Russian dietary taboos

There are no uniform dietary taboos in Russia that cover the entire region and the entire nation. All relevant agreements are flexible rules based on three dimensions: religious beliefs, national customs, and social etiquette. There are huge differences between different groups and regions. Most taboos are only bound to specific scenes, and there is no absolute red line that "violating it will definitely offend others."

A few years ago, I went on a business trip to St. Petersburg. I followed Alexei, an engineer from a local partner, to his grandmother's house to celebrate the Meat Shelen Festival. Before departure, I read more than a dozen guides and remembered not to send yellow flowers, hand things with my left hand, or even stuff the pickled salted duck eggs. He put it in his bag and wanted to give it as a special souvenir, but he was held down by Alexey when he went upstairs: "My grandma is a devout Orthodox Christian. After Meat Shelen, there is a seven-week fast. You are not allowed to touch poultry eggs. If you take out these salty duck eggs, grandma will donate them to you on the spot to help the poor in the church." ”I was so frightened that I broke out in a cold sweat. Later I discovered that half of the "general taboos" I had checked before were considered "old rules only grandma's generation cares about" in the eyes of Alexey, a young and irreligious person.

The easiest thing to trip up is actually the taboos related to religion, which are only valid for believers, so don’t apply them to everyone. The Orthodox Church does have a complete fasting system. There are four Lent periods in a year, which add up to almost half a year. During the strict fasting period, livestock meat, poultry eggs, dairy products, animal fats and oils are not allowed to be eaten. During some periods, fish, wine and olive oil are even forbidden. But now most of the people who can strictly abide by it are the elderly and clergy over 60 years old. Eight out of ten young people abstain from meat for at least two weeks during Lent before Easter. Dasha, a 1998 girl from the journalism department of Moscow State University who I know, even dragged me to eat a double-decker beef burger during Lent last year. After taking a bite, she winked at me: "God knows I run three times a week, so he will forgive me for eating meat." ”In Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, autonomous republics with a majority Muslim population, halal dietary rules are the mainstream local taboos. Do not mention eating pork in public, and do not bring non-halal food to Muslim families. However, if you go to a small Russian village outside Moscow and tell people that you cannot eat pork, they will stuff a whole plate of homemade salad meat into your pocket and let you take it back to eat.

More complex than religious differences are the eating habits of different ethnic groups. What many people mistakenly think is "taboo" is actually just the living traditions of different ethnic groups. For example, when I went to Irkutsk last year, the local Yakut guide Jima took me to his house for dinner. As soon as it was served, a plate full of hard-frozen whitefish fillets was placed on the table. He sprinkled some salt on it and handed it to me. I checked the guide before and said that Russians don't eat raw fish. I was frozen for a long time and didn't dare to take it. Jima laughed out loud when he saw it. He took a piece and chewed it loudly: "This is our Yakut people's traditional dish 'stroganina'. It is only served when distinguished guests come. Don't you Chinese also eat sashimi?" ”I bit the bullet and took a bite. It was salty and a little sweet. It was really delicious. Before I left, Jima stuffed two whole frozen whitefish for me and asked me to take it home for my parents to try. There is also the previously posted online saying that "Russians do not eat animal offal or sea cucumbers", which is even more of a stereotype. Russians in the Far East take sea cucumbers as a supplement, make soups, and eat them grilled. In Moscow's new-style restaurants, braised beef tongue and grilled chicken hearts are popular dishes. However, traditional Russian families rarely do these. It is not a taboo, but they are just not used to it.

The rest are mostly etiquette agreements in social situations, and they are not as strict as everyone thinks. For example, many guides say that "Russians are not allowed to pass tableware with their left hand when eating." I specifically asked seven or eight Russian friends around me. Half of them said that the elderly in the family do say it and think the left hand is "unclean." There are also rules for drinking. The one that everyone hears the most is that “the first drink must be drunk.” In fact, it depends on the scene. If you go out with friends to drink beer, no one cares how much you drink. If it is a formal family dinner or a business banquet, it is indeed best to finish the first drink after the toast. If you If you really can't drink it, just say that you are driving or taking cephalosporins. No one will force you to persuade me. I once had a colleague who went to Russia for the first time and thought he had to endure it. He drank half a glass of vodka and went straight to the hospital. The host was very embarrassed and kept asking if everything was okay for several days. Oh, by the way, if you are visiting someone else’s house, don’t give pears as souvenirs. Traditional Russians think pears are unlucky fruits, especially when visiting patients. You can’t go wrong with giving apples, cherries, or raspberries. But young people don’t care anymore. I brought Dasha some frozen pears from Northeast China last time. She was very happy to eat them and even took a photo to post on Instagram.

In fact, to put it bluntly, when you go to Russia as a guest or tourist, you don’t have to memorize every taboo list. If you are really afraid of making mistakes, before you sit down and sit down, you can smile and ask, “Are there any eating habits I need to pay attention to?” It will be more effective than checking ten guides. In fact, most Russians are very casual. If you accidentally run into an old rule, as long as you don't mean to offend, they will tell you the origin of the rule with a smile, and maybe you can even tell an interesting story.