Dumplings, cabbage soup, porridge, kvass and “swan in apples” - that’s the whole simple set that appears before the mind’s eye of most people who hear the phrase “Russian cuisine”. Many people think that Russia lost its culinary traditions after the revolution, but this is a misconception. National Russian cuisine is rich, varied and very tasty. In terms of originality and originality, it is in no way inferior to any other. After all, cuisine is part of national dignity and an integral part of Russian culture. Based on Russian cuisine, you can prepare various dishes, both for the festive table and for any lunch for all occasions. Russian cooking has probably gone all the way, from the beginning of the dawn of mankind to the present day.
The variety of Russian cuisine is amazing
Russian cuisine , thanks to its original traditions and uniqueness, is actually popular all over the world. Many dishes are used in restaurants in other countries, where they are highly valued, such as cabbage soup, porridge and Russian pies. The pride of Russian cuisine is first courses, borscht, solyanka, okroshka and, of course, fish soup. Traditionally, national cuisine consists of soup, porridge, pancakes, pies, and pickles.
Russian cuisine has historically been subject to custom, not art. The dishes were simple and monotonous: although Russian tables were distinguished by many dishes, many of them were similar to one another. The table of all classes, from the king to the commoner, was divided into fast and fast. Rich people usually assigned themselves dishes for the whole year (gastronomic calendar), keeping track of church holidays, meat-eaters and fasts; so for each day, according to its significance in the church circle, a table was assigned in advance. According to the supplies from which it was prepared, it could be divided into five sections: mealy, dairy, meat, fish, and vegetable dishes.
First meal
Soup is an integral part of the Russian table. And although the word itself is of foreign origin, soup in the usual sense (and not broth or puree soup) is cooked only by Russian cooks. And since we are talking about soup, how can we not praise the cabbage soup? Indeed, they can’t cook them anywhere else in the world, and the national table knows more than 50 varieties! There are meat, and mushroom, and fish, and sour, and lean, and green, and daily allowances - it would take a long time to list, and how many more recipes have been irretrievably lost, alas. In Russia, soup was whitened with sour cream during cooking, and not on the table. The usual addition to cabbage soup was cabbage, chopped and fresh, and sour cabbage. Buckwheat porridge was served with cabbage soup.
Borsch competes quite successfully with cabbage soup . There are many options here too. It would not be an exaggeration to say that every housewife prepares borscht in her own way. Ukha in Russia was generally called “soup”, a stew, both fish and other; one must assume that this word was the name of something liquid seasoned with spices: black ear was called ear with cloves, white - with pepper, naked - without spices. Rassolnik was prepared similar to today's solyanka : meat was boiled in cucumber brine mixed with spicy roots and served. The sauce was called broth.
Meat hot dishes
Roast meats , or fried dishes, were divided into spun, pole, baked, and frying dishes. A very common type of meat during the fasting days, from spring to late autumn, was lamb. Domostroy teaches how to deal with lamb meat: having bought a whole lamb, peel it and distribute its meat into several parts: the brisket was served on fish soup or cabbage soup; shoulder blades or kidneys - for fried; the hooks were served under boiling water. The legs were stuffed with eggs; tripe - porridge; the liver was dissected with onions and, wrapped in membrane, fried in a frying pan; the lung was prepared with shaken milk, flour and eggs. The brains were taken out of the head and a special stew or sauce with spices was made from them, and a cold jelly was prepared from thickly boiled fish soup with lamb meat, placing it on ice.
In the old days, beef was called yalovichina because it was produced by yalovichi cows. Russians ate little fresh beef and more often consumed salted beef. Pork meat was salted or smoked, and ham was used for winter cabbage soup, and the head, legs, intestines, and stomach were served fresh in various dishes, such as: head under jelly, with garlic and horseradish; Sausages were made from the intestines, stuffed with a mixture of meat, buckwheat porridge, flour and eggs. Hares were served stuffed (braised), brined (boiled in brine) and in infusions, especially sweet ones. However, there has always been an opinion among the people that hares are unclean animals. But there was an explanation that it is not a sin to eat a hare, you just need to make sure that it is not strangled during the persecution. Stoglav prohibits selling hares without bleeding. The same warning was issued by the Moscow Patriarch in 1636. Along with hares, some shunned or avoided venison and elk, but the meat of these animals was considered a luxury even in royal and boyar celebrations.
Chickens were served in cabbage soup, in soup, in brine, fried on rostrums, on skewers, called narozhny and skewered according to the method of their preparation. Cabbage soup with chicken was called rich cabbage soup and was always whitened. Fried chicken was usually served with something sour: vinegar or lemon. Smoking ruffled was common in the 17th century. Chicken soup with Saracen millet, raisins and various spices; smoking boneless - sauce made from boneless chicken stuffed with lamb or eggs with saffron stew. At luxurious dinners, chicken giblets were served as separate dishes: navels, necks, livers and hearts.
Ducks, geese, herons and other birds, such as swans, cranes, black grouse, hazel grouse, partridges, larks, were also eaten. Ducks in cabbage soup and fried. Six-footed geese were stuffed with buckwheat porridge and seasoned with beef lard; The geese were prepared into strips, which were eaten in winter with horseradish and vinegar. Goose giblets were used in fish soup or in special dishes with infusions. Hazel grouse, black grouse and partridge are winter dishes, usually served: the first - seasoned with milk; the rest are fried with plums and other fruits. They have always been considered an exquisite dish in Rus': they were served boiled with topeshki, that is, cut into slices dipped in cow butter; Swan offal, like goose offal, was served in a honey broth, sometimes with beef, or in pies and bakes. There was a lot of other game in Moscow, and it was cheap; but in general the Russians liked it little and used it little. Each meat had its own garden and spicy seasonings: for example, turnips went with hare, garlic with beef and lamb, and onions with pork.
Hangover. When listing meat dishes, one cannot fail to mention one original dish called hangover. This dish consisted of cold lamb cut into thin slices, mixed with finely chopped cucumbers, cucumber pickle, vinegar and pepper. It was used for hangovers.
History of Russian cuisine[edit]
The territory of modern Russia is large and more than one state with different peoples became part of it over time. And the principalities, various tribes in the communities were large and diverse - even the Republics became part of modern Russia, such as, for example, Novgorod, with its swampy territories and hunters. Accordingly, there is no point in talking about exclusivity and monotony - variations in dietary preferences were and are varied and diverse.
From the painting by Ludwig Pietsch (1824-1911) “Russian bear hunt”
It must be recalled that our diet consists of animal and plant foods, which were obtained by hunting and gathering, or by cultivation. Those Russian, Slavic and Russian-speaking communities that lived near bodies of water preferred fishing: fish, crayfish, pearl barley; caught near-water animals and birds (beaver, water rat, ducks and geese, swans, etc.)
.
Forest dwellers preferred hunting large and small animals (hare, squirrel, wild boar, bear, elk, deer, etc.)
.
Mushrooms and berries, rhizomes and herbaceous plants were eaten as seasonings and on their own, nuts and other plant seeds; Berry, herbal, honey teas and tinctures were prepared. Fermentation (mash, beer, kvass)
and ripening for the winter and in reserve
(leavened fruits and vegetables)
.
