The one thing that all these colonists shared in Russia was the freedom to maintain their German language, religion, and culture.  Starting in the 1860s, many German Russians emigrated to the United States, Canada and Argentina.

Today, most people of German Russian descent generally do not eat German-Russian foods on a daily basis, just as they do not speak German as their first language; but the beloved traditional foods are served on special occasions and in this way they help today’s German Russians preserve their cultural identity.

What is the significance of passing down traditional dishes to the preservation of cultural identity?

Foodways are probably the most enduring aspect of culture.  My mother was a first-generation American who spoke only German as a child and whose Russian-born mother prepared the German Russian dishes she learned to make from her mother and her mother-in-law.  I know enough German to follow a conversation and recite traditional New Year’s wishes, and like my siblings, have learned to prepare many of the German-Russian delicacies that our mother made for us.  Most of my nieces and nephews do not speak German, but they love traditional German-Russian dishes and will undoubtedly prepare some of them for their children.

When I eat or prepare German Russian dishes, I am reminded of my people’s humble origins and their self-sufficiency, practicality, frugality and straightforwardness; the belief that cleanliness is of utmost importance; and of our passage through the ages.

Could you single out several recipes that have become symbols of the German-Russian kitchen?

In German-Russian cooking, breads, dumplings, noodles, fresh and preserved vegetables and fruits (particularly potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers and watermelon), sausages, and homemade dairy products (e.g., sour cream, butter and cottage cheese) are basics.

Of course, each German-Russian group has its signature dishes.  Let’s consider the three largest:

Signature dishes among the Volga Germans are Krebbel (deep-fried crullers dusted with sugar), fruit or Streusel-topped Kuche’, potatoes cooked with dumplings, Butterball Soup, Bierock or Runza (baked turnovers filled with cabbage, onion and beef), Herzje cookies, Pfeffernisse (sweet buns flavored with black pepper and watermelon syrup), and licorice root tea.

Among the Germans from South Russia, Plachinta (baked pumpkin- or meat-filled turnovers), Borscht, savory Strudel, Fleischküchle (deep-fried beef and onion turnovers), a soupy lettuce “salad” that was served with dumplings, Pfeffernüsse cookies, and custard-based Kuchen are signature dishes.

Typical German-Russian Mennonite dishes include Zwieback (butter-rich, double-decker buns), Borscht, Plumamoos (dried fruit soup), Wareniki (filled noodles), and a bewildering number of different kinds of Pfeffernüsse cookies.

But if one considers dishes that are common to these three groups, cucumber and lettuce salads, deep-fried beef turnovers, jellied meat, chicken noodle soup, brined dill pickles, pickled watermelon (the flesh, not the rind), Russian-style fruit preserves (varenye), and cheese-filled pasta stand out.

What do you see as the future of German-Russian cooking?  Do you see current trends that are bound to become more prevalent?

German-Russian cooking will undoubtedly continue to evolve, influenced by the cultures that the German Russians are exposed to wherever they live.  Traditional German-Russian cooking is very calorie-laden and today many cooks take steps to make the traditional dishes lower in fat.

German-Russian Recipes