Historian NI Kostomarov described Russian cuisine in the " Outline of domestic life and manners of the Russian people in the XVI and XVII centuries ." He noted that Russian cuisine in the XVI and XVII centuries was based on custom rather than art , and her dishes were simple and unvaried . From the custom to observe fasting on the table shared skoromny and lean . Dishes were made from flour , milk, meat and vegetable supplies. Bread was used preimuschestvennorzhanoy (the word "bread" meant rye ) . By rye flour , barley could be blended . From wheat flour prepares delicacy - rolls . Salt in the pastry is not added . Ordinary food of ordinary people was oatmeal , prepared from oat by partial digestion followed by grinding. Dough on rye or wheat flour prepared cakes ( voltage or hearth ) . Pie filling was meat, fish , cottage cheese , berry . In stuffing added porridge , noodles, eggs, mushrooms . Baked as Cakebread - loaf . Other furnace products : kurnik , browns, kotloma , pancakes , brush , dough cones levashniki , Perepich , nuts .Staple food of the majority of the population ( farmers ) were grains and vegetables , of which preparing pickles, soups, cereals and bakery products . Rye , pea , and oat flour prepared jelly , and sweet ( modern) jelly appeared only later with the arrival of Russian cuisine potato starch.Traditionally a variety of soups , among which the most famous are the soup, soup, pickle , thistle , hookah, ear botvinya and hash .Before the widespread dissemination of potatoes ( from the second half of the XIX century ) served as the main vegetable turnip .Russian traditional seasoning and sour cream is a dairy product , which is charged with soups and salads . Another Russian dairy product is cheese, which are prepared from cheesecakes .As in other Christian countries , a great influence on the kitchen had a church , since more than half of days in the year were meatless when certain categories of products were banned. That is why the Russian national cuisine is dominated by mushroom and fish dishes, dishes of grain, vegetables, wild berries and herbs.