Development of culinary dishes based on fermentation and/or fermentation (fermentation)
This was facilitated by housework in large families and the absence, and therefore non-use in cooking, of preservatives in the form of tropical plants and minerals
(chemicals)
.
The relatively warm summer climate contributed to the rapid development of bacteria, which was successfully used by the population in the development of traditional Russian cuisine. Based on fermentation, not only bread was baked or cabbage was fermented, but also various types of drinks were prepared: kvass and beer - mash, from which “moonshine” was also prepared. Kvass was prepared not only for bread, but also for fruits and berries (lingonberry, cranberry, etc.)
.
Fresh foamy Russian kvass
Various teas were used as non-alcoholic drinks - infusions of herbs and (or) berries.
(wild garlic, for example) were used as seasoning for dishes.
.
Not only game meat dishes (pheasant, partridge, black grouse, swans, geese, etc.)
and game animals (bear, wild boar, venison, elk, squirrel, beaver and other species), as well as fish and crayfish.
In some areas, freshwater bivalves were also used as food (fried or baked pearl barley “legs” over a fire, for example)
.
Meat and fish were prepared not only by heat treatment, but also dried, dried, and frozen for the winter (stroganina or stroganina)
.
The cottage cheese was dried, and not eaten only in freshly prepared form. They prepared the butter by whipping the cream skimmed off by settling the milk (which contradicts the statement about ignorance of the methods for preparing butter and cream)
.
Sugar syrups were prepared and wild plant roots were used for sweetening (sweet root, for example)
, and based on this and jam.
We should not forget that writing does not always convey to us the truthfulness of information due to variability. Many dishes of Russian cuisine were constantly introduced into the culture and traditions from the cultures of other peoples and became traditional, as well as vice versa. If we turn to the chronicle and remember the first years of the “baptism of Russia”, we can read many facts about the richness and diversity of ancient Russian cuisine and pay attention to the hunting methods of our ancestors (which did not change much over time)
, where the new clergy are advised not to eat animals without draining their blood after killing them - “not to eat crushed and strangled game.”
Initial period[edit]
Old Russian cuisine began to take shape long before
the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries, which some authors are trying to report, forgetting that the peoples of Rus' lived before the “chronicle” limitation in history, pointing out that it supposedly reached its heyday in the 15th-16th centuries. During this period, modern authors write, Russian bread made from rye dough appeared, as well as other types of Russian bread and flour products: saiki, bagels, donuts, pancakes, pancakes, pies. All these products were prepared on the basis of sour dough, which was characteristic of all Russian cuisine for many centuries. An addiction to sour and kvass was also reflected in the creation of oatmeal, wheat, and rye jelly, which appeared long before the berry jelly we are accustomed to. An important place was occupied by porridge and gruel, which originally had the meaning of ritual, ceremonial food.
“Gifts of nature” were also widely consumed: mushrooms, fish, hazelnuts and berries. Among the drinks, we should mention such traditional ones as kvass, sbiten, drinks with honey.
There is a tendency to consume liquid hot dishes, commonly known as “bread”. The most widespread are cabbage soup, vegetable stews, as well as various types of flour stews - zatirukhi, zavahikh, mash, salamat.
The meat was used in various culinary forms: boiled, fried on the bone, baked and stewed, in cabbage soup, in gruel and on its own. Milk was used for food in its raw form, as well as stewed or sour; We made cottage cheese and sour cream. The “production” of cream was not defined as an independent dairy product, since the production of cream was determined by draining (which is why the name of the product is “cream”)
separated fresh milk, where a yellowish or creamy and denser product could be seen on the surface with the naked eye.
Butter (in the modern sense)
was not yet widely known at that time - animal fat was used in the form of lard. In the post-religious period of baptism, meat and dairy products were consumed with relative restraint, which was associated with restrictions on fasting and intimidation of religious leaders.
Flavor diversity was achieved by heat or cold processing of products using vegetable seed oils - hemp, poppy, nut. In its pure form, vegetable oil appeared much later. Also, taste diversity was achieved by using various spices in the preparation of everyday food - onions, garlic, horseradish, dill, parsley, cloves, bay leaves, black pepper, known already in the 10th century.
Orthodoxy has had a great influence on Russian cuisine. According to the Orthodox calendar, more than 200 days a year were considered fast, when the consumption of meat and dairy products, as well as, for the most part, fish and oils was prohibited. Naturally, there was a desire to expand the variety of the Lenten table through greater use of plant products - grains, vegetables, mushrooms, wild berries and herbs. It is known that vegetables (cabbage, radishes, turnips, peas, cucumbers) were prepared and consumed separately from each other, that is, they were never mixed, so salads were never typical of classical Russian cuisine.
Food in Rus' was prepared mainly by boiling or baking in an oven, and very rarely fried. Combined or double processing was also excluded: those intended for cooking were only boiled, those intended for baking were only baked. The heat treatment consisted of non-contact heating with fire in a Russian oven at three degrees of fire intensity - “before the bread”, “after the bread”, “in the free spirit”. Moreover, it is characteristic that the temperature never increased during the cooking process, but was either kept at a constant level or allowed to cool. This should be remembered when preparing original Russian dishes in modern conditions. Ready-made dishes were stewed or stewed rather than boiled.
Russian cuisine of the 16th-17th centuries[edit]
During this period, diversity continues in the fast and fast tables. The differences between the cuisines of different classes are clearly visible: the cuisine of the common people begins to be simplified, the cuisine of the nobility becomes more and more refined. A number of dishes and culinary techniques are borrowed, mainly from oriental cuisine. Spun and fried meat, poultry and poultry are widely consumed among the nobility and nobility. Beef is mostly used for preparing corned beef and for boiling, pork (meat is used, not lard) - for preparing ham for long-term storage, suckling pig is used for frying or stewing, lamb is also used for frying and stewing, poultry meat is used for frying.
Russian cuisine of the 17th-18th centuries[edit]
All the main types of soups are finally added up. New soups such as rassolniki, solyanka, kalia, and pokhmelki appear. Eastern, in particular Tatar, cuisine has a strong influence, which is associated with the annexation of the Kazan, Astrakhan khanates, Bashkiria, and Siberia. Unleavened dough dishes appear - noodles, dumplings. Tea is being delivered. Variety also affected the sweet table: gingerbread, candied fruits, preserves. In the second half of the 17th century, cane sugar appeared in Rus', from which all kinds of candies and tea snacks were prepared. The appearance of lemons was noted, which were also consumed with tea.
Characteristic of this period is the desire to decorate dishes. Eating food among the boyars turns into a special ritual. Some dinners could last 8 hours with a dozen courses, each of which consisted of about twenty varieties of dishes of the same name.
Mixing of products, chopping or grinding is still not used, in contrast to European cuisine, in particular German and French, where rolls and pates were typical dishes. The same applied to the fillings of the pies: for example, the fish was not crushed, but layered. This feature persisted until the 18th century.
Russian cuisine of the 18th–19th centuries[edit]
Significant changes occurred in the domestic culinary tradition in the 17th century.
It was at this stage of Russian history that the division of national cuisine into common cuisine, which fully preserved traditional and familiar dishes and products, ended; and the cuisine of the capital's nobility, in which most dishes were borrowed from European cuisines.
