A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH A POST-SOVIET CHILDHOOD

food they had never tried. Their refi ned palates, trained on Segal’s frozen pizza deals and 2 Chow, were up for trying something different.

Work cited

Coalson, Robert. “Is Aleksei Navalny a Liberal or a Nationalist?” The Atlantic, 29 July 2013.

Haski, Pierre. “La faute d’Amnesty International envers Alexei Navalny.” L’OBS, 2 March 2021.

Hounshell, Blake. “A Chess Champion’s Warning About Ukraine and U.S. Democracy.” The New York Times, 4 October 2022.

Kennan Institute. “Civic Engagement and Political Participation of Russian Youth.” Wilson Center, 15 September 2020.

Lane, Anthony. “The Bitter Russian Truths of ‘Navalny.’” The New Yorker, 24 April 2022.

Oremus, Will. “In Putin’s Russia, ‘fake news’ now means real news.” The Washington Post, 11 March 2022.

OVD-Info. “Списки задержанных в связи с акцией в поддержку Алексея Навального 21 апреля 2021 года.” OVD-Info, 21 April 2021.

Starr, Terrell Jermaine. “We need to have a talk about Alexei Navalny.” The Washington Post, 1 March 2021.

Vindman, Alexander and Garry Kasparov. “In Russia, it’s not Navalny vs. Putin. It’s democracy vs. Authoritarianism.” The Washington Post, 22 March 2021.

During a cold night in December, my two roommates and I found ourselves huddled around the dinner table. Placed before us was a spread of food that has roots in Eastern Europe but holds a special place in my childhood memory.

The palate I selected had been a constant fi xture growing up, no matter how the seasons changed or my age. I decided to introduce my roommates to some of the staple foods I used to see around Christmas and Easter time.

If this read inspires an appetite for Soviet cuisine, you can fi nd the following items at Marche Euro-Victoria on Avenue Van Horne. Marche Euro-Victoria is an unassuming little shop, stocking only three shelves and a tiny butcher’s section tucked away in the corner. It has a selection of everything needed to create a Soviet culinary experience.

I asked my roommates Ashray and Aske to review

With the fi replace blazing and snow falling outside, we took a break from our studies and dove into a nostalgic assortment of my childhood foods and memories. Ashray Malleshchari is originally from Bangalore, India, while Aske Hjarnaa is from Copenhagen, Denmark. Coming from all around the globe, our vastly different experiences with food gave us a great foundation to explore what was set before us. I am from Toronto, but my heritage is part Bengali, part Eastern European, and I grew up speaking Russian and English at home. My mother grew up in Soviet Moldova and immigrated after the Soviet Union collapsed. As a result, my earliest connections to Moldova and my mother’s childhood were through the foods she passed down to us.

Blinis: 6/10

Blinis are circular, thin, and resemble crepes. They are pancakes made from buckwheat fl our and cooked on a hot pan, often for breakfast, and served with smetana (sour cream) or jam. It’s easy to lose track of how many you eat when they’re fresh off the pan; 20 or 30 in one sitting is dangerously possible. Aske noted that blini with caviar is served in Denmark, advertised as a traditional Russian dish. They need to be eaten in combination with a jam or sauce of some kind; by themselves, they are not very fi lling and are rather plain. Try a blini if you’re in the market for a pancake alternative and think that crepes don’t sound dangerous enough. I picked up about 10 of them for $2 from Marce Euro-Victoria.

Cheesecake Bars: 10/10

Cheesecake bars, unfortunately named “Curd Snacks,’’ are a Baltic treat. They are made of tvorog, a soft white cheese similar to cream cheese, that is frozen and enveloped in chocolate. They come in a variety of flavours, ranging from chocolate to apricot. These are from Lithuania, a region of the former Soviet Union that has undergone extreme economic change and is now considered a Western partner belonging to NATO. However, these cheesecake bars are holdovers from the culinary past of the Soviet Union, which incorporated a wide range of republics and cultures. The cheesecake bars are delicious; the chocolate melts in your mouth while the frozen cheesecake stays solid. Ashray said he would eat them all day if possible, and Aske loved the rich flavour. The fruits inside the cream create an irresistible taste and add to the natural sweetness that the tvorog has. The cheesecake bars earn a 10/10 for their variety, richness, and uniqueness. We highly recommend them as a dessert.

