Over many centuries of Russian history, Russian chefs have invented a countless number of culinary delicacies.

For a long time, Russian cuisine was ignored by European gourmets, to put it mildly. It was called primitive and barbaric. Overcoming these stereotypes, our chefs did not stand still, they studied very diligently and enriched national cuisine new original recipes food

Soups have always been loved in Rus'. The word itself became entrenched in the Russian lexicon by the beginning of the 19th century. Instead of the word soup, the capacious word “khlebova” was used to denote a liquid dish. Khlebov were very diverse. These are borscht and cabbage soup, solyanka and stew, fish soup and kalya. In the summer, Russian people willingly prepared beetroot pancakes, vegetable soups and, of course, okroshka and botvinya with Russian kvass.

Only cabbage soup was divided into 6 dozen types. They could be lazy and empty, green and sour, meat and fish. The cabbage soup on the table of the rich and the poor, of course, consisted of different ingredients. But the main basics of the dish were the same. These essential ingredients include cabbage. Among acidic foods, brine is invariably present. Sorrel and sour cream are also used. Russia's favorite garden spices - dill and parsley - were added to the pot of cabbage soup.

Russian ear, by classic recipe, prepared with virtually no vegetables. Usually it should have a strong broth, which is served with the fish pie. We tried not to mix different types of fish. This allowed us to enjoy the true taste. That is why domestic publications on culinary topics try to provide an independent fish soup recipe for each type of fish.

Traditional Russian okroshka contained only 2 vegetables. The secret was as follows: the first vegetable was neutral in taste (cucumber or rutabaga, later potatoes), and the second, pronounced (dill, tarragon, parsley). They also added fish, chicken and beef to the dish. Boiled eggs and sour cream are another of the required ingredients of okroshka. Russian cooks liked to season okroshka with hot oriental pepper, mustard or barrel cucumbers.

Porridge is another diamond of Russian cuisine, without which it is impossible to imagine it. Moreover, porridge can be seen not only on the table of common people. She also occupied a prominent place at the royal dinner.

Pancakes are known among ancient Slavic tribes. They had the status of ritual food. They were given to expectant mothers before giving birth, and they were fed to relatives who came to the funeral. Everyone knows the tradition that has come down to us from pagan times and is associated with eating pancakes - this is the wide Maslenitsa. All week, on the eve of the onset of strict Lent, the housewives treated everyone to pancakes. They were always eaten with sour cream and butter, with caviar and mushrooms, with meat and fish.

This also deserves a mandatory mention Russian dish like rye bread. Apart from Russia, it is used almost nowhere. And we had a time when not a single day of a Russian person passed without black bread. And princes with boyars, and serfs with slaves - everyone loved bread from rye flour. This product appeared on the tables of Russian people in the 9th century. And he was among the main ones for almost a thousand years. TO white bread in Russia they have always been treated as a festive dish. It was even baked in separate bakeries, always sweetened for taste.

Gingerbread in Rus' has always been treated with a great deal of respect. At first they were called “honey bread” and were prepared by adding honey and berry juice to rye flour. They did not skimp on honey (up to 50% of it was in the product). This dish tasted very good. Over time, gingerbread recipes become more complex. They begin to add spices such as mint and nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, cardamom and lemon zest. So the “honey bread” gradually turned into gingerbread.

The famous Russian pies deserve special kind words. This is genuine Russian national pride. They were baked in ancient times. The very name “pie” is combined with the word feast. Each holiday in Rus' corresponded to its own type of pie. And the fillings for pies are simply amazing in their variety. There is meat and fish, herring and milk, eggs and cottage cheese, mushrooms and porridge, onions and cabbage. Pies could also pass for dessert when they were filled with fruits or berries.

The main meal of the Russian people was lunch. On the dinner table of a wealthy person in Russia, 4 types of dishes were supposed to be served. This: cold appetizer, cabbage soup or soup, main course and pies. Among the boyars, a regular dinner table included up to 50 types of dishes. The royal table was the most hospitable. Every day the royal cooks served up to 200 dishes. You can’t eat such abundance right away. Royal dinners lasted a long time. Sometimes they didn’t leave the table for 5-6 hours in a row. Guests endured up to 10 changes of food. Each change promised at least 2 dozen dishes.

A huge number of recipes for Russian cuisine have not reached us. Unfortunately, for a long time there was no tradition of writing down recipes.

Chapter:
Orthodox cuisine for every day of the year
Recipes available inexpensive dishes
Published 2006
with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy
13th page of the section

The best recipes for Lenten dishes of old Russian cuisine

Salted mushrooms - 70 g, dried - 20 g, vegetable oil - 15 g, onions - 10 g, green onions - 20 g, 3% vinegar - 5 g, garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

This caviar is prepared from dried or salted mushrooms, as well as from a mixture of them.
Wash and cook until done dried mushrooms, cool, finely chop or mince.
Salted mushrooms should be washed in cold water and also chopped.
Finely chopped onion fry on vegetable oil, add mushrooms and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Three minutes before the end of stewing, add crushed garlic, vinegar, pepper, and salt.
Place the finished caviar in a heap on a plate and sprinkle with green onions.

Pickled cucumbers - 1 kg, onions - 200 g, tomato puree - 50 g, vegetable oil - 40 g, salt and pepper to taste.

Finely chop the pickled cucumbers and squeeze the juice from the resulting mass.
Fry finely chopped onions in vegetable oil, add chopped cucumbers and continue frying over low heat for half an hour, then add tomato puree and fry everything together for another 15-20 minutes.
A minute before readiness, season the caviar with ground pepper.
In the same way you can prepare caviar from salted tomatoes.

Peas - 50 g, potatoes -100 g, onions - 20 g, water - 300 g, oil for frying onions -10 g, parsley, salt, pepper to taste.

In the evening, pour cold water over the peas and leave to swell and prepare the noodles.
For noodles, mix half a glass of flour well with three tablespoons of vegetable oil, add a spoonful of cold water, add salt, and leave the dough for an hour to swell.
Cut the thinly rolled out and dried dough into strips and dry in the oven.
Boil the swollen peas, without draining the water, until half cooked, add fried onions, diced potatoes, noodles, pepper, salt, and cook until the potatoes and noodles are ready.

200 g fresh cabbage, 3-4 medium potatoes, 1 carrot, 2-3 parsley roots, 1 celery root, 1 onion, 2 medium cucumbers, 2 tablespoons oil, half a glass cucumber pickle, 2 liters of water, salt, pepper, Bay leaf taste.

