn’t count as one of the top culinary tourism destinations; but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy some excellent traditional Russian cuisine while you're there. We have gathered useful information about traditional Russian food, which you can read on our blog for free. Besides food, you can also read about historical places and religious places in Russia, or top shopping centers in Russia on our blog at the Star Travel Group website.
