10 Dishes: Russian Cuisine Trivia Quiz

Answer: borscht

Borscht (or sometimes "borsch") can be served hot in the winter or cold in the summer. It can be filled with meat or completely vegetarian. Its name encompasses a large number of different styles in many different countries, with each nation claiming their style as their own.

Common additions to borscht include sour cream, hard-boiled eggs, and large chunks of potatoes. It can be served with dumplings or sides of bread. With its humble origins, it is often considered a food of the common man--or at least one that isn't too expensive. From these humble beginnings, this Slavic food has come to be something the Russian people are proud of.

The other three answer options are all kinds of Russian soups: "shchi" is a traditional cabbage soup, "rassolnik" is a soup made with pickled vegetables (including pickled cucumbers), and "solyanka" is a sour soup packed with meat and vegetables.

Answer: They were frozen outdoors in winter.

Explorers in the Russian taiga were able to carry palmeni around with them in sacks, giving them a convenient frozen meal, ready-to-cook, even in the cold winter months. One just needed to warm them up by boiling them in hot water, though sometimes they were cooked in meat broth. Palmeni are savory, distinguishing them from sweet varieties of dumplings.

A special kind of sour cream is often added to these dumplings called "smetana," which is heavier than most sour creams sold in the United States. Today, palmeni are a cheap food that can be purchased in a store and eaten by college students, though higher-quality homemade versions are certainly also consumed.

Answer: mayonnaise

A popular addition to Russian zakuski tables (similar to a smorgasbord), Olivier salad has been popular since the 1860s, when Russian restaurateur Lucien Olivier first created it. It spread in popularity to Soviet countries during the twentieth century.

It is common to include it as an hors d'oeuvre while waiting for the Russian New Year to come in, along with a large table (zakuski) of other popular Russian dishes, though Olivier salad would be welcome during any celebration. Perhaps the salad's most important ingredient is mayonnaise, which can be spiced up with additional ingredients to make a tasty dressing.

Answer: beef stroganoff

Named for the esteemed Stroganoff family, who grew fabulously wealthy as merchants, beef stroganoff is popular worldwide, though each country seems to have put its own spin on the original dish. Originally, it was cooked as described in the question, though, as the dish traveled to different regions in Russia and across the world, several variations appeared.

Many of the changes are likely due to French chefs, who altered the dish with French cooking methods. For example, instead of cubes of beef, longer strips are often seen in the beef stroganoffs of today. American chefs now typically add mushrooms and onions to the sauce, and they also sometimes substitute heavy cream for the sour cream.

The other three answer options are Russian meat dishes: a Pozharsky cutlet is a bread cutlet made with ground meat and butter, veal Orloff is a French-style Russian veal dish in which the veal is thinly sliced, layered with duxelles and onions, and topped with bechamel, and "avar khinkal" is a traditional lamb dish originating from Dagestan.

Answer: groats

The different varieties of "kasha" can be enjoyed during different times of the day. Oatmeal kasha is often enjoyed during breakfast, while buckwheat kasha is usually reserved for lunch or dinner. Children are often fed kasha with milk and sugar to make it slightly more palatable to their young mouths.

Answer: shashlik

Shashlik are more-or-less synonymous with "shish kebab," and the dish indeed finds its roots in Middle Eastern cuisine. The meat is marinated for several hours, then cooked over charcoal, balanced high enough to prevent burning. Traditionally, the meat is cooked separately from the vegetables as it is usually much thicker. When cooked together, the pieces of meat are cut smaller so that they cook evenly with the other ingredients.

The other answer options are all Russian meat dishes: "golubtsy" is a dish that consists of minced meat wrapped with cabbage leaves, "klopse" are German-style meatballs served in Russia, and "kotleti" are the Russian version of cutlets.

Answer: It is served cold.

Russian cuisine is heavy with cold soups, with many of them taking on a slightly sour taste. Okroshka can also be served as a salad if one desires a less wet meal, though Russians are fond of the kvass taste that is added to this soup.

There are many examples of cold Russian soups. "Tyurya" is a bread soup made with kvass similar to okroshka. "Svyokolnik" is a special kind of cold borscht where sour cream or yogurt is blended into the dish. "Botvinya" is another cold Russian soup made with the leafy tops of several different vegetables and kvass.

Answer: herring under a fur coat

The grated ingredients in dressed herring look somewhat similar to a fur coat, leading to the Russian name "selyodka pod shuboy" or "herring under a fur coat." The dish is topped with a final layer of grated beet, giving it purple color, and grated boiled egg, giving it its furry appearance. It is one dish of many that are popular on Russian zakuski tables for the New Year.

Answer: sturgeon

There are varying types of caviar these days, all vying for various levels of prestige, but if one wishes to be a traditionalist, you would only request the roe from sturgeon that live in the Caspian Sea or Black Sea. Salmon caviar is perhaps the second most popular type of caviar and it is orangish-pink in appearance.

There are endless guides on how to eat caviar properly, but perhaps one of the most important rules is to keep the foodstuff away from anything metal so as not to apply a metallic taste to the roe. That means not serving it in metal bowls and certainly not eating it with a metal spoon. One material often used to make caviar spoons is mother of pearl.

Answer: blini

In the West, blini are sometimes characterized as small thicker pancakes, but in modern-day Russia, the term has more in common with French crepes. They are deeply embedded in Russian culture, having many uses. Sometimes they are found on street carts laden with cheap, easy ingredients. At other times, they are topped with only the most expensive caviar. Everyone in Russian society can enjoy this dish.

The other answer options are Russian desserts: "medovik" is a layered Russian honey cake, "vareniki" are dumplings that can be stuffed with sweet or savory fillings, and "syrniki" are small, thick pancakes made with curd cheese.