Russian domestic items vs western

interesting, last time i was in Russia (in Moscow) I was told that two adult men would not drink wine together, because that would mean it is a "romantic" meeting, so most Russian men drink wine only when together with a woman (and instead drink beer or vodka when meeting male friends).
Is it true?

For an Italian (or a French) this is quite strange...

Partly true in modern times due to inertial legacy from Soviet times, but is a trend being gradually and steadily being phased out with a new one with local wine being consumed with meals and local sparkling wine for celebrations.

"In France, we would not be ashamed with what we produce": the owner of a pastry shop in Russia confides, by Maria Balareva for Sputniknews. 29.07.2021.

Despite the sanctions on the import of foreign products into Russia, an Alsatian owner of a traditional bakery located in a small town 150 km from Moscow is certain: nowhere in France would he "be ashamed of what is produced here".


Since the pandemic and the closure of the borders, Pereslavl-Zalesski, a small settlement 150 km north of Moscow, has become a popular place for tourists. This historic cradle of the Russian fleet is located on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo on which Peter the Great used to be.

Pereslavl-Zalesski, which is part of the Golden Ring, a set of cities of Medieval Russia, became the place of residence of Gilles Walter. Alsatian, he spoke to Sputnik about his bakery and pastry shop where he managed to create a purely French atmosphere.

"We have a pastry chef-baker who does everything 100% like in France," confides the owner of the café La Forêt, worthy of its name since "Zalesski"translates as "behind the forest".

In this establishment that exists since 2015, we serve only specialties of the Hexagon. What the customers obviously appreciate, the queue in front of the cashier forcing the pastry chef Didier Leroux to start work at 1am when Pereslavl hosts major events such as the Hot Air Balloon Festival or the Russian Navy Day.

For Gilles, who left his native Strasbourg a quarter of a century ago for Moscow to work at the embassy as a financial attaché, the move was more of a game of chance. After being seduced by the beauty of the nature of this place, he bought a country house there before settling permanently and setting up a restaurant that was later converted into a bakery.

"Our production is of very good quality. In France, we would not be ashamed with what we produce," says Gille, as French music resounds in the rooms of his café with walls decorated with paintings by the French medieval painter and musician, Laurence Guillon, also living in Pereslavl-Zalesski.

Problems with sanctions

While in France" there is almost no point in making croissants "in the face of large industrial groups that manage to " produce of the same quality and with the same products", in Russia this is not the case.

"It's even more [traditional] than in 90% of bakeries in France. […]. [Our chef] makes the chopsticks entirely by hand, with basic Russian flour.»

However, the sanctions that have weighed on the economic sector since 2014 oblige foreign entrepreneurs to find solutions to obtain the products necessary to perpetuate the taste of the original dishes.

Since dairy products are the most important for pastries, Gilles is forced to import his 33% liquid cream and butter to Belarus and buy his sugar from a French company, but "by tons".

Yandex Translate

https://fr.sputniknews.com/russie/202107291045940532-en-france-on-naurait-pas-honte-avec-ce-que-lon-produit-le-proprietaire-dune-patisserie-en-russie-se/

Actually I remember reading about a new type of cheese that has been developed here in New Zealand that is like Motserella cheese that is put on pizzas that is long and stringy... the new cheese is much easier to make than the European type and therefore also much cheaper and companies that want stringy cheese for hot products have been buying this new stuff... didn't read what they called it though.

They mentioned the European original cheese takes years to make properly which makes it rather expensive, but this new cheese has the same properties but is much quicker and easier to make.

What I am trying to say is that Russia should experiment and make their own foods and not rely on imports from the EU... it is possible to improve on that stuff if you apply yourself...

They do Garry.
A lot of effort is put into the Russian food product industry, but those are things that won't give fruits overnight.
The real thing here is the fact, that some food pretends to be a status symbol, and people will use them to show how successful they are.
One eats Gran Padano cheese or Parmesan, drink Don Perignan and Evian water not because those are particularly better than others, but they are more "prestige".
No matter how silly "prestige" sounds applied to something that will transfer to shit anyway
It requires changes in the mentality.
For example, a guy from Russia won two of the most prestigious cheese contests some time ago, with his two author recipe kinds of cheese.
But you can hardly find that info, no chance to try these cheeses, and even less chance you can buy them, even in the most specialized cheese stores you have there, right?
There is a great cheese called "adygian", or aдыгейский in Russian. It is smoked&dried, hard cheese with intense flavor.
Its quality as a product is on pair with best cheeses of that kind you can have. It can easily replace all hard cheeses for several applications.
Even heard of it? Naah, me neither, till last week I could try it.
Ever tried Belarussian butter? Or a Russian one? It is a taste of my childhood, a pure taste of genuine milk&cream products, when all you needed was a piece of fresh bread and a tasty, full of flavor and smell butter spread on it. When I buy butter in the general store, those don't taste and smell like that, for regular money. To have a taste of my childhood, one must buy the most expensive types, costing double. Or a Russian/Belarusian ones.
Soon, you will have the chance to buy seafood labeled "made in Russia".
You can try Russian oysters, lobsters, and mules any moment now - something hardly imaginable before 2014.
The Chinese market is opening for Russian food more and more, a single transmission with Jinping eating Russian ice creams increased its export to China tenfold.
That all brings $, and for that $ you can invest even more.
No accidentally, Russian food export surpassed the weaponry a long time ago and galloping.

You should be a bit less harsh towards them, at least this "giant step in humane volution" is not stolen, as no one was dumb enough to patent a cable connecting two batteries.
I had a Soviet flashlight with the same feature when I was 7 y/o.
What a genius, what a genius