Soviet cuisine, a common cuisine of
Soviet Union, was formed by integration of various national cuisines of USSR, in the course of formation of the
Soviet people. It is characterized by a limited number of ingredients and simplified cooking. This type of cuisine was prevalent in
canteens everywhere in USSR. It has penetrated the household cuisine and was used in parallel with national dishes, particularly in large cities.
It is still popular in former Soviet republics. In the West, the Soviet cuisine is frequently taken for Russian cuisine, though the national Russian cuisine is quite different.
An everyday Soviet full course dinner consisted of three or four courses, typically referred to as "the first", "the second", "the third", and "the fourth". An optional salad was not "numbered". Of course, in a restaurant you could order anything you like, in any order, but in a typical canteen, especially in a worker's or student's canteen, you would normally have gotten what was called a "combined dinner" ("kompleksny obed" ) "the first",.. etc.
"The first" was a soup or broth, i.e., "liquid" food. "The second" was some kind of "solid" food meat, fish, or poultry with a side dish, called "garnish" (Russian ??????}. Garnishes typically included potatoes in a variety of forms, buckwheat kasha, macaroni, etc. Bliny, baked dishes (Russian ????????? zapekanka), or eggs could also be served as "the second". "The third" was something to drink tea, coffee, kompot, milk, kefir, etc. "The fourth" was a dessert.
