December 03, 2024

Herring Without a Fur Coat?


Herring Without a Fur Coat?
Herring under a fur coat, a timeless Russian holiday delicacy.  Pannet, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Rising sunflower oil prices in Russia have led to a rise in prices on 21 popular brands of mayonnaise, a Russian holiday staple.

Individual brands predict upticks in cost between 2.9 and 15 percent. According to one official, the wholesale cost of sunflower oil, the primary ingredient in most mayo, has risen 40 percent in the past year. This price increase comes right before New Year's, Russia's biggest and most popular and holiday. Mayo plays a crucial role in many staple holiday dishes

Other household ingredients including milk, butter, and tomato paste have also seen price increases in the past year.

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A Taste of Russia
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The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

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