Russian Cooking Tools

The word "golubtsy" or stuffed cabbage leaves often brings back memories of homemade Russian cooking. Ranging from simple to intricate dishes, Russian cooking certainly has a culture of its own. To create authentic Russian dishes like pilafs with meat dumplings, learn about the specialised cooking tools chefs use in both modern and traditional Russian cuisine.

Russians used a "pech" stove a -- key cooking vessel -- before the convenience of today's modern electric or gas stove. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the traditional Russian stove had as many as six thick-walled masonry flues. This large stove ensured thoroughly cooked food and served as a heating vessel for the home. The cooking portion of the pech stove was contained in the kitchen area, while the additional flues extended into other rooms of the house. The round pech stoves were often made of clay.

Like a large lobster pot, large stock pots are a mainstay in Russian kitchens. Since soups and stews make up a large portion of traditional Russian cooking, a large stock pot is essential when creating one-pot meals. In addition to their roles in making stews and soups, large pots are also useful for boiling potatoes, carrots and for poaching dumplings in meat-based broths.

In traditional Russian cooking, cooks used latki dishes for frying or stewing in the Russian pech stove. Usually oval or round, these shallow ceramic dishes typically have a spout for removing excess oil. Cooks would prepare foods such as "bliny" (small pancakes) in these latki dishes.

Since Russian cuisine includes many fish recipes, they often use tools such as a fish poacher and fish turner spatula. For use in an oven or pech stove, a fish poacher is a long and narrow pan with handles . It ensures that your fish cooks delicately in a simmering broth. A fish turner spatula is a wide and flat tool with slots to allow liquid to drain when turning over the fish. You can find many fish turner spatulas in sturdy stainless steel designs.