Here it is worth clarifying that this division was not class: the bulk of the landed nobility knew about blamange and consomme by hearsay or from the then popular translated cookbooks.
The chefs known to us from fiction who were sent to the Russian hinterland from Paris and Marseille were, on the scale of Russia, rare. After all, in 1795 the number of Russian nobility was over 362 thousand people; there simply would not have been enough French cooks for each family. And the landowners themselves, for the most part, did not want to change their usual diet - healthy and satisfying Russian food to oysters and frog legs, which were dubious in terms of satiety and health benefits. Here one can recall Gogol’s Sobakevich, with his unflattering thoughts about French cuisine, and the Larin family, who needed Russian pancakes and kvass like air.
In general, resistance to foreign gastronomic influences was very serious not only in the provinces; already in the eighteenth century, such brilliant Russian minds as Sumarokov, Suvorov, Lomonosov spoke out in defense of genuine national cuisine.
- Sumarokov, for example, was perplexed about the renaming of stew into soup - a remark that is not only linguistic, but also of undoubted culinary significance, since the technologies for preparing French soups and Russian stews are significantly different.
- Here it is appropriate to recall Khlestakov, who amazed the imagination of provincial officials with his idiotic invention about soup arriving by boat from Paris. If he had said something like that about stew, he would have been ridiculed instantly... Nevertheless, the fashionable word has established itself in the Russian language, combining into one faceless definition a variety of traditional Russian dishes - from kvass turi to triple fish soup. This unreasonable borrowing resonated with us already in Soviet times, when the catering tradition established the “first course” - soup, obligatory before the “second” - with clearly defined standards of preparation and serving. So we lost turi and kalya, botvinya with the obligatory fish, vegetable and cereal stews, which were not included in the “soup” standard established by the Ministry of Food Industry. In this regard, it is interesting to compare two cookbooks written seventy years apart - by Nikolai Yatsenkov and Elena Molokhovets. The first book, published in 1790, contains almost three dozen recipes for stews and not a single soup. In Molokhovets’s book, published in the middle of the next century, the word “pottage” is completely forgotten, but about fifty “soups” are mentioned, many of which are copies of Yatsenkov’s “stew.”
Russian cuisine of the second half of the 19th century[edit]
It was from the middle of the 19th century that a serious turn of gastronomic interests towards national traditions began. A completely unique tavern cuisine is emerging, aimed at a wide range of people - from coachmen to wealthy merchants and officials. It is based on traditional Russian cooking; here they are no longer shy about porridge, cabbage soup, pies, or kulebyak. Dishes are prepared in large tavern ovens, which in principle are no different from Russian home ovens.
Even the city's intelligentsia openly declares their gastronomic preferences. A liberal poet at the peak of his popularity, a successful publisher and gambler, Nekrasov writes what exactly he sees as the meaning of life:
In pies, in sterlet ear,
In cabbage soup, in goose giblets, in nyanya, in pumpkin, in porridge
And in lamb tripe...
After the reforms of Alexander the Second and the actual deprivation of the nobility of unquestioned public authority, the Russian merchants, unclouded by Frenchization and Germanization, begin to dictate culinary fashion. Peasant roots, traditional upbringing and genetic memory determine the culinary repertoire in Russian houses and taverns. This partial return to true national values occurs at a special period in Russian history.
The economic rise of the Empire, the rapid development of industry and agriculture, the financial, military and political power of the Russian State also raise the national pride of its subjects. A Russian person, regardless of social affiliation, is not embarrassed to be Russian; moreover, he wants to be Russian in everything.
European fashion remains, but the priorities are different. We become original and self-sufficient by conviction, not by necessity. We do not need to look back at foreigners; we realize our historical, cultural and spiritual greatness. When the Russian Tsar is fishing, Europe can wait.
Former French restaurants are introducing Russian cuisine into their menus; you can do without consommé with profiteroles, but you can’t do without boiled beluga with horseradish and botvinya with ice.
There is even some overkill; the nouveau riche of the 19th century are partly guided in their choice of food not by the obvious culinary logic, but by the cost of the dish. The remarkable Russian ichthyologist, publisher and culinary specialist Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev writes sarcastically about the fish soup made only from sterlets, served at the Nizhny Novgorod fair. Until now, sterlet was part of a double or triple fish soup; it was placed in pieces in a ready-made broth, because, despite its high cost, this wonderful fish does not provide a tasty broth.
Buckwheat porridge and mushroom sauerkraut
A number of French chefs came to Russia during this period. The first to significantly reform Russian cuisine was the chef Marie-Antoine Carême. This reform affected primarily the order of serving dishes to the table. There was a return from the French serving, when all dishes were displayed at the same time, to the original Russian, shift serving. At the same time, the number of changes was reduced to 4-5 times. An alternation of light and heavy foods was also introduced. The meat of animals and birds was no longer served whole, but was pre-cut. They also abandoned the flour lining of soups that was preserved due to tradition. A straight method of preparing dough using pressed yeast was introduced, which made it possible to significantly reduce the time for preparing the dough from 12 hours to 2. The German style of serving snacks (sandwiches) was replaced by the French, when they were served on a special dish with a beautiful design of the snacks. Mixing products and precise dosages in recipes were instilled in Russian cuisine, as a result of which salads, vinaigrettes, and side dishes appeared on the tables. At the end of the 19th century, Russian stoves and cooking in pots and cast iron gave way to stoves and pans.
Russian cuisine of the 20th and 21st centuries[edit]
Since the twentieth century, white bread and other products made from wheat flour - vermicelli, pasta - have come into widespread use. Previously, white bread (called bun in some areas) was considered a holiday food.
The historical pendulum, however, swung back too quickly. Anti-national rot, which came from outside and received warm support in Russia itself from an insidious and cruel internal enemy, began to consistently destroy everything that made Russians Russians. Including our national cuisine.
It depends on us, the present, whether we will save it, or wait until that point of no return, when it will no longer be possible to figure out what real Russian cabbage soup, solyanka, kulebyaki are, and at culinary debates they will discuss what is better to cook okroshka with - Pepsi or Coca-Cola.
Fish and fish dishes
The Moscow state abounded in fish. The following types of fish were consumed: salmon brought from the north from Karelia, Shekhonskaya and Volga sturgeon, Volga white fish, Ladoga Ladoga and syrt, Belozersk smelt and fish from all small rivers: pike perch, crucian carp, pike, perch, bream, loach, gudgeon, ruffe, vandys, tufts, loaches. According to the method of preparation, the fish was fresh, dried, dry, salted, hung, fried, steamed, boiled, plucked for future use, and smoked. Everywhere a lot of fish were sold, prepared for future use using salt. A thrifty owner bought a large supply for household use, put it in the cellar, and so that it did not spoil, he hung it in the air, and this was called hanging, and if it was well ventilated, then ventilated. Given the difficulty of communication, fresh fish could only be used by those who lived near fishing spots. Fresh red fish was delivered to Moscow only for the royal table and for noble princes and boyars: it was brought live and kept in ponds made specially in their gardens. The mass of residents were content with salted sturgeon prepared in Astrakhan uchugs.
