December 01, 2019

Oksana and Her "Jewish" Zakuska


Oksana and Her "Jewish" Zakuska

Oksana and I met in Georgia, where she was cooking for big groups of tourists and where she eventually bought a dacha in a remote mountainous region called Racha, where she was planning to host guests from all over, as well as cook for everyone, and get her mom involved in it, too.

It wasn’t until I learned about her childhood that I realized how close this dream was to where she came from: a house full of people, adventures, and lots of homegrown delicious food. This is Oksana’s story.

Oksana was born in 1989 in Saransk, the capital of Mordovia, a city of about 300,000 that lies about 500 kilometers east of Moscow. Living in a house with her parents and grandparents was fun: she would leave the house in the morning and go wandering with her friends. There was a forest, pond, ravine, gardens and garbage dumps (old car pieces and other “treasures” – it was all very fun and exciting, nobody was watching over them, and she would either go home for 5 minutes to have lunch and dinner, or they would all eat at the nearest grandmother’s place.

“Whichever grandmother was closer, would feed us all,” Oksana reminisces, and they would also just snack on wild apples and cherries when they were out on their adventures. It was the 1990s: their parents were working, their grandparents were at home growing the food, and the kids were left to their own devices, and happily so.

Oksana’s parents both worked as engineers, her mom remembers proudly that she worked at a research institute, which was the only workplace in Saransk that paid its employees on time in the 90s, and in actual money, instead of the products produced (people at a light bulb factory were paid in light bulbs, those at a candy factory in candy, and so on).

So it was partially thanks to that job that Oksana remembers nothing of the “hungry 90s”. It was also thanks to the fact that they grew a lot of their own food: cucumbers, tomatoes, greens, and carrots in the veggie patch by the house, and everything else at their nearby dacha. Once, they even got a goat in the hope of having goat milk every day, but the goat ate a lot and gave little milk, so she had to go. As for cow’s milk, they drank a lot of it - kids and adults alike. Oksana’s favorite food was fried potatoes with a glass of milk.

“We ate a lot and everything was simple but delicious. Meat, soups, kasha, vegetables. Often we would make pirogi (stuffed pies) with cabbage, meat or sweet ones with apples,” Oksana remembers.

Her aunts, uncles, and cousins were all frequent guests, and they would forage for mushrooms together (measured by bathtubs, where they would also be sorted and washed). They would also make lots of preserves for winter: dried and marinated mushrooms, pickled tomatoes, and cucumbers, vegetable stews, kompot, and jams.

Once the pickled cucumber and tomatoes were eaten, Oksana’s mum would use the rassol (pickle brine) to make cookies: rassol, some sugar, mayonnaise, soda, and flour mixed together and baked. My modest research shows that it was a popular recipe in the 90s, as was the “Jewish” zakuska, which is some soft cheese, mayonnaise (again), garlic, and some grated carrots spread over rye bread. It was a frequent snack at Oksana’s family table.

The family extended on to the south of Russia, too: Krasnodar, from where they would bring jam made of “gigantic apricots”, walnuts, fruit, and watermelons - all transported by Oksana and her parents by train. Also, Astrakhan, where Oksana’s grandmother’s sister used to work, and where she would source some black caviar cheaply through friends, then bring lots of it to Saransk. There, Oksana’s family would down it in no time, but Oksana didn’t like it. She did, however, develop a taste for it at the age of 5, when there was just the last 500gr of it left, as her aunt was leaving Astrakhan. She still remembers being upset over her bad timing for figuring out that black caviar was delicious.

Oksana’s family moved into an apartment when she was 13, and she left Saransk at 17 to go to university. Her mom also eventually moved to Moscow. They don’t grow any of their own food anymore, or make rassol cookies, or even eat shproty (sardine-like Russian fish) for New Years'. And Oksana doesn’t enjoy fried potatoes the way she used to. Oksana does, however, still love Jewish zakuska, which takes her back to her childhood. But now she wraps it in lavash instead of spreading it over rye bread and enjoys it alone or with her mom – when she’s not cooking lots of delicious food for people from all around the world, that is, whether it be on mountain tops, in fields, or even in her Moscow apartment.

Here's her family recipe for Jewish zakuska:

70 grams grated carrot

70 grams mayonnaise

200 grams soft cheese

3-4 cloves garlic

salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and spread over rye bread or on other flat bread.
 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955