Chop peeled and washed parsley, celery, and onion into strips and fry everything together in oil.
Cut the skin off the pickled cucumbers and boil it separately in two liters of water. This is broth for pickle.
Cut the peeled cucumbers lengthwise into four parts, remove the seeds, and finely chop the cucumber pulp into pieces.
In a small saucepan, simmer the cucumbers. To do this, put cucumbers in a saucepan, pour in half a glass of broth, cook over low heat until the cucumbers are completely softened.
Cut the potatoes into cubes, shred fresh cabbage.
Boil the potatoes in the boiling broth, then add the cabbage; when the cabbage and potatoes are ready, add the sautéed vegetables and poached cucumbers.
5 minutes before the end of cooking, add salt, pepper, bay leaf and other spices to taste.
A minute before readiness, pour cucumber pickle into the pickle.
Rassolnik can be prepared with fresh or dried mushrooms, with cereals (wheat, pearl barley, oatmeal). In this case, these products must be added to the specified recipe.

100 g of fresh salmon, 100 g of fresh pike perch, 100 g of fresh (or salted) sturgeon, a small can of olives, two teaspoons of tomato puree, 3 pickled white mushrooms, 2 pickled cucumbers, an onion, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, a tablespoon of flour , a dozen olives, half a glass of cucumber pickle, a tablespoon of capers, black peppercorns, bay leaf, salt to taste, a bunch of dill or parsley, 2 mugs of lemon.

Prepare a liter of very strong broth from any fish.
Fry finely chopped onion in a saucepan in oil.
Gently sprinkle the onion with flour, stir, fry until the flour turns golden brown. Then pour it into the pan fish broth and cucumber pickle, mix well and bring to a boil.
Chop mushrooms, capers, remove pits from olives, add all this to the broth, bring to a boil.
Cut the fish into pieces, scald with boiling water, simmer in a frying pan with butter, tomato puree and peeled cucumbers.
Add the fish and cucumbers to the pan and cook the hodgepodge over low heat until the fish is cooked. Three minutes before readiness, add bay leaf and spices.
Properly made solyanka has a light, slightly reddish broth, a pungent taste, and the smell of fish and spices.
When serving, place a piece of each type of fish on plates, pour in the broth, add a mug of lemon, dill or parsley, and olives.
You can serve pies with fish along with Solyanka.

Sauerkraut - 200 g, dried mushrooms - 20 g, carrots - 20 g, tomato puree - 20 g, flour - 10 g, oil - 20 g, bay leaf, pepper, herbs, salt to taste.

Boil dry mushrooms and roots. Finely chop the mushrooms removed from the broth. Mushrooms and broth will be needed to prepare cabbage soup.
Simmer the squeezed shredded sauerkraut with a glass of water and two tablespoons over low heat for one and a half to two hours tomato paste. The cabbage should be very soft.
In 10-15 minutes. Before the cabbage is finished stewing, add the roots and onions fried in oil, and about five minutes before it is ready, add the toasted flour.
Place the cabbage in a saucepan, add chopped mushrooms, broth and cook for about forty minutes until tender. You cannot salt cabbage soup from sauerkraut - you can ruin the dish. Cabbage soup tastes better the longer it is cooked. Previously, such cabbage soup was placed in a hot oven for a day, and left in the cold at night.
Add two cloves of garlic, mashed with salt, to the prepared cabbage soup.
You can serve cabbage soup with kulebyaka with fried buckwheat porridge.
You can add potatoes or cereal to the cabbage soup. To do this, cut three potatoes into cubes, separately steam two tablespoons of pearl barley or millet until half cooked.
Potatoes and cereals should be placed in boiling water mushroom broth twenty minutes earlier than stewed cabbage.

Sauerkraut - 30 g, bread - 10 g, onion - 20 g, kvass - 150 g, vegetable oil, pepper, salt to taste.

Mix chopped sauerkraut with grated onion.
Add stale bread, also grated. Stir well, pour in oil, dilute with kvass to the thickness you need.
IN ready dish you need to add pepper and salt.
Potato cutlets with prunes
Make a puree from 400 grams boiled potatoes, salt, add half a glass of vegetable oil, half a glass warm water and enough flour to make a soft dough.
Let it sit for about twenty minutes so that the flour swells, at this time prepare the prunes - peel them from the seeds, pour boiling water over them.
Roll out the dough, cut into circles with a glass, put prunes in the middle of each, form cutlets by pinching the dough into patties, roll each cutlet in breadcrumbs and fry in a frying pan in a large amount of vegetable oil.

Fry a glass of buckwheat in a frying pan until it is browned.
Pour exactly two glasses of water into a saucepan (it is better to use a wok) with a tight lid, add salt and put on fire.
When the water boils, add hot water to it buckwheat, cover with a lid. The lid must not be removed until the porridge is completely cooked.
The porridge should be cooked for 15 minutes, first on high, then on medium and finally on low heat.
The finished porridge should be seasoned with finely chopped onions, fried in oil until golden brown, and dry mushrooms, pre-processed.
This porridge can be served as independent dish, and can also be used as a filling for pies.

Knead the dough from half a kilogram of flour, two glasses of water and 25-30 g of yeast.
When the dough rises, add salt, sugar, three tablespoons of vegetable oil, another half a kilogram of flour and beat the dough until it stops sticking to your hands.
Then put the dough in the same pan where you prepared the dough and let it rise again.
After this, the dough is ready for further work.

Roll out flatbreads from lean dough, place in the middle of each buckwheat porridge cooked with onions and mushrooms, fold the edges of the flatbread.
Place the finished shangi on a greased pan and bake them in the oven.
The same shangi can be prepared with a filling of fried onions, potatoes, crushed with garlic and fried onions.

Pour three glasses of boiling water over three glasses of buckwheat flour in the evening, stir well and leave for an hour. If you don’t have buckwheat flour, you can make it yourself by grinding buckwheat in a coffee grinder.
When the dough has cooled, dilute it with a glass of boiling water. When the dough is lukewarm, add 25 g of yeast dissolved in half a glass of water.
In the morning, add the rest of the flour, salt dissolved in water to the dough and knead the dough until the consistency of sour cream, put it in a warm place and bake in a frying pan when the dough rises again.
These pancakes are especially good with onion toppings.

Prepare a dough from 300 g of flour, a glass of water, 20 g of yeast and place it in a warm place.
When the dough is ready, pour in another glass of warm water, two tablespoons of vegetable oil, salt, sugar, the rest of the flour and mix everything thoroughly.
Soak the washed dried mushrooms for three hours, boil until tender, cut into small pieces, fry, add chopped and lightly fried green onions or onions, cut into rings.
Having spread the baked goods in a frying pan, pour the dough over them and fry like ordinary pancakes.

