There were several periods in the USSR that affected the availability and diversity of food products. In the 30-50s, during industrialization, people’s opportunities were limited, and there was a shortage of food during World War II. In the 60-70s, the situation improved, but in the 80s new problems arose due to the decline in economic efficiency.
However, despite all these difficulties, there was a lot of tasty and popular food in the USSR. In the first place, of course, were bread and cereals, which were the basis of the diet, as well as vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, fish and other products.
Popular dishes and appetizers included Olivier salad, borscht, pelmeni, cabbage rolls, cutlets, pancakes, sochniki, fried pies, honey cake and other desserts. Some products and dishes, such as eggplants, sprats, buckwheat were considered rare delicacies and were not available to everyone.
Overall, food in the USSR may have been a bit monotonous and limited in availability, but even now, after many years, many Russian people love and remember traditional Soviet dishes and food products with warmth and nostalgia.
Festive table
The festive table in the USSR was special and included traditional dishes and drinks that symbolized the holiday and joy. As a rule, there would always be bread, cereals, vegetables and fruits on the table, but for the holiday, more refined and expensive products were added.
Among the festive dishes were snacks – sprats, herring under a fur coat or herring in a jacket, sausage, pickled and salted cucumbers, etc. Also on the table was always the Olivier salad, which is still considered a classic dish of Russian cuisine, as well as meat dishes – roast, cookies, cutlets, etc.
Sweets were an important element of the festive table. Traditional desserts were honey cake, pies with jam or apples, preserves, marmalade, chocolate candies, etc.
As for drinks, there were always “snack” drinks on the festive table, such as vodka, home-brew or horseradish vodka. You could also find red and white wine, champagne and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on the table.
Communication at the festive table played an important role and the most important thing was to be the life of the party and play the role of the host of the holiday, give gifts, have fun and enjoy life.