The other night I was trying to explain to my daughter what ESKIMO (Эскимо) is in Russian when we came across that word while reading an AZBUKA (Aзбука) together. It brought a whole avalanche of ice-cream related memories, so why not share them with you.

First, you will be surprised by how much Russians love their ice-cream. Most every foreigner who has been to Russia, especially in winter time, asks me – why are Russians so fond of eating ice-cream out in the street in the middle of winter when everything is covered in snow?  Who even thought that selling ice-cream in freezing temperatures is a good idea? Well, yes, the Russians did. I vividly remember waiting for a bus as a young adult and buying my favorite ESKIMO (Эскимо)  from an ice-cream booth and eating it right there. My other favorite ice-cream was BORODINO (Бородино) but it was a tad harder to consume when you do not want to take off your mittens while eating your ice-cream.

I also remember the special nights when my mom will get a large PLOMBIR (Пломбир) package out of the freezer, will divide it into 4 parts and we will decide what to put on it: nuts and some liqueur from Riga (Рижский Бальзам) were my favorite toppings.

And last but not least I remember saving the change from my trips to the grocery store (my parents will give me just enough money to cover the purchase but there usually will be a couple of kopeikas (копейки) left, and I was allowed to keep the spare change). Once I saved enough money, I would walk to an ice-cream stand and ponder for a good half hour which ice-cream to get! It was such a special treat.

If you have your own ice-cream related memories (Russian or not) – please share them with me, I love hearing other people’s stories 🙂