Dissolve the yeast in one and a half glasses of warm water, add two hundred grams of flour, stir and place the dough in a warm place for 2-3 hours.
Grind 100 grams of vegetable oil with one hundred grams of sugar, pour into the dough, stir, add two hundred and fifty grams of flour, leave for 1-1.5 hours to ferment.
Soak 100 grams of washed water for two hours dried mushrooms, boil them until tender and pass through a meat grinder. Fry three finely chopped onions in a frying pan in vegetable oil. When the onion turns golden, add finely chopped mushrooms, add salt, and fry for a few more minutes.
From ready dough form into balls and let them rise.
Then roll the balls into cakes, place the mushroom mass in the middle of each, make pies, let them rise for half an hour on a greased baking sheet, then carefully brush the surface of the pies with sweet strong tea and bake in a heated oven for 30-40 minutes.
Place the finished pies in a deep plate and cover with a towel.

Prepare Lenten yeast dough, as for pies. When the dough has risen, roll it out into thin cakes. Chop the onion and fry it until golden brown in vegetable oil.
Place a thin flatbread on the bottom of a saucepan or greased pan, cover with onions, then another flatbread and a layer of onions.
So you need to lay 6 layers.
The top layer should be made of dough.
Bake the onion in a well-heated oven. Serve hot.

400 g flour, 3 tablespoons butter, 25-30 g yeast, 300 g pike, 300 g salmon, 2-3 pinches black ground pepper, 1 tablespoon of crushed crackers, salt to taste.
For minced meat you will need 200 g of dried mushrooms, 1 onion, 2-3 tablespoons of oil, 100 g of rice, salt and ground black pepper.

Knead lean dough, let it rise twice. Roll out the risen dough into a thin sheet and cut out circles from it using a glass or cup.
Place minced pike on each circle, and a thin piece of salmon on it. You can use minced meat from sea ​​bass, cod, catfish (except sea), pike perch, carp.
Pinch the ends of the pies so that the middle remains open.
Place the pies on a greased baking sheet and let them rise for 15 minutes.
Brush each pie with strong sweet tea and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
The pies should be baked in a well-heated oven.
A hole is left in the top of the pies so that fish broth can be poured into it during lunch.
Pies are served with fish soup or fish soup.
On days when fish are not blessed, you can prepare pies with mushrooms and rice.
Pass the boiled mushrooms through a meat grinder or chop them. Fry finely chopped onion with mushrooms for 7 minutes. Fried mushrooms cool with onions, mix with boiled fluffy rice, salt, sprinkle with pepper.

500 g fish fillet, 1 onion, 2-3 potatoes, 2-3 tablespoons of oil, salt, pepper to taste.

Make lean dough, roll it into two flat cakes.
The cake that will be used for the bottom layer of the pie should be slightly thinner than the top.
Place the rolled out flatbread on a greased pan, place a layer of thinly sliced raw potatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper large pieces fish fillet, top with thinly sliced ​​raw onion.
Pour oil over everything and cover with a second flatbread. Connect the edges of the cakes and fold them down.
Place the finished fish cake in a warm place for twenty minutes; before putting the fish cake in the oven, pierce the top in several places.
Bake in an oven preheated to 200-220°C.
Thank God, those dark scientific-atheistic times are gone forever, when everyone was forced to study, study and study again, ruining their health in library dust and the poison of laboratories.
And now each of us can, without limitation, earnestly and reverently pray, pray and pray in the newly built or resurrected from the ruins of the temples of the Lord, strengthening and saving our immortal soul before the Face of God.
And the Lord has already Heard and Heeded our prayers, and Granted to Russians who have especially distinguished themselves in Christian piety the greatest wealth, the best palaces and personal yachts in the world.
The rest, in order to achieve well-being, should pray fervently, observe fasts correctly, attend church, regularly receive holy communions, confess, according to their wealth, generously donate to the needs of the temple, consult with the priests in everything and joyfully wait for their turn to receive the blessings of the Lord.
About Christianity, its history and traditions, see the page Pancakes with seasoning.

Our ancestors did not eat soon,
It didn't take long to move around
Ladles, silver bowls
With boiling beer and wine.
They poured joy into my heart,
Foam hissed around the edges,
It is important that the teacups wore them
And they bowed low to the guests.
A.S. Pushkin

FROM THE HISTORY. Once upon a time, Russians ate leisurely, with breaks, for lunch:
- first roast(modern second),
- then ear(various liquid dishes, soups),
- and finally snacks(sweet desserts).
From the point of view of modern dietetics, this order of meals is optimal, with breaks between them of 10-15 minutes.
A leisurely meal with breaks between courses is shown those who want to lose weight .
At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, nobles who came to Russia introduced the customs of European cuisine, and the order of dishes served for lunch changed to modern ones.
From the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian monarchy required increasingly intense service from its subjects, and therefore it became inappropriate for service people and serfs to “eat up” for a long time at the table. The pace of the meal became continuous, without the previously traditional breaks between courses.

The Old Russian stage of the development of Russian cuisine lasted almost 500 years. We can judge the originality of the cuisine of that period from one of the ancient written monuments - the book “Domostroy”, which was written by the adviser to Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, Sylvester. In fact, this book can be considered the first cookbook in Russia, because the author compiled a list of contemporary dishes and drinks. The cuisine of that time was distinguished by strict rules and traditions that were observed in every family. The best food was considered to be one made according to a recipe received from one’s mother or grandmother. It has always been customary to carefully look at how the same dish is prepared by different housewives. Old Russian cuisine required strict adherence to the recipe, and culinary fantasies were not particularly welcomed. The food was simple, not very varied, but the dishes and drinks served should have been numerous, especially on the festive table. The originality of ancient Russian cuisine was determined both by the products that were used and by the methods of their preparation. Dishes in Old Russian cuisine were divided into flour, dairy, meat, fish and vegetable.

Foods made from flour included, first of all, bread, mainly rye, which appeared several centuries ago and still remains characteristic of Russians. Rye bread was considered healthier than wheat; many medicinal properties were attributed to it. Wheat bread was the so-called bread for the holiday. It was served on special occasions and baked in the form of rolls.

