Local and International Trends in Hospitality and Gastronomy

Georgian cuisine

Georgian food is the most popular of the former Soviet cuisines in Russia. There is a lot of dishes have won a place in the hearts of Russian, like barbecue, khachapuri, solyanka, lobio and many others. This is due to the fact that there is a strong historical connection between the Caucasian peoples and Russians. The dishes of Caucasian cuisine have long penetrated the diet of Russians. They are famous for their large portions, natural ingredients, an abundance of meat dishes and great taste.

Cooking technology features

Sous vide

Sous vide, which means “under vacuum” in French, refers to the process of vacuum- sealing food in a bag, then cooking it to a very precise temperature in a water bath. This technique produces results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method. Food cooks in its juices. This ensures that the food is moist, juicy and tender. Traditionally prepared food dries out and results in waste. For example, on average, traditionally cooked steak loses up to 40% of its volume due to drying out. Steak cooked via precision cooking, loses none of its volume. Traditional cooking can require your constant attention. Precision cooking brings food to an exact temperature and holds it. There is no worry about overcooking.

Smoking food

More and more restaurants appear with the technology of smoking various dishes, for example, Russians like smoked fish and meat very much. Smoke – a type of heat treatment, giving a flavour and providing a preservative effect. Products that have been smoked are impregnated with bacteriostatic substances of smoke and are partially dehydrated, due to which their shelf life increases many times over. There are cold and hot smoking, as well as fast smoking, similar in effect to baking. Also, to achieve the effect of smoking, a special flavouring is used: liquid smoke. When smoked hot, the product is processed with smoke at a temperature of 45-
120°C for several hours until fully cooked. This is a fast and simple way of processing, the products are immediately ready for use, so it is often used in the domestic environment. With cold smoking, the treatment is carried out with colder smoke with a temperature of 19-25°C for many hours, often days. Before cold smoking, the product is usually pre-treated, such as salting. To accelerate the effects of smoke, electro-smoke is used, in which smoke-ionized particles ionized by electric current move in an electric field and are deposited on the surface of the product.