Mayonnaise features profusely in Soviet cookbooks! It was a creative way to make dishes more filling, and mixed salads with mayonnaise are an organic part of Soviet cuisine. By the end of the 1970s, food shortages were evident in many cities and regions, and [mayonnaise helped] get some variety of tastes with a very short list of available vegetables, sausages, eggs. [Mayonnaise was also an industrial product of the state, and it has the benefit of a long shelf life.] It's difficult to imagine, but even onions practically were absent in state stores and shops from February until May every year. At the same time, in public state-ruled catering, mayonnaise helped to disguise the quality of some ingredients.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/14/459239436/from-russia-with-mayonnaise-cookbook-revisits-soviet-classics
Now i wonder if there's an unopened can of soviet majo stashed away in some basement in Omsk and if it's still good to eat :thinkin-lenin:
Tasting History indeed.
"They gave up this for Pizza Hut?", i say, as the salmonella already start dekulakizing my intestines.