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Rus Cuisines: Eclectic By Nature - Part 2

© Dr. Donald R. Houston

Unlike Western countries the folk of the Rus have no specific "breakfast" foods. Whatever is made or leftover along with whatever the cook decides to make is breakfast. This holds true for almost everything. There are few cereal dishes that are served cold with milk that may be relegated mainly but not exclusively to breakfast.

In the Rus appetizers are deemed every bit as important as the main meal. The zakuska table is usually loaded down to the point of collapse with delicious offerings. A perennial favorite is pickled herring in sour cream with minced onions. Caviar is almost always part of the zakuska table. Fresh fruits and dried fruits along with smoked meats, smoked fish, fried dumplings, sauces, vegetable crudites, cheeses, breads and much, much more will completely cover the zakuska table at any gathering in the Rus. One can simply eat their meal at the zaksuka table This is not advised as you will then not be able to enjoy the sumptuous repast that will follow the zakuski.

Soups of all types are synonymous with Rus cooking. The borsch's of Ukraine, the chowders from the Baltic, clear broth-based soups of western Russia, meaty stews of the Trans-Caucus, and others abound. Soups made from vegetables, made from fruits, made from grains & more are something that must be experienced to believe. Delicious and healthy as well as interesting to look upon. It just would not be a Rus meal with out soup of some kind as one of the items on the menu.

Eateries of all types abound in all urban areas of today's Rus. Every village has at least 1 place to eat and drink. In Kyiv, Ukraine, there are a number of restaurants serving individual cuisines from all over the Rus; Bulgarian, Albania, Armenian, Georgia, Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakhstani, Uzbekhi, Turkmeni, Taijikh, Baltic, Hungarian, etc. the same is also true of other Rus urban areas such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Rostov, Odessa, Sofia, Prague, Budapest, Kallingrad, etc. Whether it is a small café, a bistro, a table-café, a cafeteria, or a real restaurant the food will be plentiful. Shashlik open-air cafes abound in Summer but leave the scene when the Winter begins. Specialty eateries a such varenyky eateries, pelmeni eateries, shashlik eateries, etc. can be found by looking around. Traditional cuisine restaurants featuring food from the region are becoming popular because of the increased tourist trade since 1990.

Custom demands that a guest be offered food, drink and a place to rest in safety. Since the dawn of time these tenets have been the cornerstone of Rus hospitality. Despite the falsely negative information taught to children during the Soviet period the folk of the Rus remained openly hospitable to guests and visitors. Whether you go just pick someone up to go elsewhere or to just visit for a few minutes you will be offered something to eat and drink. Refusals are much better accepted by younger folk than the older folk. Refusing something offered by an old babushka is tantamount to severely insulting her. About 4 years ago my car broke down just outside of a small village near Zhitomir. A farmer came by and began to speak with my driver and I. He was called Slava and offered to take us to the village about ½ a kilometer away on his tractor-drawn wagon. We went with him. Upon arriving at his home ,his wife, a pleasant woman who told us to call her Lena, began to ply us with tea, black bread, jams, cheese, fruit compote, some excellent cookies, keffir and some fabulous pickles. Slava got his friend, Pavel, to look at the car while we ate. They came back after about an hour to tell us that the problem was fixed. We tried to pay them but were refused. I went back about a week later with some wine & some chocolates for them & once again was feted to a feast of good foods.

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