Hot fish dishes include cabbage soup, fish soup and brine. Fish soup was prepared from various fish, mainly scaly ones, as well as from fish offal, mixed with millet or other cereals and with a large amount of pepper, saffron and cinnamon. According to the method of preparation, the fish soup was distinguished: ordinary, red, black, baked, flaccid, sweet, plastic; bags or pounders made from dough with crushed fish were thrown into the ear. They cooked sour cabbage soup with fresh and salted fish, sometimes with several types of fish together, often with dry fish, like powdered flour. These hot dishes were served with pies filled with fish or porridge.
Brine was usually prepared from sturgeon, beluga and salmon. On fasting days in the summer, botvinya was served with onions and various roots. “Fish porridge” was prepared from grated fish of different varieties, mixed with an admixture of cereals and various millet, and on fasting days they also mixed in meat; The same porridge (minced meat) was also put into pies. Telnoye was prepared from fish like a cutlet: mixed with flour, doused with nut oil, spices added and pounded. This was called a fish loaf. Fried fish was served doused with some kind of broth.
A common dish was caviar. Fresh granular caviar from sturgeon and whitefish was considered a delicacy. In general use there was pressed caviar, muscle caviar, Armenian caviar - of irritating properties and crumpled caviar - of the lowest quality. Caviar was consumed with vinegar, pepper and chopped onions. In addition to raw caviar, they also consumed caviar boiled in vinegar or milk of poppy seeds and spun. During Lent, Russians made ikryaniki or caviar pancakes. It was caviar whipped after prolonged beating with a mixture of coarse flour and then steamed. Also, a favorite dish (snack) of Russians was balyk (Tat. live fish) - smoked and dried sturgeon.
Prison
This is the oldest Russian cold soup, which the poor ate in pagan times, and right up to the 20th century. - water, kvass or milk, bread crumbles, preferably in the form of crackers. If there was butter and onions, some spices, then they were added. To modern people, such food would seem like slop - it’s difficult for us to understand why people added bread to liquid, if you can just eat it and wash it down.
The recipe is extremely simple, but variable: Essentially, tyurya is salted cold water with pieces of bread and chopped onions. Finely chopped vegetables and roots (turnips, for example), herbs and herbs, and yogurt were added to it. Let us remember that it was prison that Tolstoy’s hero Konstantin Levin ate with pleasure in the middle of the summer mowing. We also hope that summer will soon return to normal, and in the midst of your dacha worries you will use the following recipe.
For a liter of water you will need two 2 tablespoons of small rye bread crackers, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped plantain, the same amount of finely chopped quinoa, salt. Place plantain and quinoa in boiling salted water, quickly bring to a boil, immediately remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add remaining ingredients before serving.
Vegetable Lenten Dishes
On those fast days, when it was considered a sin to eat fish, Russian food consisted of plant substances. They ate sour and stewed cabbage, beets with vegetable oil and vinegar, pies with peas stuffed with vegetable substances, buckwheat and oatmeal with vegetable oil, onions, oatmeal jelly, left-handed bread, pancakes with honey, loaves with mushrooms and millet, various kind of mushrooms, boiled and fried (butter mushrooms, milk mushrooms, morels, saffron milk caps), various preparations from peas: broken peas, grated peas, strained peas, pea cheese, that is, hard crushed peas with vegetable oil, noodles from pea flour, cottage cheese from milk of poppy seeds, horseradish, radish and various vegetable preparations: vegetable broth and kolivo.
Famous dishes of Russian cuisine
Traditions have changed, but some preferences have stood the test of time. Russian folk dishes such as cabbage soup, pancakes, borscht, porridge, kulebyaka, rasstegai, jelly, okroshka, kvass, sbiten, mead, etc. are well known all over the world. Fish, mushrooms, grains are what they were most often prepared from. .
Our ancestors did not know smoking. It came to Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. Meat and fish were boiled, baked, stewed, salted, fermented, dried or eaten raw, in the form of planed meat. Sturgeon, sterlet, and beluga were by no means the diet of only the rich. Ordinary people also ate delicious fish soup, aspic or pies from noble fish. Pancakes with black caviar, pies with hare, stellate sturgeon jellies, porridge with melted cream foam - these are all traditional Russian folk dishes. The list is far from final. Too little chronicle information has survived to this day. More or less complete evidence dates back to the 9th century.
Beverages
In the old days, honey was the favorite Russian drink . The secret of its preparation is almost lost today. The intoxicating strength of honey was compared to vodka. We know from our history that Grand Duchess Olga, while visiting the Drevlyans (945), ordered the inhabitants of Iskorosten to prepare honey for her, with which she wanted to treat them themselves. There were different types of honey: cherry, currant, juniper, oborny, welded, red, white, white molasses, raspberry, bird cherry, old, spring, honey with cloves, princely and boyar. For better taste and color, juice was squeezed from ripe cherries and added to honey. Foreigners were surprised at our Russian honey, the Russians prepared it so well.
Kvass was prepared from various types of processed grains and even from turnips and watermelon. The art of making kvass has been known since the 10th century. Kvass was sold in posads and shops; it was consumed in monasteries on weekdays. Kvass was of different varieties, both in terms of malt varieties and seasonings: honey and berry.
Perevar, brew, sbiten was a warm drink like our tea and was prepared from honey with St. John's wort, sage, bay leaf, ginger and capsicum. This folk drink, extremely healthy, today replaced by tea, was served in saklyas, copper teapots wrapped in towels, and mainly in winter.
Grape wines. Oleg, upon his return from the campaign of Constantinople (907), brought with him to Kyiv, among other things, wine. At the end of the 15th century, white and red wine were mentioned in Russia. When bidding farewell to Grand Duke John III (1476), Novgorod Archbishop Theophilus gave him three barrels of white wine, two red and two old honey. There is no doubt that wines were known before this time. At the beginning of the 16th century we recognize Burgundy, which bore the name “Romanea”. German merchants brought it to Rus'. Romanea was also called in drinking houses a liqueur infused with vodka with honey, also with blueberries and cranberries. Only the rich drank Canary wine or baster and malvasia at the table and treated distinguished guests with these wines, especially malvasia; it was given little by little and taken as medicine.
Vodka, a product of Arabia, appeared in Russia no earlier than the end of the 13th century. Russian vodka was made from rye, wheat and barley. Vodka was generally called wine and was divided into varieties: ordinary vodka was called simple wine, a better variety was called good wine; even higher - boyar wine, and finally, an even higher grade - double wine, extremely strong. In addition to these vodkas, vodkas were made sweetened with molasses; this vodka was dedicated to the female sex. Vodkas were infused with various spices and aromatic herbs, as well as cinnamon, St. John's wort, thistle, amber, saltpeter, and various peels and fruits.
Wealthy owners kept drinks in iceboxes or in cellars, of which there were several at the house. They were made in sections, each section filled with ice for the summer. Barrels were placed in them, they were called “pregnant and semi-pregnant”. The capacity of both was not always and everywhere the same, but on average a pregnant barrel could hold thirty, and a half-pregnant one - fifteen buckets. In the monastery cellars, the barrels were distinguished by their large sizes, for example, three fathoms in length and two in width; they never moved from their place, and the drink was passed into them and extracted from them through a special hole made in the vault of the cellar. Drinks were poured from a barrel first into pewter jars or measuring cups - large dishes, and then poured into smaller vessels for serving.
