Processed cheese Druzhba (plavlennyi syrok Druzhba) has been a popular and available snack product in Soviet times. When the choice in the shops was scarce and the earnings low, this affordable product won the hearts of the masses. People ate it as a snack or used as an ingredient for salads, finger foods and even soups.
In modern Russia Druzhba (literally meaning Friendship) is recognized as a cult Soviet product and spotting it on the supermarket shelves among fancy French and Swiss cheeses, one can feel nostalgic about old days.
The manufacturer of the cheese has put up a funky monument to the syrok in front of its headquarter in Moscow. Two characters of a world- famous fable (translated in Russian in 19 century by poet Krylov and now a studied at elementary schools) – a fox and a crow, hold a piece of Druzhba cheese with love and care.
The manufacturer produces many other similar products, for instance the cheese Coral with shrimp taste. One can argue that these extra flavoured spread cheeses are more delicate and intricate than their predecessor.
Capelin is a small sea fish that live in the cold northern oceans. Capelin roe is considered as a high value product and prepared by steeping in brine and then packing in small glass jars. As this product is very popular in Japan too, you might have tried this product in various kinds of sushi.
Capelin roe is often spread over buttered French bread in Russia, to be had with a cup of tea for a snack. As finger food, you may cut miniature cubes or other figurrettes from bread, butter and spread the caviar. It is an delicate taste and texture.
Chechil is traditional salty and smokey Armenian cheese. It has a very interesting shape of dense strings plated into a braid.
Chechil cheese is very popular in Russia as a beer snack. One cut through the braid gives you a generous amount of tiny pieces of chechil which makes it an easy finger food. And beer is so refreshing with salty and smokey foods.
Chechil has a low fat content and is considered as diet food (if you give the beers a miss of course 🙂 )
