Why do Ukranians and Russians add sour cream to everything?

Question

I've lived in Russia (Samara), twice traveled to Ukraine and visited few times Belarus and all there, they add sour cream to every dish. Like you know that red soup (Borsh) they add sour cream, those "piroshki" with sour cream, also different salads. I'm not racist or making fun or stereotyping, but why do Eastern Europeans love adding sour cream to the most every dish.

N I don't need any Russian, Belarus, or Ukranian recipes I already know how to cook.

Answer 1

I've always wondered that myself, my great grandparents came from the Volga valley of (at the time)the Soviet Union. My mother learned to cook from them and put sour cream in my potato soup, beef noodles...everything! Its probably a cultural thing, like the way I put butter on everything.

(I love Belarus btw.. we had many exchange students from there, what a great country!)

Answer 2

theres lots of farms and cows there, so they use a lot of milk and sour cream. sour cream is better because you can use it on everything. you cant use ranch dressing on everything

Answer 3

The usuage actually extends much further than just Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It covers most of the CIS (former Soviet) countries.

There are a few reasons, mostly that it tastes good. Beyond that, the historical practical reasons come from the old communist times.

1. Waste was considered bad. When you had nothing, you never wasted food. They got whole milk, and when it separates you get cream, sour cream, and milk. Soured milk and creams are never wasted either, and are made into cottage cheese and farmers cheese.

2. It is considered healthy. Sour cream (thin and liquidy) is often drank like acodopholis milk - it is believed the bacterias in sour cream are good for digestion and "cleaning the pipes" of the body. Thick sour cream is a source of fat, which was also considered healthy then.

3. When food was scarce, it was considered a relatively economical way to sustain the body (see the fat comment above).

Sour cream is also used in place of whipped cream in their dishes often. They simply add sugar to it and dollop it on desserts.