Treats and desserts
Delicacies and desserts in Rus' consisted of fruits, fresh or cooked in molasses, with honey or sugar. These fruits were both local and imported.
Lefties. This delicacy was made from raspberries, blueberries, currants and strawberries. The berries were first boiled, then rubbed through a sieve and then boiled again with molasses, stirring thickly during cooking. Then they laid this thick mixture on a board, previously smeared with molasses, and placed it in the sun or against the fire; when it dried, they rolled it into tubes.
Pastila was also a delicacy; it was made from apples. The apples were placed in a bowl and steamed in it, then rubbed through a sieve, molasses was added, steamed again, stirred, beaten, crushed, then laid out on a board and allowed to rise up, finally, put in copper, tinned bowls, allowed to sour, and tipped down. . Pastila was also made from certain berries, for example, viburnum.
Mazyunya. Radish in molasses was prepared in this way: first, the radish root was crushed into small slices, strung on knitting needles so that the slice did not collide with another slice, and dried in the sun or in ovens after baking bread; when there was no dampness left in the plant, they crushed it, sifted it on a sieve, meanwhile they boiled white molasses in a pot and, having boiled it, poured it into rare flour, adding various spices, such as pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and, having sealed the pot, put in the oven for two days and two nights. This mixture should be thick, like pressed caviar, and was called mazyunya; the same mazyunya was prepared in the same way from dry cherries and watermelons brought to Muscovy from the lower reaches of the Volga. The following delicacy was prepared from the latter: having cut a watermelon into two fingers from the bark, into pieces no thicker than paper, they put it in lye for a day, meanwhile they boiled molasses with pepper, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and then put the watermelons there. The same thing was prepared from melons.
Sugar treats and cookies. Delicacies also include gingerbread and gingerbread - Russian national cookies. Sugar and candy, brought by Russians from abroad, served as delicacies for the rich. At royal and boyar feasts, images of eagles, swans, ducks, doves, kremlins, towers, people, and also whole sugar loaves, made from sugar, were placed on the table. According to the method of preparation and color, several types of sugar were distinguished: swarborin sugar, granulated sugar, patterned sugar, white and red candy. All this was brought through Arkhangelsk and passed into popular use at the boyar tables.
Cowbyk
This meat dish has been prepared by Cossacks in Kuban for a long time. Kovbyk follows the tradition of economy in Russian cuisine - it is not only prepared from offal, but also becomes tastier if the preparation is kept warm for several days, which is very useful on long military campaigns. Cowby is prepared from pork innards. In addition to the stomach, lungs and liver, the recipe includes a pork head, from which the meat is cut. Everything is chopped, mixed with onions and peppers, and then placed in the stomach. Then it is sewn up and pickled - the Cossacks sometimes carried it with them all day, it turned out tastier. Then you need to first cook it for two hours and bake it for the same amount of time, covering it with butter.
J. Atkinson. Izba
Where is the cabbage soup, look for us here
Contrary to general opinion, our national soup is not borscht at all, but cabbage soup. Cabbage soup is the head of the whole meal, they said in the old days. At first it was a stew, most often made from fish or on bread, seasoned with cabbage and herbs.
Cabbage soup with salted mushrooms. Photo: wikimedia.org
Real cabbage soup has two main components: sour dressing (cabbage pickle or apples, later sour cream appeared) and cabbage (although there could be other vegetables: For example, sorrel is put in green cabbage soup). In poor houses, soup could only consist of this. But classic cabbage soup added meat (mushrooms or fish), roots (carrots, parsley), and spicy seasoning (onions, garlic, celery).
First, boil the broth with roots and onions, then add vegetables and sour dressing. By the way, the sauerkraut was cooked separately from the meat broth and only then added. Spices should be added at the end of cooking.
In some areas, the cabbage soup was seasoned with flour - for greater density. Then they abandoned it, considering that it worsened the aroma and taste of the soup. And they began to put potatoes in the dish.
After cooking, the cabbage soup must “float” under the lid. Sometimes they were placed in a warm oven for several hours, or even a whole day. Hence the name cabbage soup - daily allowance.
One brush - fish soup pot
Ukha is not a “duty” of fishermen’s wives, but another traditional Russian soup. After all, cabbage soup was first prepared in fish broth. There are apparently no recipes for this soup. We suggest trying “royal fish soup” made from sturgeon.
Photo: wikimedia.org
Real fish soup is prepared in a cast iron bowl. Better, of course, in the oven and on birch wood. Well, of course, it would also be nice to have recently caught sturgeon, but here it depends on your luck.
For three liters of water you need 400 grams of sturgeon, 700 grams of potatoes, 2 large onions. All this languishes in the oven for at least an hour.
Buckwheat from Kulikovo field
Photo: wikimedia.org
Well, what new can I tell you about pancakes? This dish appeared in our country back in the 9th century. And it has become so popular that there are now more than a hundred varieties of it. However, in Rus', pancakes were most often prepared with buckwheat flour. For example, here is a popular old recipe from Kulikovo Field - buckwheat. The recipe is not from warriors, of course, but from residents of nearby villages.
Prepare 4 cups of buckwheat flour, 20 grams of yeast, 4.5 cups of milk, salt to taste. We dilute the yeast with half a glass of warm milk, but not just like that, but in a wooden tub. Add another one and a half glasses of milk, add two glasses of flour, constantly stirring the dough. Place in a warm place.
When the volume of the dough doubled, our great-great-grandmothers added the remaining flour, milk and salt and put it back in a warm place. When the dough was ready again, the pancakes were baked in a cast iron frying pan with hemp oil.
Drink kvass, dispel the melancholy
Photo: wikimedia.org
Kvass was one of the main drinks of the Russian table. After all, tea, when it appeared, was initially too expensive for the common man. So, kvass was not only drunk, but used as a “broth” for cold and even hot soups. In the 15th century, there were more than five hundred recipes for this drink. Moreover, they made it not only from bread, but also from vegetables, for example, beets or turnips.
The simplest recipe is rustic rye white kvass. Mix rye flour (2-3 tablespoons) and water until thick sour cream, add two tablespoons (per half-liter jar) of honey and a few raisins for quick fermentation. Add warm water to the rye starter and leave it in a warm place for a couple of days. Then the starter is poured into a three-liter jar, topped up with water, 2 tablespoons of honey and two tablespoons of rye flour are added.
After a few days, drain the liquid and get “young kvass”. Honey is added to it to taste, and it is sent to a cold cellar for a couple of days.
And the remaining grounds after draining the young kvass are diluted again with water, we add flour and honey and we already get mature kvass. Each time the starter becomes more vigorous, and the kvass cooks faster.
Sbiten-sbitenek drinks dandy
Vendor of hot sbiten. Hood. — J. Atkinson
Mentions of this drink can be found in chronicles of the 12th century. Sbiten is a drink made from water, honey and spices. Again, until the tea table became commonplace in our country, sbiten was one of the most popular drinks. It's a pity he's almost forgotten. Let's try to cook "Moscow sbiten" - it's not that difficult.
For 5 liters of water you will need 200 grams of honey, a kilogram of white molasses, 2 teaspoons of ginger, 2 grams of cinnamon, 5 clove buds, 5 tablespoons of dry mint, 3 star anise, 10 black peppercorns, 7 pieces of cardamom.
