Page 59 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - St. Petersburg

Russian Dishes ❮❮ 57

Vareniki
8 TOP 10 DRINKS
Usually served as dessert,
vareniki are boiled dumplings and
are similar to pelmeni. They can be
filled with potato and mush room
and accompanied with smetana, or
eaten with sweeter fillings, such as
cherry or curd. An excellent option
for vegetarians in Russia, vareniki
are lighter than pelmeni.

Traditional kefir
1 Vodka
The national drink, its name is deri ved
from voda, the Russian word for water.
2 Kefir
A nutri tious, fermented milk drink
that originated in the Northern
Caucasus mountains.
3 Ryazhenka
A sweet-tasting, fermen ted, baked milk
drink with many health benefits.
Sweet vareniki served with cherries 4 Local Beer
Borsch
9 Vasileostrovakoe, Baltica, Botchkarev
and Nevskoe are local lagers of
A staple Russian/Ukrainian
dish, the St Petersburg borsch is a varying strength.
5 Kvas
filling beetroot-based soup usually A slightly alco holic (less than 1%) drink
prepared with meat, although made from fermented rye and barley.
vege tarian versions can also be
found. A thick borsch tastes 6 “Soviet Champagne”
Though officially “Russian sparkling”,
deli cious with smetana. and despite the USSR not having
existed for years, most people still refer
to this drink as “Soviet champagne”, in
defi ance of rul ings making it illegal to
call sparkling wine “cham pagne” unless
it comes from that region of France.
7 Mors
A traditional Russian juice drink, mors
is a red, vitamin-packed mixture of
water and cranberry or lingberry juice.
8 Samogon
The local equivalent of hooch or
Borsch with smetana moonshine – you may be offered some
of this if you visit rural areas.
Okroshka
0 9 Tea
Okroshka is another Russian
Tea was introduced to Russia in 1600.
cold soup which contains an unlikely It is some times drunk with a lemon or
combination of ingredi ents – fruit preserve, but rarely with milk.
cucumber, spring onion, boiled eggs, 10 Georgian Wine
ham and kvas (see Drinks, opposite). A very popular wine, but supplies are
It is a refreshing sum mer soup found often erratic due to Russia’s dispute
everywhere in Russia. Many families with Georgia.
have their own secret recipes.

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