Russian Foods experiences Good/bad

[duplantisjj]

I'm planning a trip to Ukraine in October and am curious as to people's experiences/opinions on local foods. I've heard of salted fish and beer...and somehow that doesn't sound pleasant. If I go to my girl's house and her family cooks, what can I expect?? I'm a master chef but still have been called a "picky" eater. Can somone tell me what is in this famous Russian soup/stew served in a bread bowl? Any experiences good and bad would be appreciated. My UW tells me of a dish called Sashika (sp?)...sounds like shish ka bobs....which I do like....anyone familiar with this?

[Wayne B]

Shashlic, (bad spelling)....pork or chicken....very good, in fact my wife cooked some yesterday.  Very good food in the Ukraine....you will get many ideas from the other members 

[catzenmouse]

I also thought the salt fish (it was squid when I had it) and beer would be horrible but it was very good! I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen and am very picky about what I eat but don't let that worry you. Unless you are like TG then you will spend a lot of your meal time at McDonalds. (Sorry TG but EWWWWW!  )

I have liked everything I have had there except tongue. I did warn them ahead of time that I do not like, and will not eat, liver so they didn't inflict that on me. After many years of working in slaughter houses and as a meat cutter just the smell of liver turns me off!

I did eat a lot of things that I couldn't identify also but they were all quite tasty and I will have them again.

Ken

[ecr844]

"duplantisjj,"

   I enjoyed the kvass as cold soup was a new experience for me. As "catzenmouse," mentioned if you are in communication and all is going well before and or during your trip just give them a heads up as to what maybe off limits for meals. As for the liver that was a 'special' dish prepared for me by my RW's momma the first time we had dinner. I had no idea that it was on the menu, and she kind of 'sprung it on me'; funnily enough, my RW and her sis wouldn't touch the stuff. Momm and I though, we enjoyed ourselves!

  As for the shashlik, ask. When I was in Voroneah, I was warned that the 'street' vendors which were selling it had a nasty habit of killing stray dogs and then serving them to the customers the next day. You shouldn't have that concern at someones home though..

ECR844

[Kuna]

dup,

I wouldn't worry about the food because you'll find MANY things you'll enjoy.

Shashlik is delicious... think barbecued chicken, pork or beef and you'll get the idea... if you can find a Georgian restaurant that does shasklik I hope you get a good Georgian sauce with it because the one I found in Dnepr was DEVINE!

They eat lots of vegetables and salads... but many of the salads have either sour cream or mayonnaise in them.  Still not bad to eat but you'll enjoy best if you seek out variety.

The salted fish goes really well with beer, and as Catzen said... you'll also find dried squid at times.

Definitely try to soups... borsch, solyanka (sour meat soup) and if you're there in summer Gorshka (cold soup made from sour milk).

Pirozhkiy are like little pasta dumplings with different fillings (either potato and cheese or a savoury meat).

Hoblutsi are cabbage rolls filled with a pork mince and rice mix.

A favourite dish of mine on this trip was really simple...  baby potatoes sauteed in butter with garlic and mushroom.

Blinni...  OMG BLINI!  Ummmm... crepes filled with either sweet or savoury fillings but you MUST try Blinni with Ikra (Caviar)!

For breakfast just get some nice local bread, toast it lightly and spread with one of the dozens of types of cream cheese (all different flavours). I love the bread there and now know why my family has complained about our bread in Oz for as long as I can remember!

You'll find lots of fish... just things like salmon steaks, etc.

Depending on where you're going there will be sushi restaurants.

You'll probably find Italian restaurants too... I've gotta say though if you're going somewhere new I'd try to stick to local foods.

Ahhhhh... the food... LOVE IT!

[Sohkay]

duplantisjj,

Adjika - Originally a Georgian seasoning paste, in many places in Ukraine, it's a wonderful, fresh sweet red pepper, garlic and hot red pepper salsa. Some are spicy hot...some are mild.

Caviar - Sometimes a simple piece of bread, with butter, a thin layer of red caviar with some freshly cut parsley on top. Quite good.

Kasha - Two types...morning...a hot white cereal like Cream of wheat. Dinner...barley, I believe with pork or chicken, onions, spices.

My fiancee makes a wonderful liver pate'. This with a small piece of bread goes VERY nicely with cold vodka.

One time she said she wanted to make fish soup for me. "Oh no" I silently thought. Well, it turns out, the way she makes it rivals some of the best bouillabaisse I've eaten in gourmet restos.

Some of the baked goods, if you can find a good bakery, (or a good girlfriend!) are exceptional. One of the things that is so good about them is that often they are not too sweet.

The Bio fruit yogurts are good.

If you're there in season, check out the peaches, nectarines and especially the cantaloupe. I ate some in Sevastopol last year that I swear tasted like bazooka bubble gum and was just about as sweet. I mean, they got nice melons.

Also in season, check out some of the raspberry and strawberry preserves made by the locals. The berries are smaller but much more intensely flavored.

Some of the ice cream is good. The whipped ice creams are good. When you're in the store and pick up a container, you'll be shocked at how light it is.

For beer, Yantar Svitle (svitle means light) is outstanding. It is NOT a light beer as we know it. It's amber colored and by sight, leads you to believe it's heavier, but when you drink it, it is so smooth and quenching. The Stella Artois is also very refreshing. For vodka, my favorite is SV Luxe. This vodka is filtered numerous times through silver and minerals. It has a slightly viscous quality with just a tinge of hardly perceptible sweetness. The Khortitsa Platinum is also quite good. The wine...just don't. Bring some with you. The wine there is terrible, in my estimation. Overly sweet, musky tasting and smelling. The government is currently allowing Ukrainian wineries to use concentrates, powders and additives because of less than favorable growing conditions the past two years. Ukrainian and Soviet champagne sucks.

As a general rule, avoid street vendors selling hot food, unless the person your with can vouch for this food. Try a grilled chicken while you're there.

On my first visit, we celebrated American Thanksgiving. Went to a Soviet style meat market in Nikolaev, picked out a bird that was slaughtered and plucked that morning. It still had some fine hairs on the outside so my fiancee burned them off over a gas burner. This turkey had hardly any breast meat! It was OK though.

If you like sandwiches, some of the Ukrainian lunch meat (they call it "kolbasa") is very good. Look in the cases and you'll see whole pork tenderloins that have been seasoned and smoked, to varying degrees. If you get the right type, it can be very good. Ukrainians are very serious about their kolbasa, as you'll see if you visit a decent sized supermarket.

What we call cole slaw, they will call new kapusta salad. One of the big differences is that they marinate the cut cabbage for two to three days at room temperature, drain and squeeze it dry, and then mix with chopped parsley (petrushka), oil or mayo, etc. It can also be good.

You will sometimes see people put a dollop of sour cream in their borscht or chicken soup. I didn't like it there, but funny enough, after I got back to the states, I made some chicken soup and a put a dollop of whole milk plain organic yogurt in my bowl of chicken soup and it was exceptional. A little creamy with a slight tang.

I will also vouch for the dried squid treats with beer. They go together.

Oh, there are numerous cold salads in the stores, or made by your girlfriend that are good. Eggplant, seaweed, potato, beet. Some are very good.

But other than that, and what the others have mentioned, there's really nothing to eat in Ukraine.