Pies rightfully occupied second place among flour products. According to the method of preparation, the pies were “yarn”, they were fried in oil, and “hearth”, baked in the oven. Hearth doughs were always prepared from leavened dough, using yeast, and yarn doughs could also be made from lean dough. The pies had an oblong shape and varied in size. The large ones were called pirogi, and the small ones were called pirogi. All pies, with the exception of sweet ones, were served hot.
Other types of dishes baked from dough included loaf. It was a rich bread prepared in a variety of ways. The dough for the “broken” loaf was whipped in a separate bowl with butter, for the “set” one - with milk, for the “egg” one - with eggs. Kurnik, pancakes, cauldrons, cheesecakes, pancakes, brushwood and hung were also made from the dough.

We still successfully prepare some of these dishes today. TO flour dishes also included jelly, which traditionally was brewed with flour and, of course, various porridges.
Dairy dishes were represented, first of all, by noodles with fresh or baked milk, milk porridges and all types of dairy products: cottage cheese, sour cream, sour cheeses.

In Rus', meat was eaten boiled or baked. Boiled meat was served in first courses: cabbage soup, fish soup, brine or in broths (sauces). The meat was baked in the oven. It was customary to eat lamb, beef and poultry (chickens, ducks, geese). They also prepared game meat: venison, elk, hare, and wild bird meat: ducks, geese, swans, hazel grouse and quail.

Rus' has always abounded in fish, both sea and river. It was dried, dried, salted, boiled and steamed. Fish was also served in the first courses: rassolniki, fish soup, solyanka (selyanka). It was eaten baked. Caviar has always been considered a special delicacy, especially fresh grainy caviar - from sturgeon and white fish. Caviar was consumed with vinegar, pepper and onions, it was boiled in vinegar or poppy (almond) milk, or fried.

Of particular note is the method and technology of preparing Russian national dishes. The stoves, built for heating the home, also served for cooking. In Russian cuisine, the cooking process has long been reduced to boiling or baking food in a Russian oven (frying was borrowed from the Tatars later). Boiled food was only boiled, and what was intended for baking was only baked. Thus, Russian folk cuisine knew neither the combination of products, nor their combination, nor double heat treatment. All hot cooking technology boiled down to heating. The heat of the oven could be of three degrees: “before the bread”, “after the bread”, “in the free spirit”, but the food was always cooked without direct contact of the dishes with the fire, heating only through a thick layer of hot bricks. The temperature could either be constant all the time, or falling if the oven gradually cooled, but never increased, as is customary with modern cooking on the stove.



The main feature of the Russian stove is its uniform, stable heat, which lasts for a very long time even after the stove has finished heating. Depending on the temperature in the oven, a different dish was prepared each time. The famous Russian pies were baked at a temperature of 200 °C: kulebyaki, rasstegai, kurnik and shangi; baked a whole pig or goose. In a cooling oven it was possible to simmer milk, boil crumbly porridge, cook a roast. The taste of food cooked in a Russian oven was completely special due to the fact that the food was stewed or half-stewed.

For family celebrations and Orthodox holidays, it was customary for all families, regardless of income and class, to prepare the same specific dishes. Already in the ancient Russian period, ritual cooking acquired great importance; this tradition was preserved for a very long time, almost until the Soviet regime.
Among holiday dishes Of particular note are those prepared for Maslenitsa, which is celebrated on the eve of Lent. The main difference of this holiday was riotous fun and an abundance of pancakes.

Each housewife tried to treat her family and guests to the fullest. And the main dish was pancakes. For gourmet meals, that is, on the Wednesday of Shrovetide Week, mothers-in-law invited their sons-in-law and daughters “to pancakes,” hence the expression “to the mother-in-law for pancakes.” This custom was especially observed in relation to young, recently married people. As a rule, on this day all the relatives gathered for a walk. But on Friday, at the mother-in-law's supper, the son-in-law treated his mother-in-law and father-in-law to pancakes. True, the treat was very unique. The curious thing was that the invited mother-in-law was obliged to send all the pancake belongings to the young couple’s house in the evening: a tagan, frying pans, a ladle and even a tub in which the pancake dough was mixed. The father-in-law sent flour and a tub of butter.

Russian people have a wide variety of beliefs and traditions associated with pancakes. There was a sign that if you feed a woman in labor pancakes, the birth will be easy, and the newborn will be strong and healthy. And on the funeral table, pancakes were an obligatory dish, symbolizing, on the one hand, the vicious circle of earthly existence, and on the other, the infinity of the existence of spiritual life. No one knows when pancakes first appeared on the Russian table, but it is known that they were a ritual dish among the pagan Slavs.

The division of dishes into Lenten and Meat dishes occurred very early in Russian cuisine and had a great influence on the formation of further traditions. On the one hand, the strict distinction between fasting and fasting tables has led to some monotony of the products and dishes used, but, on the other hand, it has enriched Russian cuisine with mushroom and fish dishes, dishes prepared from wild berries and herbs (nettle, gooseberry, quinoa, etc. ).

What was it like Lenten menu? The most common were liquid dishes: stews, voles, solo-dukha, kulaga, oatmeal, oatmeal jelly with vegetable oil, and also sauerkraut, salted mushrooms, mushroom dishes, porridges made from barley, oatmeal, millet, pearl barley, buckwheat, much later - baked potato. Perhaps the most famous Lenten food is prison. This is cold salted water with pieces of bread and onions.
Often during Lent they prepared oatmeal, which was made from oats fried, or rather kept overnight in a not too hot, but quite warm oven.

Flour obtained from such grains lost the ability to form gluten, but it swelled well in water and quickly thickened. The oatmeal was kneaded in chilled boiled water, which was lightly salted. It was the children's favorite treat. From thickened oatmeal, children sculpted fish, cockerels, bunnies - it was fun, tasty, and drove away hunger. They usually had oatmeal for an afternoon snack or dinner before going to bed.

Voleka is a liquid stew that was prepared from rye flour, or more precisely from fermented rye dough - raschina. The raschina was set to sour the day before. When it was sufficiently sour, water was boiled in a pot, salt, bay leaves, onions, raschin were added and “hammered” with a hammer (a device that was cut out of a young, carefully planed pine tree, on which fan-shaped thin knots 3-4 cm long were left) . The vole was seasoned with onions, dried mushrooms, and on some days of Lent, herring or dried fish.

Lent was followed by the most important Orthodox holiday - Easter, or the Resurrection of Christ. Easter table was distinguished by its festive splendor, was abundant and very beautiful. They baked pig, lamb or ham, and fried veal. Flowers were used to decorate dishes, as well as tables, icons and the house. They still bake for the Easter meal butter cakes, preparing cottage cheese Easter and color the eggs. According to ancient tradition, eggs were painted and placed on a dish among specially sprouted oats and wheat.

