Russian Fish Soups

A hearty soup is an essential part of a full Russian meal and reflects the love of quantity as well as quality in Russian eating habits. In 1813 Ivan Krӯlov, the Russian La Fontaine, devoted a fable to the Russian passion for huge amounts of soup and the title of this fable has become the common expression for anything excessive: Dem’yanova ukha. In the fable, the host entreats his guest to find room for a fourth helping of the fish soup, described as being ‘covered with amber’. Russians do indeed attach importance to the colour of fish soups and take pains, by removing neither too much nor too little of the fat from the surface, to obtain the coveted ‘amber sparkles’.