Vinegret (Russian: винегрет[1]) or Russian vinaigrette is a salad in Russian cuisine which is also popular in other post-Soviet states. This type of food includes diced cooked vegetables (red beets, potatoes, carrots), chopped onions, as well as sauerkraut and/or brined pickles.[2][3][4][5] Other ingredients, such as green peasorbeans, are sometimes also added.[4][5] The naming comes from vinaigrette,[2] which is used as a dressing.[2][4][5] However, in spite of the name, vinegar is often omitted in modern cooking, and sunflower or other vegetable oil is just used.[3] Some cooks add the brine from the pickled cucumbers or sauerkraut.
Despite the widespread popularity in Russia and Ukraine, the basic mixed salad recipes were adopted from Western European cuisines as late as the 19th century.[6] Originally, the term vinegret denoted any mixture of diced cooked vegetables dressed with vinegar.[2] Later the meaning changed to any mixed salad with beetroots.[3] Modern Russian and Ukrainian cookbooks still mention the possibility of adding mushrooms, meat or fish,[3][4][5] but this is rarely practiced.
Similar beetroot-based salads are prepared throughout Northern Europe. Examples are herring salad and beetroot salad in North German and Scandinavian cuisines[7] (see also de:Heringssalat, sv:Rödbetssallad), as well as rosolliinFinnish cuisine, with the name for the latter stemming from rassol (Russian: рассол), the Russian word for brine.[8]
^ abcdAbaturov, P. V.; Akulov, L. S.; Ananyev, A. A. "Салаты и винегреты" [Salads and vinaigrettes]. Cookery (in Russian). Moscow: Soviet state publishing house for business literature (1955-1558).
^ abcdИ. А. Фельдман, Любимые блюда. Изд. Реклама, 1988, с. 180-186, ISBN5-88520-031-9 (I. A. Feldman, Favourite dishes, Reklama publishing house, 1988, p. 180-186; Russian)
^ abcdЛ. Я. Старовойт, М. С. Косовенко, Ж. М. Смирнова, Кулінарія. Київ, Вища школа, 1992, с. 218 (L. Ya. Starovoit, M. S. Kosovenko, Zh. M. Smirnova, Cookery. Kiev, Vyscha Shkola publishing house, 1992, p. 218; Ukrainian)
^В. В. Похлебкин, Национальные кухни наших народов. Москва, изд. Пищевая пром-сть, 1980 (William Pokhlyobkin, The Ethnic Cuisines of our Peoples. Moscow, Food Industry publishing house, 1980; Russian)
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