Interesting article about convenience food in Russia

[windmoonstar]

From: http://trj.ru/index.htm?obj=27207&ty...51528747&cat=3

In the old Soviet days it was common to see men hurrying to work in the morning with lunch bags their wives, mothers or sisters prepared for them. It was a very touching sight: These bags usually contained Russian kotlets (meat dumplings), sandwiches with sausages and cheese, boiled eggs, some vegetables and fruit. In the evenings, the same mothers, sisters and wives were waiting for their sons and husbands with homemade dinners that included Russia’s famous soups (shchi or borshch), and, once again, the kotlets.

Apart from instant coffee, which was widespread yet pricy and at times in short supply, convenience food in the Soviet Union was limited to what was available at the so-called "culinary" stores.

These stores offered factory-made kotlets, fried and smoked chicken, fish and meat, ready-to-eat salads and pirogi (pastries stuffed with meat, fish, boiled egg, potatoes, rice, etc.) In terms of price, culinary stores often represented the most inexpensive option.

Kotlets, for example, were as cheap as 7 kopeks apiece, meaning the average monthly wage could buy 2,142 of them. But as these foods were often of poor quality, and the produce was rarely fresh, culinary stores were not very popular, except among bachelors, students and the bottom-end stratum of the population.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the demand for – and the supply of – both imported and domestically produced convenience food in Russia has steadily increased.

As globalization marches on, Russians, or at least the urban dwellers, are adopting the Western habit of lunching on fast food. Moreover, in line with the national tradition of "doing everything to the utmost," many Russians tend not only to incorporate convenience food into their lunch menu, but also eat it for breakfast and even for dinner.



The other weekend I was shocked to see Doshirak noodles and Darya pelmeni on the table when I went to a friend’s birthday party.

These days, the variety of convenience food available at Moscow stores is truly impressive, if not shocking – the shelves are loaded with packets of instant porridge, cartons of five-minute noodles and sachets of soups, frozen vegetables, kotlets, pelmenis and the like.

In addition to Doshirak noodle soup, which is a clear leader in this segment of Russia’s food market, the latest craze among Moscow’s office workers is instant porridge marketed by the Russian company Bistroff. Ads say this porridge is free from pernicious preservatives, artificial flavors, colors and genetically modified gunk.

It is very tempting for Russians to reduce their food budget to as little as 100 rubles (a little more than $3) a day (Doshirak, plus pelmeni, plus porridge), and for many it’s the only way to live within their means.

Besides, convenience food is a solution for single, busy or simply lazy people who prefer to avoid the effort and the boredom of preparing meals. This is especially true now that Russian women tend to adopt more active lifestyles and spend less time in the kitchen: Often, they simply don’t have time to supply their husbands with a lunch bag.

However, convenience-food addicts should remember that such food has little nutritional value and is no substitute for a nutritious meal.