Background Article Siberian food and European taste This article invites the reader to join a culinary journey through Siberia in the 18th century in a company of ethnographers from Europe and the Russian Empire. For the Russian Empire, the 18th century was a time of great expeditions to explore the vast imperial territory that extended all the way to the Pacific. Explorers investigated flora and fauna, natural resources, and land and sea routes, but also the inhabitants of Siberia and their way of life. Relying on the documents from the Second Kamchatka Expedition, we will learn how the Europeans reacted to Siberian cuisine and what could be hidden behind their “disgust” at it.
