Lactose Intolerant In Russia

July 26, 2013 3:05 PM

Help! I will be heading to Russia soon and I am lactose intolerant. What can or should I eat and what should I not eat? I will be located in Petersburg and I will not have access to a kitchen while I'm staying there. I do not speak the language.
posted by anonymous to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

You should be able to drink kefir (Кефир), which is fermented milk. The fermentation process gets rid of all of the lactose. It's sour, with a slightly fizzy and sour taste, but it's really good.
posted by scblackman at 3:47 PM on July 26, 2013

Dairy products are usually easy to recognize. There are relatively few, although they're not the ones you may be familiar with. There's obviously cow's milk and dairy butter. There's sour creme, which is actually closer to creme fraiche, and is used to add to soups and to dress salads. There are several liquid, yogurt-like beverages sold in bottles: kefir (thick and somewhat sour), riazhenka (thick, slightly sweet, and caramel-colored), and prostokvasha (closest to cultured buttermilk). Cheese is mostly gouda and swiss, and not as ubiquitous as in the US.

If you are staying with or visiting with locals, it's reasonable to decline dairy products at the dinner table. Russian restaurant menus are generally meat-heavy, but dairy probably still appears in the form of sour cream. Do not expect restaurants to modify dishes to suit your dietary needs.

Finally, bring lactase. Dairy is a big part of the Russian diet, and accommodations for special dietary requirements is not.
posted by Nomyte at 4:16 PM on July 26, 2013 [3 favorites]

I was just thinking that most things there should be fine for most lactose intolerant people, with the exception of ice cream. Most people I knew stuck to fermented dairy products, such as sour cream and kefir (which to me tasted like buttermilk, as opposed to the American style kefir.) They also use a sort of farmers cheese for all sorts of things, especially fried up with egg & sugar for breakfast. If you can eat cottage cheese, you can probably eat that.

So I guess it depends on how intolerant you are. I don't think it will be hard to avoid and if you emphasize that THE DOCTOR ORDERED IT! Russian friends are often accommodating to an absurd and awesome degree, to the point of aggressively policing your food for you, and possibly berating wait staff.

(edit: so I've obviously had different experiences than Nomyte has.)
posted by small_ruminant at 4:23 PM on July 26, 2013

Stock up on Lactaid pills?
posted by radioamy at 4:24 PM on July 26, 2013 [4 favorites]

As a side note, back when I was there 10+ years ago, they still had a few Georgian restaurants (republic, not state, obviously), which had very tasty food and, so far as I remember, lacked dairy.
posted by small_ruminant at 4:27 PM on July 26, 2013

Oh, and I would have someone write a note for you explaining "no milk or cheese or sour cream by doctor's orders" to show to waiters. Even if they speak English, it will have greater force in Russian, in my opinion.

Be prepared for some misunderstandings. (Example: no meat= no beef. Chicken/fish/lamb is not "meat", per se, apparently.)
posted by small_ruminant at 4:30 PM on July 26, 2013

Lactaid pills and eat whatever you're given! How many times are you going to get to Russia?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:37 PM on July 26, 2013

I am also lactose intolerant and was disappointed to see in my most recent trip to Russia that storebought foods contain lactose as an additive more often nowadays than they once did. Most sinisterly, this is now the case for mayonnaise, thus one must take lactaids with every salad to be on the safe side. Bring a lot of lactaids with you.
On the plus side, though, folks tend to fry/saute using plain sunflower oil, rather than the butter or lactose-containing blends used in some american restaurants.
posted by scrambles at 12:37 PM on August 1, 2013