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Caribbean and Russian cooking recipes

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Whilst this is not a country in the true meaning of the word, the cuisine from the whole region is of such an exciting nature that we've cheated in order to include the various countries' recipes all in one go.

The West Indies, more popularly known as The Caribbean since World War II, is a large group of islands that separate the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean and on the continent of North America. It is comprised of three main island groups, including the Bahamas in the north (over 700 islands), The Greater Antilles in the centre, including the countries of Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles to the southeast, divided into two groups, the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands including the islands of Barbados, St. Lucia, Martinique and Trinidad amongst the many.

Ancient Times and Influences

It is believed the first inhabitants were American Indians - Arawaks and Caribs. With the abundance of fresh fish, fruit and vegetables, these peoples probably prepared food in the most simplest of ways. Then came old Christopher Columbus (again) in 1492 laying claim for Spain, quickly followed by the English, French, Portuguese and Dutch bringing slaves from Africa.

The Europeans brought with them their farming ideas including the introduction of pigs, sheep and cattle. Indeed, one type of Caribbean cooking is known throughout the world today: the barbecue - derived from the French "de barbe a queue" which literally translates to "from beard to tail" from the practice of roasting a whole pig over an open fire.

They also imported plants such as bananas, coconuts and coffee and established plantations for the wide scale growing of sugar cane, bananas, coffee and the like. After slavery ended, indentured workers were "imported" from India and China. They too brought with them their culinary customs all of which have now fused into an exquisite and exciting gastronomic extravaganza.

Current Day Cuisine

Caribbean cooking really is a world of its own. The melting pot mix of peoples in the islands has produced a cuisine which is unrivalled throughout the world. Whilst there are a few dishes which are common throughout the islands in general, each island has it's specialties and ways of cooking. For example, in islands such as Martinique and St. Lucia, there is a strong French influence, both of them having been ruled by the French at some time during their history.

Russian cuisine and Russian cooking recipes

Russian cuisine is one of the most popular and widely spread in the world. French cuisine is festive and elegant, Chinese cuisine is exotic, Russian cuisine is healthy and delicious. Russian dishes are easy to cook and they do not demand much skill and special ingredients, they do not need exotic equipment and tool and everybody who knows how to hold a cooking knife and how to peel potatoes can cook delicious Russian dishes.

A few words about Russian cooking traditions. In old Russ, grain - that is rye, barley, oats, millet and wheat - was always the main food product. Since days of old the Russian s have been known as land-tiller. That is why bread remains their major national food. Pies have always been a par of the holiday fare. The pies are customarily filled with different kinds of meat, fish, and berries. As for the groats, millet was most often used since it was the main agricultural product. They also made various kinds of kashas (cereals), round loaves, baked puddings, and krupenik.

Russians have always eaten vegetables. In old times it was the turnip, cabbage, radish, and cucumbers. Since the 18th century the potato began to play an ever more important part as one of the most loved ingredients of the Russian board.

The abundance of berries, mushroom, and honey in Russian cuisine is accounted for by the country's vast expanses, especially in the north.

One more important thing should be mentioned for better understanding of Russian cooking traditions. Russian is an Orthodox country and all the feasts were always strictly followed. Totally there are more than 200 days in a year in which the Orthodox Christians should avoid eating meat, milk and milk products (including butter), eggs. That is why Russian cuisine widely uses vegetables, fish, berries, and mushrooms. In order to cook tasty dishes using just vegetables it is necessary to use different spice, Russians used dill, parsley, celery, later they used spidery which were delivered from other countries - pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves. Nearly all dishes include onion.

Below you can see a list of most popular Russian cooking recipes that can be cooked at home without much efforts. Author tested all these cooking recipes and some of them are often used in everyday cooking. In general each cuisine roughly can be divided into two groups of dishes - official dishes and every-day dishes. The same is with Russian cuisine. Official dishes demands much time for cooking, often they include many different products. So in the end these cooking recipes are Russian only by name, something like "Pork with Russian sauce", "Russian cutlets" etc. In opposite the every-day dishes that are cooked of common products and in limited time range, reflect the real Russian cuisine and they give the real impression about Russian cuisine. Here are cooking recipes of so-called every-day Russian cuisine. Recipes are written in accordance with classical Russian cooking book which was called "The book about tasty and healthy cuisine" but with some practical comments.

Continue to learn more info about cooking recipes, please visit Russian Crafts.

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