Christmas is one of the brightest Christian holidays. The evening before Christmas - Christmas Eve or nomad, got its name from the word "sochivo" - a ritual dish prepared from poppy juice with honey and porridge made from red wheat or barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, lentils, and later rice. Sochi began the meal on Christmas and Epiphany Eves, as well as at homelands, christenings, funerals, with the only difference being that this porridge, more often called kutya, was different in composition. So, Christmas kutya was prepared during the Lenten season. It was prepared with poppy, almond, nut, and hemp juice with the addition of honey and chopped walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. On the second day of Christmas, they prepared Babya porridge, or Babkina kutya. In ancient times, it was the custom to visit the house where a newborn was born, and among the gifts to bring grandma’s porridge and grandma’s pies. Unlike the Christmas Lenten kutia, babkina was prepared “rich”. At the wake, they served the Lenten funeral kutia - “kolivo”. By the way, in ancient times rye or wheat straw, stem and ear were also called “kolivo”. Hence, perhaps, the name kutya, since the Old Believers, for example, prepared it only from red wheat. This custom continues to this day.

Among the family holidays for which it was customary to prepare special dishes are weddings and funerals.

A traditional Russian wedding was usually held in the fall, and preparations for the big day could last about two months and consist of several stages, none of which could be skipped; this was considered a bad omen. As for the wedding dinner, there was a whole set of rules and regulations on this matter. On the Russian wedding table, the dishes were deeply symbolic. Dough has always been a symbol of prosperity and fertility. Therefore, the first thing they prepared for the wedding was a loaf. In some provinces, the word “loaf” was used to describe the wedding itself. And a loaf of bread is a special wedding rite. Pies were also baked for weddings. Only a woman who lived with her husband in love and harmony and had good children could manage the baking: it was believed that family harmony was passed on to the young through the cake. The loaf was decorated with flowers and branches of viburnum (a symbol of love). The young one who takes the biggest bite
pie, and will be the master of the house. At the same time, the newlyweds festive table It was not allowed to eat the same things that the other guests ate. The groom could taste a little loaf of cheese and drink wine; the bride was most often not allowed even this, but the wedding table had to be laden with food. A loaf of bread was placed in the center of the table, surrounded by honey pies and rolls, biscuits, cheesecakes, and spicy gingerbread. A special pie was prepared for the wedding feast - “kurnik” with eggs baked inside and decorated with a chicken head made of dough. Since ancient times, the custom has come down to us of feeding newlyweds chicken before a festive dinner in secret from everyone. Chicken was certainly served to guests. Another mandatory treat for a Russian wedding is pork. Pork dishes were supposed to provide wealth and prosperity to the young. It must be said that until the 17th century. in Rus' they knew neither dancing nor orchestras, so the only entertainment at the wedding was a feast. When the snacks were eaten, a fried swan was brought in (among the common people, the swan was replaced by a fried rooster). The groom had to touch the bird with his hand and order it to be cut. The bride and groom could eat only after the end of the common feast in their bedchamber.

A very important feast, filled with numerous symbolic dishes, was the funeral feast. The indispensable dishes at lunch after a funeral were kutia, honey and oatmeal (cranberry) jelly, in some areas - fish pie, pancakes. Kutya, as a rule, was brewed from whole, uncrushed grains - most often wheat. Kutya, like the grain from which it is prepared, symbolizes the constancy of the rebirth of life, despite death. Kutya was usually prepared sweet, with honey or molasses. They said, “the sweeter the kutya, the more pity the dead man is.” Kutya had to be taken with a spoon three times. In addition to rye, oatmeal or cranberry jelly, a bowl of honey diluted with water or mash was mandatory on the table. It was believed that they “paved the way for the dead.” As a rule, pancakes were served on the 9th and 40th days, and on the day of the funeral, pancakes were not placed on the table. In some areas they also served flour - flour brewed with boiling water and milk, or kulesh - porridge with lard. They ate with spoons (knives and forks were not used at the funeral table for a very long time), and the pie was broken with their hands. On fasting days, the funeral table had to be fast.

Interestingly, in traditional Russian cuisine it was not customary to mix products, and even Lenten table At first it was a dish in which each type of vegetable, mushroom or fish was prepared separately. Vegetables - cabbage, turnips, radishes, peas, cucumbers - were eaten raw and salted or steamed, boiled, baked. Dishes such as salads have never been typical of Russian cuisine and appeared in Russia already in the 19th century. as one of the borrowings from the West. And even then, at first they were made mainly with one vegetable, which is why they were called “cucumber salad”, “beet salad”, “potato salad”. Mushrooms and fish were also not mixed. They were boiled and salted separately from each other. Fish soup was cooked from one type of fish. To diversify the taste of dishes, spices were used. Onions and garlic were used, and in very large quantities, parsley, anise, coriander, bay leaves, black pepper and cloves, which appeared in Russia already from the 10th-11th centuries, and later, in the 15th - early 16th centuries, this set was supplemented with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, calamus and saffron. Dishes were prepared with the addition of various oils: hemp, nut, poppy, wood (olive), and much later - sunflower.
In the medieval period, liquid hot dishes began to be consumed, which received the common name “bread”. These are fish soup and cabbage soup made from vegetable raw materials, as well as different kinds flour soups.
At first, milk and meat were consumed quite rarely. Moreover, some types of meat were completely prohibited, for example veal. The meat was boiled, added to cabbage soup and porridge, but almost never fried. Cottage cheese and sour cream were made from milk.

The main sweets in Old Russian cuisine were honey and berries, from which jam was made. The berries were also dried, mixed with flour and eggs and made into gingerbread.

As a result of the reforms of Peter I, a lot has changed in the original way of life of that old boyar Rus'. We learned transformations and cooking. Not only the set of dishes has changed, but also the order in which they are served.

Everything French was in fashion, however, even the highest nobility of the Russian Empire, along with oysters brought only from Holstein, ordered old Russian dishes to be served on the table. F. F. Vigel wrote: “ French dishes were considered as a necessary ceremony for dinner parties, and Russian dishes: pies, jellies, botvins remained a familiar favorite food.”

The abundance and variety of dishes amazed visiting foreigners. Lunch consisted of 7-8 entrees or courses. If lunch was given in a rich Moscow or St. Petersburg house, then the number of participants in the meal sometimes reached 300 people. At the same time, there were also guests invited by the owners, and just acquaintances who came to visit around lunchtime. The story of a gentleman from Moscow who ate exclusively at dinners given in noble houses was retold for a long time, and when he died no one could remember his name, his origin, or who he knew.

