Taste of Russia
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Russian ‘Olivier’? Why Russia’s most popular salad has a French name - Taste of Russia Ep.1
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Food for warriors: Making ‘Kulesh’ in a WWII field kitchen - Taste of Russia Ep.2
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Suffering for soup: The secret of authentic ‘ukha’ - Taste of Russia Ep.3
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Bugs Bunny’s worst nightmare: Rabbit on the menu - Taste of Russia Ep.4
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Dumpling dilemma: Making perfect pelmeni from scratch - Taste of Russia Ep.5
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Cuisine of Tolstoy’s times: Forshmak, baked apples, and prostovkvasha - Taste of Russia Ep.6
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Belevskaya pastila & Zephyr: Favourite apple sweets of both European nobility & Soviet children - Taste of Russia Ep.7
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‘Blini’ bonanza: Making real Russian pancakes in a real a Russian stove - Taste of Russia Ep.8
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Making ‘borsch’ fit for a tsar & Cossack fighting 101 - Taste of Russia Ep.9
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Battle of the BBQs: American steak vs. Russian shashlik - Taste of Russia Ep.10
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Borodino II: French Onion Soup & Buckwheat Kasha on the battlefield - Taste of Russia Ep.11
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Making Greek Salad à la Russe & Stolen Lamb for a ‘small’ Greek dinner party - Taste of Russia Ep.12
Belevskaya pastila & Zephyr: Favourite apple sweets of both European nobility & Soviet children - Taste of Russia Ep.7
Glen and Oscar are in Belev, a small Russian town founded in the 12th century that’s been famous for its orchards for centuries. Oscar offers an apple to Glen, who says he’d rather have some apple pie and coffee. Oscar promises a fabulous apple dessert called Belevskaya pastila and the friends set off in search of two of the main ingredients: apples and eggs. But there’s a catch!
First stop is an orchard once owned by Amvrosiy Prokhorov, a merchant whose estate is credited with inventing pastila in the 19th century. The confectionary creation proved so popular it was soon being served to the royalty of Russia and Europe. Next stop is a modern apple storage facility, where the pair learns how apples can be kept fresh for a whole year. Then on to a farm where mayhem rules as Glen falls for one of Oscar’s pranks. At last, to see how belevskaya pastila is made, they head to the Belyovsky factory, the most famous manufacturer of this classic sweet.
This confectioner stays true to the original recipe, using only three natural ingredients: apple puree, egg whites, and sugar. While helping the process along, Glen and Oscar find out about pastila’s cousin, zephyr, a kind of mini apple soufflé that was immensely popular during the Soviet Era. Oscar is hit by a touch of nostalgia talking about his favourite childhood sweets, and soon the friends are stealing a taste of every product they can get their hands on…. until, that is, they are busted by the factory’s director.