You need to dissolve molasses and honey in boiling water. Boil for 15 minutes, add spices and boil for another ten minutes. We filter. Ready!
Viburnum berry beckoned us
Pies are still one of the favorite Russian dishes. But you probably haven’t heard about Kalinnik yet. And in the old days, this was a very common recipe.
There was a special attitude towards viburnum in general. This is a symbol of girlish tenderness; the viburnum bush attracts wealth to the house. Bunches of these berries were used to decorate wedding loaves and towels.
For viburnum you will need rye flour, viburnum, yeast, sugar and salt.
300 grams of berries are dried and ground into powder. Brew with 200 grams of boiling water to make a puree. Rye flour is added to it, kneading the dough (about 500 grams of flour). Form a flat cake and bake. Traditionally, the pie should be unleavened. But you can add a little sugar.
You can’t feed a Russian man without porridge
It is not clear why, but we have degraded porridge to “tasteless and healthy” food. In fact, we just don’t know how to cook it! But without her, my dear, the festive table in the old days could not be complete. Even a peace treaty could not come into force until the opponents had eaten the porridge.
There were a variety of porridges - buckwheat, millet, spelled (wheat), oats... Barley porridge was the favorite of Peter I. It is also mentioned several dozen times in the Bible.
It was cooked in a clay pot in the oven. For a liter of milk you need two glasses of barley and salt. Bring the milk to a boil, add salt, add the cereal and cook until it thickens. And then we send it to simmer in the oven. Read “into the oven.” And do it.
Turnips are meat, cut and eat
Until the 18th century, turnips were the main ingredient in Russian cuisine. They didn’t even know about any potatoes back then. Turnips were boiled, steamed, baked, and added to soups and pies.
Photo: wikimedia.org
In modern terms, steaming turnips is the same as steaming them. The root vegetable needs to be peeled, cut into slices, put in a pot, pour in a little water and put in the oven to simmer at medium temperature (about 120 degrees) for 2 hours.
Steamed turnips were eaten with butter and salt. Or with honey.
Porridge praises itself...
National Russian cuisine is full of very different porridges, rich in nutrients and proteins. In its own way, it’s a good boost of energy for the whole day. Many grain crops have been grown in Russia for a long time. Naturally, cereals began to be eaten. Kissed, crushed, ground. They baked flatbreads and cooked porridge. Porridge was as necessary on the Russian table as soup. Even kings did not disdain her. Barley, for example, was so popular with the court that it was renamed pearl barley (from the word “pearl,” by the way, that is, pearl). You can write poems about buckwheat. For foreigners it is still exotic. The word “ porridge ” in the Russian language has become something of a common noun, meaning community. “Stew in the same mess” means working together, “classmates” means fellow students, fellow students.
Bread is the head of everything!
Bread is the basis of all Russian cuisine; there is not a single table without it. Since ancient times, cultivators have tended to the growth of cereal crops from which they produced bread. Bread could be eaten with both first and second courses. It can also be consumed for breakfast. Cereals are becoming especially popular; pancakes, pies, gingerbreads, buns, rolls and much more are baked from them. In Europe, bread was baked exclusively from wheat flour. White bread came to Russia later. Here it received the name bun and almost immediately acquired all sorts of variations: saiki, puff pastry, rolls, pretzel.
Russians ate mostly rye bread, sometimes mixing egg flour with the rye. Wheat flour was used for prosphora and rolls. Kalachis have always been considered a delicacy and were served only at festive tables. This even gave rise to the proverb “You can’t lure someone with a roll” in the sense that even pleasant things will not help to interest you. Any bread was baked without salt. In the 16th and 17th centuries. People used oatmeal made from oatmeal and water. Mills spread to Rus' no earlier than the 14th century, and before that they were mostly limited to mortars and grain crushing. However, from the charter of Yaroslav it is already clear that mills in Russia were known much earlier than the 11th century.
Popular dishes in Russia: what makes CookLikeMary happy
The CookLikeMary website contains simple recipes for Russian dishes with photos and detailed descriptions. Here you will find soups of Russian cuisine (botvinya, okroshka, rassolnik), salads, side dishes, desserts and many other Russian national dishes. If you wish, you will learn how forgotten Russian dishes are prepared: kulebyaka, rasstegai, etc.
Russian hot dishes and Russian salad (find recipes on CookLikeMary) are filling. It is worth recognizing that all Russian first courses are quite dense, which is very important for a country with a cold climate. There are many recipes that use cereals, vegetables, and dairy products. Meat is an important component of many dishes. It is added to first and second courses, appetizers, salads and even baked goods. The most popular are pork and beef. As for the choice of poultry, chicken comes first, then duck, turkey, goose. Game is rarely cooked. The Russian people love fish no less than meat. Due to the fact that our country extends over a vast territory with many rivers, seas and reservoirs, it is difficult to single out any specific type of fish. On our website you will see recipes for river and sea fish. The choice depends on your personal preferences. You can cook fish in any convenient and accessible way: boil, fry, stew, bake, smoke, salt, dry.
Among the dishes of the so-called new Russian cuisine are beef stroganoff, Napoleon, Olivier, vinaigrette, mayonnaise and other Russian main courses. The most popular side dishes are cereals, vegetables, and pasta.
Particular attention is paid to baking. If you want to bake Russian Easter cake, you can find the recipe on our CookLikeMary website. All popular dishes for Easter are also presented here (in Russia, Easter is considered one of the most important holidays). And how delicious Russian pancakes are. The recipe for this dish is presented in different interpretations. Choose and cook!
And don't forget the drinks. In Russia, mead, mash, beer, sbiten and non-alcoholic drinks such as kvass, fruit drinks, fruit and berry compotes are in great demand.
Pie - from the word "feast"
Russians love to bake pies, pancakes, and various baked goods. Pies are a festive food. They come from the word “feast”. Housewives baked them on holidays, and the incomparable aroma of baking spread throughout the entire area. The variety of fillings is amazing. Everything was used: meat, fish, vegetables, and berries. According to the baking method, the pies were yarn and hearth. Hearth dough was always baked from leavened dough, and yarn dough was baked from leavened dough, and sometimes from unleavened dough. Wheat, coarse or crushed flour was used for them, depending on the importance of the day when they were prepared. Rye pies were also baked. In general, all Russian pies in the old days had an oblong shape and different sizes: large ones were called pirogi, kulebyaks, small ones - pirozhki. On fast days, they were filled with lamb, beef and hare meat and several types of meat together, for example: lamb and beef lard, also meat and fish along with an addition of porridge or noodles. At Maslenitsa they baked yarn pies with cottage cheese and eggs in milk, in cow butter, with fish together with eggs or with telny, as the fish dish prepared in the form of cutlets was called. On Lenten fish days, pies were baked with all kinds of fish, especially whitefish, smelt, lodoga, with fish milk alone or with vizig, in hemp, poppy or nut oil. Crushed fish was mixed with porridge or Saracen millet; on fast, non-fish days, pies were baked with saffron milk caps, poppy seeds, peas, juice, turnips, mushrooms, cabbage and other items, in some kind of vegetable oil, or sweet ones - with raisins and other various berries; sweet pies were baked not during Lent instead of cakes.