What was the repertoire of the feast of the past? We have already figured out that a certain number of dishes were allocated to foreign dishes. Unfortunately, modern Russian people may not even be familiar with the names of some dishes. An indispensable dish of a traditional feast was soup.

One of the many books on etiquette says: “When dinner is not ceremonious and relatives and friends are present at it, then all the deep bowls for soup are usually placed in front of the hostess, who in this case pours the soup herself, and the footman carries it to those sitting at the table. At large ceremonial dinners, soup in deep plates is already placed in front of each guest’s utensil.”

Russian cabbage soup

Shchi is a traditional and original Russian soup. They were prepared and loved by literally everyone in Russia - from serfs from the outback to the Royal Family and visiting foreigners. Pies or kulebyaka with meat were served with cabbage soup made from fresh cabbage, and buckwheat porridge was served with cabbage soup made from sauerkraut. At that time a wide variety of cabbage soup was cooked:

• gray cabbage soup (from young cabbage seedlings);
• lazy cabbage soup (vegetables for them were cut very large: a head of cabbage into four parts, carrots and onions in half);
• prefabricated cabbage soup (“for these, beef, fresh meat, ham and lamb, cut into pieces, goose and two whole chickens are used”).

Botvinya

Botvinya was considered the favorite cold soup in Russia. The Dahl dictionary gives the following definition of botvinya: “Botvinya is a cold stew made with kvass from boiled tops, onions, cucumbers, and fish.” It was made with boiled fish (sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, pike perch), and served with slices of balyk.

The side dish was usually crayfish or crabs: “... then botvinya was served with ice, with freshly salted sturgeon, with Ural balyk and a whole mountain of peeled crayfish necks on a platter...” Botvinya was one of the favorite dishes in A.S.’s family. Pushkin.

What an ear! Yes, she’s so fat: it’s like she’s covered in amber

“If turtle soup belongs to England, then ukha, fish soup, belongs to Russia,” said the famous Karem. It was cooked from different types of fish, there were many recipes and variations of Russian fish soup, each housewife cooked it in her own way.

Burbot liver was added to the collected fish soup, the master's fish soup was made with the addition of cucumber brine, and the drunk fish soup was cooked with the addition of white wine and French vodka. The famous fabulist I.A. preferred sterlet ear. Krylov. It was customary to serve fish soup with pies - open pies into which fish broth was poured, which made them very juicy.

Fish is prepared in all possible ways

Fried, steamed, salted, smoked, and dried fish were included in the diet of the Russian nobleman. Dishes made from stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, salmon, chum salmon, beluga salmon, and sterlet were especially valued. Fish was eaten throughout the year; it was allowed even during Lent. A special Russian delicacy was stroganina made from frozen fresh sterlet. The fish slices literally melted in your mouth.

Fish caviar was a traditional Russian appetizer. Foreigners looked at this with apprehension at first. unusual dish. For a long time, a joke circulated around St. Petersburg about how Napoleon Bonaparte’s cook served boiled caviar, a gift from the Russian Tsar. Caviar was always served in ice vases.

Poultry dishes

TO traditional dishes Russian cuisine also includes poultry dishes: turkey with lemon; chicken noodles; chickens in pickle; roast goose with apples; duck surrounded with cucumbers; chicken in gruel; fried chicken, filled with eggs; goose and duck giblets, etc. Fried swans, cranes, peacocks, pheasants, decorated with feathers, adorned the tables of wealthy hosts. All these recipes can be easily found in pre-revolutionary cookbooks, for example those by E. Molokhovets.

Not only was it valued Domestic bird, but also hunting trophies. Most often these were hazel grouse, partridges, snipe, and woodcock. The wonderful Russian writer I.S. Turgenev knew a lot about both hunting and game dishes. Thus, in one of his letters, he notes about the description of Levin’s hunt in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina”: “Although Levin in vain orders the gutting of great snipes and snipes - that is, to deprive them of the best part of their body.”

Love for dairy is proof of the absence of bile in a person

Dairy products were constant on the Russian table. Estate farms had their own milk shops, townspeople eagerly awaited the morning milkmen, and it was a great grief for a peasant family to be left without a wet-nurse cow.

Milk porridges from various cereals – wheat, buckwheat, rye, rice – occupied a place of honor in the daily menu. As a rule, porridge was served with dining table. But yogurt was often served for dinner. This is also originally Russian milk product, which often caused bewilderment among foreigners. A frequent guest on the table was cottage cheese with sour cream.

Another beloved dairy product - cream - was brought to the table with thick fruits, and thinner ones were added to tea.

They had Russian pancakes at Maslenitsa...

But never so many dishes were prepared as on Maslenitsa. During Shrovetide week, it was allowed to “eat until you are full, drink until you become immobile.” And this is understandable - the strictest is ahead Lent, during which almost all favorite foods are prohibited.

The main delicacy of Maslenitsa was, of course, Russian pancakes. In ancient cookbooks there are hundreds variety of recipes pancakes “Let’s start with the most important axiom: real indigenous Russian pancakes are sinful pancakes,” wrote V. F. Odoevsky.

In addition to buckwheat, they baked millet, oat, semolina, rice, and potato pancakes. Pancakes were served simply with butter and sour cream or stuffed with cottage cheese, caviar, mushrooms...

You can’t remember or count all the Lenten dishes

But the merry Maslenitsa also passed. Almost everyone followed it then. At this time, mushrooms reigned on the table - fried, salted, mushroom pies, mushroom soups. “Laugh at mushrooms, all of Russia gorges itself on mushrooms in different types, and fried, and boiled, and dried. Men make money from them, and in uneducated Moscow the markets are filled with dried truffles. I love mushrooms fried in a frying pan to death,” writes the Empress’s maid of honor, A. O. Smirnova-Rosset.

In addition to mushroom dishes, pea soup, porridge without milk, and pickled and salted vegetables often appeared on the table during Lent. Sometimes it was allowed to serve fish.

After all, it was a whole poem - this Easter table

At Easter they served a variety of meat and fish dishes, colorful eggs and, of course, two long-awaited and main desserts - cottage cheese Easter and Kulich. Easter cakes, as a rule, were prepared in advance and baked on Maundy Thursday. But cottage cheese Easter was made later; according to tradition, it had to include raisins and candied fruits.

It was believed that to truly enjoy the taste Easter treats Only the one who has endured fasting, both physically and spiritually, can do so - he did not gossip, did not slander, and helped those in need.

