Russian American Food

Russian American food reflects its two culinary origins, the lowly shtetl and the noble estate. Unlike other waves of immigration, the bulk of Russian immigrants fled either religious or political persecution; fewer came to America purely for economic opportunity. The demographics of the various groups that immigrated in the wake of Russia’s social and political upheavals determined the nature of the foods they brought with them.

[See alsoCabbage; Jewish American Food; Vodka.]

Bibliography

1. Goldstein, Darra. A Taste of Russia, 2d ed. Montpelier, Vt.: Russian Life Books, 1999. An overview of Russian food culture with recipes.
2. Koehler, Margaret H. Recipes from the Russians of San Francisco. Riverside, Conn.: Chatham, 1974. A collection of recipes from San Francisco’s Russian community.
3. Kropotkin, Alexandra. How to Cook and Eat in Russian. New York: Putnam, 1947. The classic Cold War volume that made Russian food, and Russians, accessible to Americans.
4. Maddox, Gaylord, ed. Russian Cook Book for American Homes. New York: Russian War Relief, n.d. Published in the early 1940s, this little book contains recipes from both Russians living in the United States and Americans. The recipes have an American accent despite their origin. A wartime edition of the same book appeared in 1943.
5. Stewart-Gordon, Faith, and Nika Hazelton. The Russian Tea Room Cookbook. New York: Marek, 1981. Recipes from the famous New York restaurant.
6. Visson, Lynn. The Complete Russian Cookbook. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Ardis, 1982. Recipes from the Russian émigré community.