Moscow's Western food import ban has spurred a surge in interest on how to make some of the prohibited products, such as Parmesan cheese, at home, a news report said.
The number of times Russians turn to their country's leading search engine, Yandex, to look for ways to make their own mozzarella cheese at home is around 1,631 times a month — roughly double the number of queries registered before the ban, Izvestia daily reported Thursday, citing data by analytics tool Yandex Wordstat.
Russians also search Yandex on ways to make home-made Parmesan an average of 436 times a month — a five-fold increase from July 2014, before Moscow introduced the import ban, Izvestia reported.
The number of searches from Russia for instructions on making jamon — or Spanish-style ham — have tripled, and searches for how to make prosciutto have quadrupled over the same period, Izvestia reported.
Russia in August extended a ban on a range of imports from Western countries including meat, fish, dairy products, fruit and vegetables in retaliation for sanctions imposed over the country's role in the Ukraine crisis.
The more adventurous spirits in Russia are also searching for ways to “grow oysters at home,”— with Yandex Wordstat registering 27 such queries per month, Izvestia said.
