The Soviet Union’s Strangest Food - Herring Under a Fur Coat | Шуба

As one of, if not the strangest dish, from the Soviet Union, selodka pod shuba (herring under a fur coat) has left an indelible mark on nearly all of the former Soviet Republics. As a former centerpiece for Christmas and New Years this incredibly strange purple beet and fish salad is one that you either love or hate. Even today people still enjoy this head scratcher of a dish even with more modern grocery selection and availability.

While it is a dish that I do not enjoy, maybe I have simply just been eating it wrong, or entirely too sober. In an attempt to honestly change my own hardset opinions on a dish that feels more like a relic from the gastronomic fossil record, I will make myself love it. With the combination of time and vodka, I will enjoy shuba for sure… right?

If you have never tried this dish, you should, it is an oddity. But you can also settle for watching me sit down and eat and drink this until I learn to love the Soviet pink salad!