Russian grocery stores

Pocket Dictionary of Foreign Words that Are Part of the Russian Language" contains the following interpretation of the word "gastronome": "This is the name given to a person who distinguishes all the subtleties of taste in food and cares a lot about eating well."

Count D.A. was recognized as the first gastronome of Russia. Guryev, in whose honor one of the most interesting Russian desserts is named - semolina, aged in the oven with jam, berries, fruits and nuts.

In honor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs K.V. Nesselrode was named turnip soup, snipe soufflé, and chestnut pie.

The dish named after Count A.G. is famous throughout the world. Stroganova - beef stroganoff - beef with sour cream sauce.

Modern Russian cuisine looks rather dull compared to the splendor of pre-revolutionary tables. Not only overseas delicacies have been forgotten, but also the original dishes that our ancestors loved so much. But you can always go back to the basics and read old recipes and try to bring a piece of bygone days, alluring with their charm, to the modern menu.

The development stage of ancient Russian cuisine lasted almost 500 years. We can judge the originality of the cuisine of that period from one of the ancient written monuments - the book "Domostroy", which was written by the adviser to Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, Sylvester. In fact, the book “Domostroy” can be considered the first cookbook in Rus', because the author compiled a list of contemporary dishes and drinks. The cuisine of that time was distinguished by strict rules and traditions that were observed in every family. The most best dish It was considered a dish that was made according to a recipe received from a grandmother or mother. It was usually customary to carefully look at how the same dish was prepared by different housewives. Culinary fantasies were not particularly welcomed; ancient Russian cuisine required strict adherence to the recipe. The food was simple, not very varied, but the dishes and drinks served should have been numerous, especially on the festive table. The originality of ancient Russian cuisine was determined both by the products that were used and by the methods of their preparation. In ancient Russian cuisine, dishes were divided into flour, dairy, meat, fish and vegetable.

In Rus', meat was eaten boiled or baked. Boiled meat was served in first courses: cabbage soup, soup, brine or in broths (sauces). The meat was baked in the oven. It was customary to eat lamb, beef and poultry (chickens, ducks, geese). They also prepared game meat: venison, elk, hare, and wild bird meat: ducks, geese, swans, hazel grouse and quail. In Rus' there has always been an abundance of fish, both river and sea. The fish was dried, dried, salted, boiled and steamed. Fish was also served in the first courses: rassolniki, fish soup, solyanka (selyanka). They ate baked fish. Caviar has always been considered a special delicacy, especially fresh grainy caviar from sturgeon and white fish. They ate caviar with vinegar, pepper and onions; the caviar was boiled in vinegar or poppy (almond) milk or fried.
It should be especially noted the method and technology of preparing Russian national dishes. The stoves, built for heating the home, also served for cooking. For a long time in Russian cuisine, the cooking process was reduced to boiling or baking food in a Russian oven. Boiled food was only boiled, and what was intended for baking was only baked. Thus, Russian folk cuisine knew neither the combination of products, nor their combination, nor double heat treatment. All hot cooking technology boiled down to heating. The heat of the oven could be of three degrees: “before the bread”, “after the bread”, “in the free spirit”, but the food was always cooked without direct contact of the dishes with the fire, heated only through a thick layer of hot bricks. The temperature could either be constant all the time, or falling if the oven gradually cooled, but never increased, as is customary with modern cooking on the stove. The main feature of the Russian stove is its uniform, stable heat, which lasts for a very long time even after the stove has finished heating. Depending on the temperature regime Each time a different dish was prepared in the oven. The famous Russian pies were baked at a temperature of 200C: kulebyaki, rasstegai, kurnik and shangi; baked a whole pig or goose. In the cooling oven it was possible to simmer milk, cook crumbly porridges, and cook roasts. Food cooked in a Russian oven was completely special due to the fact that the food was stewed or half-stewed.
For family celebrations and Orthodox holidays, it was customary for all families, regardless of income and class, to prepare the same specific dishes. In the Old Russian period, ritual cooking acquired great importance; this tradition was preserved for a very long time, almost until Soviet power.

Among the festive dishes, especially noteworthy are those prepared for Maslenitsa, which is celebrated on the eve of Lent. The main difference of this holiday was the riotous fun and abundance of pancakes. Each housewife tried to treat her family and guests to the fullest. And the main dish was pancakes. For gourmet meals, that is, on the Wednesday of Shrovetide Week, mothers-in-law invited their sons-in-law and daughters “to pancakes,” hence the expression “to the mother-in-law for pancakes.” This custom was especially observed in relation to young, recently married people. As a rule, on this day all the relatives gathered for a walk. And on Friday, at the mother-in-law's supper, the son-in-law treated his mother-in-law and father-in-law to pancakes. True, the treat was very unique. The curious thing was that the invited mother-in-law was obliged to send all the pancake belongings to the young couple’s house in the evening: a tagan, frying pans, a ladle and even a tub in which the pancake dough was mixed. The father-in-law sent flour and a tub of butter.
In Rus' there were a wide variety of beliefs and traditions associated with pancakes. There was such a sign that if you feed a woman in labor pancakes, the birth will be easy, and the newborn will be healthy and strong. At funerals, pancakes were an obligatory dish, symbolizing, on the one hand, the vicious circle of earthly existence, and on the other, the infinity of the existence of spiritual life. No one knows when pancakes first appeared on the Russian table, but it is known that they were a ritual dish among the pagan Slavs.
Dishes divided into Lenten and Meat dishes appeared in Russian cuisine very early and had a great influence on the formation of further traditions. On the one hand, the strict distinction between the Lenten and Fast table led to some monotony of the products and dishes used, but, on the other hand, it enriched Russian cuisine with mushrooms and fish dishes, dishes prepared from forest berries and herbs (quinoa, nettle, snot, etc.).
The most common were liquid dishes: stews, malt, voles, kulaga, oatmeal, oatmeal jelly with vegetable oil, sauerkraut, salted mushrooms, mushroom dishes, porridge made from barley, oatmeal, millet, pearl barley, buckwheat, and much later, baked potatoes. The most famous Lenten food is prison. Tyurya is cold salted water with pieces of bread and onions.
Oatmeal was often prepared during Lent, which was made from oats fried, or rather kept overnight in a not too hot, but quite warm oven. Flour obtained from such grains lost the ability to form gluten, but it swelled well in water and quickly thickened. The oatmeal was kneaded in chilled boiled water, which was lightly salted. Oatmeal was a favorite delicacy for children. From thickened oatmeal, the children sculpted fish, cockerels, bunnies - it was fun, tasty, and drove away hunger. Oatmeal served as an afternoon snack or dinner.
Vole is a liquid stew that was prepared from rye flour, or more precisely from fermented rye dough-raschina. The raschina was set to sour the day before. When it had become sour enough, they boiled water in a pot, added salt, bay leaves, onions, raschin and “hammered it in” with a hammer (a device that was cut out of a young, carefully planed pine tree, on which fan-shaped thin knots 3-4 cm long were left) . They seasoned the vole with onions, dried mushrooms, and sometimes on fasting days with herring or dried fish.
The most important Orthodox holiday, Easter, or the Resurrection of Christ, followed Great Lent. The Easter table was distinguished by festive splendor, it was plentiful and very beautiful. They fried veal, baked pig, lamb or ham. The dishes were decorated with flowers, as well as the table, icons and the house. For the Easter meal they still bake Easter cakes, prepare Easter cottage cheese and paint eggs. According to ancient tradition, eggs were painted and placed on a dish among specially sprouted oats and wheat.

