I found this an awful realization. Our traditional foods embody the vitality and continuity of our community, bind the generations together, and speak of the living connection between people and nature. Yet here was something I always felt I knew, always took for granted, and it was lost.

I have spent a great deal of time looking for the recipe. I have looked through hundreds of culinary books, spoken with scientists from food and baking institutes, and visited many bakeries. All in the hope of finding one specialist who could answer my questions: How does one cook the kolobok? Was the kolobok a sphere—as it is usually portrayed in books and performance—or was it a flat circle like a blintz?

Nobody I spoke to had ever bothered to find out.

In search of information, I combed linguistic studies and old dictionaries of the Russian language. Although no detailed recipe came to light, I found that kolobok could either be a bread ball or a thick, flat unleavened cake. I was also surprised to learn that to “bake kolobok” was a metaphor meaning “to joke” and that an obsolete verb koloboit meant “to dupe” and “to play rough tricks.” So, the name of this favorite folk hero combines an ancient dish and hints about his naughty and mischievous character.

A lesson in life

Kolobok’s meetings with animals represent more than chance. In medieval Russian folktales, animals appear as symbols of the positive or negative features of the human character. For example, Hare symbolizes weakness and simplicity. No wonder then that Kolobok easily escapes him.

Wolf is the embodiment of sanctimony and hypocrisy, of narrow-mindedness. It was not difficult for Kolobok to deceive him, either. Bear symbolizes strength but also stupidity and bluntness. Naturally, Kolobok outwits him. But Fox personifies cunning and guile. She tricks Kolobok, who pays with his life.

So, the third lesson the tale offers the child is a social one. The symbols convey knowledge about relationships between people. Cognition comes through comparison. At last Kolobok is eaten. This grim conclusion may suggest a first chance for a child to meditate on the purpose of life.