Russian Cuisine:

With a country as large and varied as Russia it is difficult to put your finger on exactly what is Russian cuisine. It has it's origins in a mainly peasant population living in harsh conditions. Grain crops such as rye, wheat, barley and millet became the basis of a wide variety of breads, pancakes, cereals, beer and of course vodka. Hearty soups served to bolster the people against the weather.

The Mongols and Tartars introduced a method for making sour clotted milk that has remained a favorite of Russians up to today. But the cuisine also has an inescapable Eastern feel due to the close proximity to the Caucasus and Persia.

From the time of Catherine the Great, families of influence looked to Europe for culinary influences, especially Germany, Austria and France. Many of the foods familiar in the West are from this so called Franco-Russian period in Russian cooking such as stroganov, kotletki and salat olivier.