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Grocery Ninja: Milky Rivers and Kissel Shores

Posted by Wan Yan Ling, October 1, 2007 at 11:15 AM

The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read her past market missions here.

It's mid-afternoon, and I've managed to drag the Russian roommate out of bed (with promises of French toast and a TiVoed Heroes premiere) to accompany me to the tiny Russian grocery store to "translate."

"Okay, show me the funky stuff!" I command, only to have him retort "I grew up with this stuff, remember? It's all normal to me."

Teething problems. But I zoom in on the foodstuffs I had puzzled over on previous trips that had so tantalized yet evaded me in my inability to read the language.

"What's this?" I ask, holding up a promising-looking packet with a tableau of an ancient, magical forest.

"Erm… ketchup," he says, amused.

I skip around, randomly thrusting food in his face—I am on a mission! Meanwhile, there are at least two other groups in the store, similarly armed with "translators." (This, by the by, is why I love living in a college town—the mass of multilingual international students who act as unofficial culinary ambassadors.)

My friends think I'm dotty, but the idealistic part of me believes such exchanges go that little bit toward world peace. Nowhere else than in the kitchen do we share more similarities than differences. And how do you stay angry at someone who has the same deep reverence you do for sautéed eggplant? Yes, I know it's simplistic. But how many of us have made friends we never would have crossed paths with but for our love and curiosity of food and their peopled narratives?

So this week's grocery item (as my friend had to inform me) is kissel. A traditional Russian beverage, it's also served as dessert and is sometimes described as a fruit soup. Homemade, it would start out with juice or a fruit purée that is then thickened with potato starch to an unset Jello-like consistency.

I'm told berries, dried apples, apricots, and even oats are used in its many variations. Grocery-purchased however, it comes as a granular, strawberry extract–flavored brick that has to be dissolved in water before being brought to a boil. I had been warned it was an acquired taste due to its "somewhat slimy texture," but it really was quite easy to like—something I imagine would be awfully comforting served hot on a chilly day.

Oh, and the title of this post? My friend tells me it's a constant refrain in Russian children's folktales, akin to our familiar "Once upon a time ... and they lived happily ever after." In that carefree world, paradise is a place where "rivers of milk run through kissel flats." Personally, I'd prefer fresh watermelon juice and soymilk, but kissel flats wouldn't be half bad.

About the author: Wan Yan Ling is an impoverished grad student and sourdough finger-crosser living in Rhode Island. She can usually be found in the kitchen procrastinating on "real work" or online tracking down obscure recipes. Ling thinks eating alone is no fun, and she still believes in hand-mixing. More Grocery Ninja this way »

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