The Third Day of Maslenitsa

Hello to everyone reading us! Today is Wednesday, the third day of Slavic celebration of Maslenitsa, that has a symbolic name of “Sweet Tooth”, or “Feasting”. This day all restaurants, cafes and coffee houses offer special menu for Maslenitsa Feasting with a wide choice of various types of crepes and pancakes, and of course different toppings to taste. So you have a unique chance to try every possible crepe combinations, even the most exotic ones. Culinary crepes tour, nod a bad idea? It is generally believed that on Feasting Wednesday you need to eat as many crepes as you wish, in other words – a heaven for gourmet. So indulge your sweet tooth today!

Maslenitsa Wednesday is especially popular with the married men, including betrothed who have already received the parental blessings to their marriages. The point is that this day men traditionally visited their mothers-in-law. Each housewife serves rich tables with various delicious dishes, among them dumplings with different fillings, fried crepes and baked pancakes in incredible numbers, and even home-made wine and self-brewed beer. Family crepes recipes were kept in a strict secret. Crepes were being made of buckwheat flour, wheat, oat and served with fruits, jam, cottage cheese, chopped mushrooms, potato, meat, cabbage and fried onions. Sbiten’, a hot winter Russian special drink, consisting of honey mixed with water and spices, was also popular as well as poured tea from a boiling samovar.

It was believed that the mothers-in law tested their future sons-in-law in such a “crepe” way.  Eating crepes was also a testing. People believed that if a betrothed came upon a salty pancake or dumpling – it would indicate an ambitious person. If the chosen crepe had a sweet taste, the husband would be kind and gentle to his Russian bride. If men were eating a lot of pancakes, it would be a good sign to indicate a hard-working and generous person, as safe as houses.