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.

You Might Also Like

Oksana and Her
  • December 17, 2020

Oksana and Her "Jewish" Zakuska

In which we meet Oksana, Russian millennial and cook. She shares childhood memories of a surprisingly abundant 90s, and her favorite snack: the "Jewish" zakuska.
Herring Under a What?
  • January 03, 2021

Herring Under a What?

A popular New Year’s dish in Russia, Herring under a Fur Coat is a bit baffling.
A Mayo Mystery
  • January 03, 2022

A Mayo Mystery

Russians put mayonnaise on everything. Even robberies, apparently.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955