In August 2014, Russia announced it was banning foreign food imports to punish the West for imposing economic sanctions over Ukraine. Since then, the country has scrambled to fill emptying market shelves with locally made alternatives to Finnish yogurt, Dutch cheese, and Italian mozzarella. Sergei Chernov, a journalist and photographer based in St. Petersburg, takes a look at some recent mealtime options, many of which appear to involve processed cheese.
Spreading It On Thick: Russia's Latest Supermarket Substitutes
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Some products make a diligent effort to look like imports. This fior di latte mozzarella is actually made in the town of Malaya Vishera, in Novgorod Oblast. Some Russians who have sampled it say the taste is closer to tvorog, or farmer's cheese, than real Italian mozzarella.
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Valde, another processed cheese that may hope to be mistaken for Finland's Valio. Valio continues to operate production facilities in St. Petersburg and outside Moscow, but with many of its raw ingredients now banned, its products are in short supply. In the meantime, there's Valde.
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Hansdorf butter, made in St. Petersburg, adopts a German-style appearance, its label showing a bluebird, a smiling milkmaid, and a grass-fed cow.
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The Petersburg-based manufacturer Gold of Europe has produced its own variety of Maasdam, a Swiss-style Dutch cheese. A medallion on the packaging advertises it as a member of the "collection of famous European cheeses." One taster pronounced the Russian brand "not first-rate, but edible."