Loaf is a rich bread of various preparation methods. Eggs, butter or beef lard, cheese and milk were usually added to the loaf. The different types of loaf depended on the quantity and what flour was added with. The broken loaf was mixed with butter, placed in a vessel, like a milk cake. The Yak loaf was baked using a large number of eggs. There was also a loaf with cheese, a brotherly loaf and others.
Also, kurnik (paste) was baked from the dough - a pie filled with chicken, lamb, eggs, with butter or lamb lard.
Among the light cookies in Rus' there were: pancakes, kotloma, cheesecakes, pancakes, brushwood, jelly. It should be noted that on fast days, in these preparations, instead of quick oils or lard, vegetable oils were added and served with molasses, sugar and honey.
Soups
It’s not for nothing that soup is called the first course in a Russian dinner. It is this that is the basis of a traditional meal. Shchi has remained the most common Russian soup for many centuries. This soup was prepared using traditional Russian technology - simmering in the oven. The main component of cabbage soup is cabbage, fresh or pickled. The soup also included broth - it could be vegetable, meat, mushroom, and occasionally fish. Various vegetables were added to cabbage soup - carrots, and since the 19th century - potatoes. Cucumber or cabbage brine could give cabbage soup a specific sour taste. Usually this soup was served with sour cream and rye bread.
A specific type of cabbage soup can be divided into a separate category - daily allowances. Unlike most soups, which can be served immediately after preparation, daily cabbage soup must be infused at least overnight before use.
Another famous Russian soup is rassolnik. It has a specific sour taste. Rassolnik is usually cooked in meat broth, sometimes in vegetable broth. An important component of this soup is pickles poached in brine.
The main Russian fish soup is ukha. It can be cooked from one type of fish or from a mixture of several types of fish. Classic soup is cooked without adding cereals or noodles and with a small amount of vegetables - onions in the soup are required, and potatoes and carrots can be added as desired.
Sun in a frying pan
And where can you go without such a dish as pancakes ! They came to us since pagan times. Many rituals and beliefs were associated with them. A whole holiday was dedicated to pancakes - Maslenitsa! Pancakes have actually become a brand. All over Russia and even abroad, cafes, canteens and even restaurants are opening, where pancakes with all kinds of fillings form the basis of the menu. Pancakes in Rus' were baked red (from buckwheat flour) and milk (from wheat flour with the addition of milk and eggs).
In the old days, according to the Russian historian of the 19th century N.I. Kostomarov, pancakes were not a symbol of Maslenitsa days. At that time there were pies with cheese and brushwood - stretched dough with butter. They also baked dough cones, left-handers, perepechi, nuts, and varentsy; noodles, porridge of various kinds, cottage cheese with sour cream, etc.
How Maxim Syrnikov prepared a real Russian lunch in the oven
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Boris Akimov and Maxim Syrnikov showed what real men can do with flour, eggs, butter... and a Russian oven. It turned out that not so little
"Hot Keys" Mill
Photo courtesy of the author
"Hot Keys"
Photo courtesy of the author
Photo courtesy of the author
Photo courtesy of the author
Maxim Syrnikov, a culinary specialist and researcher of Russian cuisine, and Boris Akimov, the creator of the LavkaLavka farm project, tried out a Russian oven in the Goryachiye Klyuchi hotel complex near Suzdal in mid-November. I was also in the company of those invited.
Photo courtesy of the author That same oven
“Each oven has its own character. Ideally, you had to melt it yourself and still have time to adapt to it. And it’s assembled in such a way that it doesn’t hold heat, it doesn’t warm up from below, and it burns on top…” Maxim began the conversation not very optimistically. But when he saw how quickly the dishes he had prepared were disappearing, he no longer scolded the stove.
Photo courtesy of the author Boris Akimov (LavkaLavka) and Igor Kekhter - director of “Hot Keys”
First, Syrnikov prepared “rich” cabbage soup in the oven - boiled meat with sauerkraut, and boiled buckwheat porridge.
Photo courtesy of the author Rich cabbage soup from Syrnikov
The third dish from Syrnikov was chicken pie. Rolling out the dough, laying out the filling and baking the chicken in the oven, Syrnikov said:
“Initially, kurnik was a ritual dish that was prepared for weddings or funerals... Although in the Southern Urals kurniks are prepared regularly, without reference to special events. For the filling, take meat mixed with potatoes. In general, the filling in kurnik is chopped egg, meat and rice. The meat can be anything, moreover, even if pork and potatoes are used as filling, it will still be chicken. The fact is that its name does not come from a chicken, as one might think, but from the word “kuren,” which meant a large house in the south of Russia.”
Maxim Syrnikov rolls out dough
Photo courtesy of the author
And prepares the filling
Photo courtesy of the author
While preparing kulebyaki, Maxim Syrnikov explained to us the intricacies of creating fillings in pies: “If the filling is raw, then it must be mixed, and if the meat is boiled, a boiled egg and rice too, then you can lay out the filling in layers. This is explained by the fact that the raw filling is soaked in juice during the cooking process, while the dry filling is not.”
Along with the cabbage soup and porridge (which, however, had already been eaten by that time), wickets were served on the table - a kind of open pies with filling. This is a dish not from the south, but from the north of Russia. As Maxim Syrnikov said, wickets were prepared in Russian villages when it was necessary to give the husband lunch with him in the field. They are prepared quickly and from what is in the house. They are made in some places with millet porridge, in others with buckwheat, and in others with potatoes. And the dough is kneaded from curdled milk, salt and flour, then the filling is added to it, the gates are coated with sour cream, sent to the oven and after a few minutes the “wickets” are ready.
Photo courtesy of the author Wicket from Maxim Syrnikov
The eaters devoured everything that Syrnikov cooked, without stopping to animatedly discuss how the taste of food in the oven differs from food cooked at home on the stove.
Photo courtesy of the author
Maxim himself formulated it this way: “In my opinion, many dishes, whether cooked in a Russian oven or on the stove, have exactly the same taste. The main thing is to understand the cooking technology, observe the temperature regime and the cabbage soup will turn out the same as it did from the oven. But there is a product whose taste the oven radically changes, and this is milk. Therefore, all dishes prepared with milk and from milk - Guryev porridge, baked milk, cottage cheese casserole, Varenets - they all acquire a completely different taste in the oven.”
Photo courtesy of the author Maxim Syrnikov
To confirm his words, Maxim prepared a real cheesecake for dessert. Fluffy dough and sweet cottage cheese with sour cream on top - the cheesecake turned out to be completely different from what we are used to seeing in stores or restaurants. Both in appearance and in taste. Maxim said that the cheesecake... has no filling! The filling is what is hidden inside the pie, and the cottage cheese in a cheesecake is correctly called pouring or pouring. “Recently I was in the Cherepovets region, so there they call these pies “nalivoshniki” - juice with cottage cheese, poured with something on top,” said Syrnikov.
