Russian Food for Kiwis - About Us

This "Russian Food for Kiwis" website came about out of an interest in Russian food sparked from our time in Russia, and a desire to preserve some of the culinary tradtions that our two girls, Anya and Arina, grew up with while living in Russia.

Most of our travels weren't to the famous big cities, but to small cities and towns in the heart of Siberia, Perm Region and Russian Far East. It was in these areas, living amongst locals, shopping where they shopped, that we tasted and fall in love with Russian food.

Thankfully the infamous food shortages of Soviet times were a thing of the past. Even relatively isolated parts of Russia, such as Irkutsk, are abundantly supplied with fresh produce, local and imported products.

The Russian food markets are located in large warehouse buildings divided into sections. Each section sells a different food group such as red meat, chicken, dairy products or vegetables. Packaged and imported good sare sold at small kiosks, each package neatly displayed behind (mostly) bored looking shop assistants or 'devushkey'.

Despite sub zero temperatures, stallholders at outdoor markets stood for hours selling fish, homemade baked goods as well as berries of types we never see in New Zealand, like the bitter Bilberry.

Of course there are supermarkets too, which offer convenience but without the fun of social interaction or the chance for some real life language practice!

When we returned to New Zealand, we kept up our interest in the Russian language, culture and food, and were lucky enough to meet and become friends with Russian speaking families in New Zealand.

With all the wonderful food, and the notorious Russian sweet tooth, I still wonder how the Russians, particularly the women, remain so slim. My friends laugh and tell me that with the cold and the need to keep moving, the women burn off a lot of carbos.

I also suspect that the women spend a lot of time preparing food for their families and friends but little time eating it themselves. Either way I still am amazed, and more than a little jealous, of their trim figures.

Wendy
Editor - Russian Food for Kiwis