Kvas: 10/10

Imagine a sweet drink with a base of molasses and rye. Kvas is similar to a mix between the sweetness of Coca-Cola and the flavour of a sweet non-alcoholic beer. Kvas is traditionally served throughout Eastern Europe. I remember visiting Moldova as a kid, getting kvas on the roadside and enjoying its colourful flavour profile. The kvas I found was brewed in Canada but remains similar to the quality of the authentic drink you would find in Chisinau. Ashray loved kvas and thought it was the ideal drink and was unique to Eastern Europe. Aske noted consistent similarities between the foods of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Poor climates and lack of access to spices result in foods that are primarily salted or preserved in some sort of way. We found that food from these countries focuses on a few essential staples: rye, potato, and meat. The sweetness of the molasses balances the rye-bread flavour to create a mix that is easy to drink. If you are tired of sodas and want a beer-like taste while going about your day, kvas is the ideal drink.

Moldova is famous for its wine and fruit production and has an award-winning distillery called KVINT in its Transnistria region. They have a variety of fruits, including apricot and prune dipped in a chocolate glaze. The first was in blue packaging, and we could not read the description since the label was in Moldovan, so we were in for a surprise. Upon opening the package, we found a small piece of dark chocolate about the size of your pinky. As we bit into it, we found a hard core of prune inside. The prune was dried and had a sweetness that disappeared as quickly as we bit into it. The chocolate broke into pieces like shards of glass in our mouths, then slowly melted. The following chocolate was wrapped in pink packaging, and again, this was all we could discern about it until the first bite. We took an adventurous bite and found a dried apricot encased in the same chocolate. Although the apricot was sweeter, we could not overcome the dryness of the chocolate and the overall lack of flavour

The Riga sprats were a solid contender for the most unique item. Whether you’re in the cold climates of Eastern Europe or enduring the chilly winter months in Montreal, sometimes an oily preserved fish just hits the spot. The sprats came in a black can, branded with the words ‘Latvia’ and ‘Riga’ and the Riga skyline drawn in gold. The sprats once lived in the Baltic sea off the coast of Latvia and were prepared following the ancient tradition of preserving food for harsh winters. They are similar to sardines but far more fatty and oily. It is essential to eat them with bread, ideally a hearty rye that can soak up the oils and sit in your stomach better. A warning: eating too many leaves you feeling ill. The best way to serve and eat sprats is in small and balanced quantities. Consider a can of Riga sprats if you’re in the market for extra Omega 3 and 6..

-ished in Central Asia during the Stalinist period. Due to the absence of napa cabbage in Central Asia, carrots were used as the main ingredient of kimchi. The carrots are shredded and marinated in spices and vinegar. Korean carrots were unknown to South Korea in the 1990s and early 2000s. The carrots have a peppery kick and pair well with sprats or bread. Usually, they are served as a side in combination with a classic former Soviet Union dish, mashed potatoes and kotleti. They can be used as a palate cleanser and are excellent for those interested in exploring a variety of flavours on their plate. It is the perfect complement to any potato and meat-based dish, adding a flavourful vegetable component. Another favourite, they get 8.5/10 for their versatility.

The food on this table represents a journey through my childhood. Growing up, I had the opportunity to move across three continents, over six different schools, and have made friends in cities worldwide. Throughout all of this, I found that the only constants have been the trips to the Eastern European grocery stores that we were able to find in every place my family settled down. Friends came and went, leases ended, and flights were taken around the globe, but the thread that connects all of these moments is food. Each item has a special place in understanding the intricacies of culture and identity. I would give them a try; food is one of the few universal components that all living beings share. Take a trip to Euro-Victoria on a Saturday afternoon and see what sparks your interest. I promise that an intriguing adventure awaits you.

Korean carrots, or morkovchka, have a weird history. They were created by the Korean diaspora that flour-