Photo courtesy of the author Kurnik from Syrnikov
We had already spent two hours at the table and someone asked: “So, Maxim, is this a normal Russian lunch?” In response, Syrnikov gave us a mini-lecture about the way of life in various Russian families, with references to Molokhovets and Domostroy. In short, we found out that cabbage soup, porridge and kalitki can be considered everyday Russian dishes, and as for everything else - kurniks, kulebyak and cheesecakes - these are rather holiday treats. Maxim also talked about how the dish that Chichikov treated Sobakevich was prepared, namely “nanny” - a lamb stomach with giblets and buckwheat porridge inside.
In order to satisfy all this variety of dishes, eaters periodically downed a glass of vodka. Maxim Syrnikov said that the ideal drink for such a feast is intoxicating mead or nutritious honey, as it was also called in the old days. “There is no mead! Mead, according to Dahl's dictionary, is a disease of bees. And put honey, or nutritious honey, is what has always been prepared in Russia. Moreover, its recipe was even preserved in Domostroy: one part of honey is diluted in five parts of water and boiled until full. This is a sweet grounds, the purpose of its creation is to separate the honey from the wax, to purify it. It is boiled well for at least an hour, then filtered through a sieve, and the remaining wax is removed with scale. They ferment it thoroughly with sourdough or yeast, then add hop cones and berries and infuse.”
Despite the fact that “medovukha” is a misnomer, we still bought several bottles of this “wrong” drink on the way back from Suzdal. With memories of a hearty lunch at Syrnikov’s, it went well.
About turnips and potatoes
Before the advent of potatoes, in addition to cabbage, beets and carrots, the basis of the vegetable table was turnips. A lot of different dishes were made from it, including gourmet dishes. Now all this has been forgotten, and potatoes are a particularly popular product. It is prepared in various ways: boiled, baked, fried, potatoes are used in various soups. Fried potatoes are a delicacy on almost any table: everyone has their own recipes for cooking potatoes, everyone cooks them in their own way.
Turnip - an undeservedly forgotten food and medicine
About pickles
All that remains is to talk about pickles. Europeans do not know such treats on the holiday table as sauerkraut, pickles and mushrooms. Cucumbers are generally considered a decoration for any table, be it a holiday or a simple table, and they are also used as a good snack. White salted cabbage in Rus' was a common winter supply for both rich and poor.
And dry porcini mushrooms are also Russian know-how. Mushrooms for foreigners are only champignons, which will never give either that taste or that aroma. We can safely say that Russians are trendsetters in pickles, where there are many different recipes.
Urine and fermentation are technologies that are largely characteristic of Russian cuisine
Russians have always prepared other fruits for future use using salt and vinegar: plums, apples, pears, cherries and more. Homely owners always had several vessels with such pickles, which were served with fried meat and fish dishes.
What do Russians eat for lunch?
Traditionally, first and second courses are prepared for lunch. First courses include liquid - various soups, hot and cold. The traditional first course is one of the oldest in Russian cuisine - of course, cabbage soup. They can be lean, only with vegetables and onions, or with meat. Cabbage soup was prepared in Rus', and everyone loved it - from peasants to noblemen. They cooked cabbage soup in the oven, and then they acquired a special characteristic taste.
Borscht is more famous than cabbage soup - it is popular all over the world. Hot, aromatic, hearty borscht will instantly lift your spirits and relieve fatigue - Russian people know this very well.
Okroshka is a cold dish, and very unique. Foreigners may be unfamiliar with trying this soup. The fact is that the basis of okroshka is kvass. It also contains eggs, onions, herbs, cucumbers, boiled meat, radishes - all of this is finely crumbled. It turns out to be “okroshka”.
For main course, Russian people like to eat a side dish and meat or fish. Often, various pickles are served with the main dish - sauerkraut, pickled mushrooms, pickled cucumbers. Toward the end of lunch, compote or tea is served, perhaps with something sweet.
Unusual recipes of Russian cuisine
Since ancient times, the integrity of each family has been supported by a large number of beliefs and traditions. Unfortunately, many of them are lost, many people have forgotten about. One of the main traditions that was observed without exception in every family is the tradition associated with eating. Nowadays, such traditions are observed less and less often and fewer and fewer Russian families follow them. For those who want to improve relations between household members and become closer to them, there are several traditional ways to conduct a meal that will certainly make the atmosphere in the family warmer, will appeal to every member of the household and will awaken the desire to eat food with the whole family regularly.
The very idea of using a pumpkin instead of dishes is very original and attracts attention, while it is striking in its simplicity. To prepare porridge in pumpkin, virtually any type of cereal is suitable, but wheat is considered the classic, most suitable and convenient option.
Porridge in pumpkin
Ingredients: a glass of any cereal; pumpkin with a diameter of at least 30 cm; 2 tbsp. fresh milk; 2 tbsp. water; 3 grub spoons of sugar; a tea ladle (spoon) of table salt; butter (to taste).
Cooking process: 1. Millet needs to be poured with water and cooked until half cooked. 2. The top part of the pumpkin (the most suitable diameter is 30 cm) must be cut off, the pulp and seeds must be removed without damaging the peel. 3. Place sugar, boiled millet, milk (it should be heated in advance), salt and sugar in the pumpkin. If you wish, you can add any fruit or raisins as a filler. 4. The mass formed inside the pumpkin must be thoroughly mixed and placed in the oven for 40 minutes; the optimal temperature for preparing such porridge is 160-180 degrees. 5. After 40 minutes, let the finished dish sit and add butter.
Porridge in pumpkin
"Treasure chest"
The “Treasure Chest” dish is also very beautiful, healthy and tasty. It is prepared in the same way as the dish described above, in pumpkin. The most important condition for making the porridge tasty is a sweet pumpkin.
1. Remove the pulp and seeds from the pumpkin to a hard layer (preferably its thickness should not be more than 2 cm). 2. Then coat the inside of the pumpkin with oil and spices. 3. Seasonings can be chosen according to your taste. 4. Then the pumpkin along with the cut off lid should be placed in the oven for approximately 50-60 minutes. 5. While the pumpkin is in the oven, you can prepare pearl barley: 6. 1 glass of this cereal should be thoroughly washed with running water and fried in sunflower oil. 7. Then pour 4 glasses of water over the cereal and cook for 1 hour over low heat. 8. Boil beets and carrots, cut them into cubes and mix with porridge. If desired, you can add green peas. 9. Then add vegetable oil to the prepared mass, and place the pumpkin in the oven again for 1 hour. As soon as you smell the baked pumpkin, remove it from the oven, brush with vegetable oil and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
The dish is ready, it’s time to treat your guests and family to it!
Materials were used from the book by M. Zabylin “Russian people. Its customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry."
Cuisine of the Russian people
The state-forming people are Russian. Culinary traditions are associated not only with territorial, but also with the climatic characteristics of the state. A harsh winter involves preparing hearty meals and preparing for the cold season. From time immemorial, Russians have been collecting, drying and salting mushrooms; They made berry jam and made fruit drinks, and also stored the berries fresh. Garden crops were grown and pickled. The Russian diet includes a large number of porridges: buckwheat, oatmeal, wheat, barley, corn, and so on. Seasoned with butter and together with pickles, they are constantly present in the diet of every family. The most common first course is cabbage soup made from fresh and sauerkraut; there are many recipes for preparing this dish. There are rich traditions of preparing second courses. But at the same time, in Russian cuisine there are no complex culinary delights; everything is modest and tasty.
