Borsch, dumplings and 5 dishes that are mistakenly believe native Russian

The question of what true Russian cuisine is very controversial. Culinary authors in Russia until the nineteenth century was not enough, and until the seventeenth century, the main diet was almost entirely not that today is served in restaurants with Russian cuisine. And who in their right mind would order porridge and bread — and these products were the basis of the menu three centuries ago.

It so happened that many of the traditional recipes were lost, but some new dishes that have appeared recently, for some reason, began to be considered a native Russian.

Buckwheat is a true symbol of Russian cuisine — no other country does not consume so much of buckwheat as Russia. And yet Asia is the birthplace of buckwheat.

Wild buckwheat was discovered by the monks on the slopes of Tibet and the Himalayas, but the native land of the plant is not very well established. The grain was brought to Russia by the merchants in the middle ages, and to the XVI—XVII centuries. Cam the crop spread through the entire territory of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Some people think that this salad of boiled vegetables with mandatory pickles were developed long ago, but it's not.

Another popular Russian beet salad, which is considered the pride of Russian cuisine, also has Scandinavian roots.

Although legend has it that this new year's dish was invented in the early XX century by Anastas Bogomilov, the Russian owner of the hotel, the combination of salted fish and cooked vegetables was already a staple in Germany and Norway before that. The Soviet contribution was simply to make the dish in layers and drown it in mayonnaise.

Another Christmas meal that strikes fear into the hearts of many foreigners. But there is nothing particularly Russian; similar dishes are found in many cuisines. Jellied rich beef broth cooked in Georgia, Poland, Serbia, Romania, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine. But the main source is believed to Western Europe.

The dumplings were cooked for the first time in China, and to the XIV—XV centuries. Cam dumplings came to dining tables Russia through the Ural and Siberia. In the Central regions of Russia, they became commonplace only in the XIX century.

This traditional "Russian" soup was invented by Slavic people, not by the Russian. In Ancient Russia the practice was simply to cook large pieces of chopped cabbage in water, which is fundamentally different from today's soup.The recipe is cooked in meat broth chopped vegetables was invented by the southern Slavs in the Balkans. The soup arrived in Russia in the XIV century and quickly established itself in the national cuisine, becoming a firm favorite among Russians and their guests.

Purified ethanol dates back to the XI century, when it was isolated by distillation Persian physician and scholar Muhammad Ibn Zakaria al-Razi. But the resulting liquid is a precursor of vodka was only used in medicine since the Koran forbids Muslims from drinking alcohol.

In Europe, the idea of creating a vodka drink Italians. They received the "water of life" penetrated into Russia in the late XIV century and prompted local residents to begin production of alcohol due to an excess of grain. The beginning of the XVI century Russian vodka has been exported to other countries.