Christmas is one of the brightest Christian holidays. The evening before Christmas - Christmas Eve or nomad, got its name from the word "sochivo" - a ritual dish prepared from poppy juice with honey and porridge from red wheat or barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, lentils, and later rice. The meal on Christmas and Epiphany Eve began on Christmas Eve, as well as at homelands, christenings, funerals, with the only difference being that this porridge, more often called kutya, was different in composition. So, Christmas kutya was prepared during the Lenten season. Kutya was prepared with poppy, almond, nut, and hemp juice with the addition of honey and chopped walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. On the second day of Christmas, they prepared Babya porridge, or Babkina kutya. In the old days, it was a custom to visit the house where a newborn was born, and they brought grandma’s porridge and grandma’s pies as gifts. Unlike the Christmas Lenten kutia, babkina was prepared “rich”. At the wake, they served Lenten funeral kutia - "kolivo". By the way, in the old days, rye or wheat straw, stem and ear were also called “kolivo”. Perhaps this is where the name kutya comes from, since the Old Believers, for example, prepared it only from red wheat. This custom continues to this day.

Among the family holidays for which it was customary to prepare special dishes are weddings and funerals. In the fall, a traditional Russian wedding was usually held, and preparations for the special day could last about two months and consist of several stages, none of which could be skipped; this was considered a bad omen. As for the wedding dinner, there was a whole set of rules and regulations on this matter. On the Russian wedding table, the dishes were deeply symbolic. Dough has always been a symbol of prosperity and fertility. Therefore, first of all, a loaf was prepared for the wedding. In some provinces, the word “loaf” was used to describe the wedding itself. And a loaf of bread is a special wedding rite. They also made sure to bake pies for weddings. Baking could only be managed by a woman who lived with her husband in love and harmony and had good children: it was believed that family harmony was passed on to the young through the cake. The loaf was decorated with flowers and branches of viburnum (a symbol of love). Whichever of the young people bites off the largest piece of the pie will be the master of the house. At the same time, the newlyweds at the festive table were not allowed to eat the same thing that the other guests ate. The groom could taste a little loaf of cheese and drink wine; the bride was most often not allowed even this, but the wedding table had to be laden with food. A loaf of bread was placed in the center of the table, surrounded by honey pies and rolls, biscuits, cheesecakes, and spicy gingerbread. A special “chicken pie” was prepared for the wedding with eggs baked inside and decorated with a chicken head made of dough. The custom of feeding newlyweds chicken before a festive dinner in secret from everyone has come down to us since ancient times. Chicken was certainly served to guests. Another must-have treat for a Russian wedding is pork. Pork dishes were supposed to provide wealth and prosperity to the young. It must be said that until the 17th century. in Rus' they knew neither dancing nor orchestras, so the only entertainment at the wedding was a feast. When the snacks were eaten, a fried swan was brought in (among the common people, the swan was replaced by a fried rooster). The groom had to touch the bird with his hand and order it to be cut. The bride and groom could eat only at the end of the common feast in their bedchamber.

A very important feast, filled with numerous symbolic dishes, was the funeral feast. After the funeral, the indispensable dishes at lunch were kutia, honey and oatmeal (cranberry) jelly, and in some areas, fish pie and pancakes. As a rule, kutia was cooked from whole, uncrushed grains, most often wheat. Kutya, like the grain from which it is prepared, symbolizes the constancy of the rebirth of life, despite death. Kutya was usually prepared sweet, with honey or molasses. And they used to say in Rus', “the sweeter the kutya, the more pity the dead man is.” Kutya had to be taken with a spoon three times. In addition to rye, oatmeal or cranberry jelly, a bowl of honey diluted with water or mash was mandatory on the table. It was believed that they “made way for the dead man.” Pancakes were served, as a rule, on the 9th and 40th days, and on the day of the funeral, pancakes were not placed on the table. In some areas they also served flour - flour brewed with boiling water with milk, or kulesh-porridge with lard. They ate with spoons (at the funeral table they did not use knives and forks for a very long time), and broke the cake with their hands. On fasting days, the funeral table had to be fast.

In traditional Russian cuisine, it was not customary to mix foods, and even the Lenten table at first consisted of dishes in which each type of vegetables, mushrooms and fish was prepared separately. Cabbage, turnips, radishes, peas, cucumbers were eaten raw and salted or steamed, boiled, baked. Dishes such as salads have never been typical of Russian cuisine and appeared in Russia already in the 19th century. as one of the borrowings from the West. At first, salads were made mainly with one vegetable, which is why they were called “cucumber salad”, “beet salad”, “potato salad”. Fish and mushrooms were also not mixed. They were prepared separately from each other. Fish soup was made from one type of fish. To diversify the taste of dishes, spices were used. They added onions and garlic, and in very large quantities, parsley, anise, coriander, bay leaves, black pepper and cloves, which appeared in Rus' already from the 10th-11th centuries, and later, in the 15th-early 16th centuries, this set was supplemented with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, calamus and saffron. Dishes were prepared with the addition of various oils: hemp, nut, poppy, wood (olive), and much later, sunflower.

In the medieval period, liquid hot dishes began to be consumed, which received the general name “bread”. These are fish soup and cabbage soup made from vegetable raw materials, as well as various types of flour soups.
At first, meat and milk were consumed quite rarely. Some types of meat were completely prohibited, such as veal. The meat was boiled, but hardly fried, and added to cabbage soup and porridge. Cottage cheese and sour cream were made from milk.
In Old Russian cuisine, the main sweets were honey and berries, from which jam was made. The berries were also dried, mixed with flour and eggs and made into gingerbread.