A dish that is called Russian all over the world. Dishes of Russian cuisine

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Our national cuisine is famous for a wide variety of dishes, the list of which is constantly updated with new culinary inventions. Once upon a time, the inhabitants of Europe were practically not interested in the traditions of Russian cuisine, due to the low sophistication of its dishes. However, this pretentious attitude did not play a significant role, and on the contrary, it served as a motivating mechanism for the emergence of new recipes. And now Russian cuisine dishes are in high demand among European gourmets, who highly appreciate their variety and delicate taste.

What is Russian Salad?

The presented name of the national culinary masterpiece exists in European circles. We know this salad as vinaigrette - a dish that is called Russian all over the world.

Its main feature is the presence of purely national ingredients, such as pickles, sauerkraut and so on. The name "Vinaigret" has French roots, namely, it comes from the word vinaigre, which translates as "vinegar".

The origin of the name of thisdishes

In the era of the reign of Alexander I, a French chef named Antoine Karem served at the court. So, on the eve of the next celebration, Russian chefs also worked in the kitchen together with Antoine. A French culinary specialist saw that they were preparing an interesting salad, consisting mainly of vegetables, and pouring it with vinegar essence. He was very surprised at this and asked again: "Vinaigre?" The cooks decided that he called the food they cooked. From that moment on, the dish, which is called Russian all over the world, began to be called in the French manner, namely "Vinaigret".

What did our chefs serve before?

Old Russian dishes as an element of the national cuisine that has been developing since the 9th-10th centuries. and reached its peak in the XV-XVI centuries, are characterized by common features that have survived to our times.

At the beginning of this period, Russian bread appeared, which was made from sour rye dough. He acts as a kind of uncrowned king on our table, without which the national menu is inconceivable. Other equally important varieties of flour products were also invented, in particular, cod, juicy, pancakes, pies, bagels, donuts, pancakes, and so on.

All of them were prepared mainly on the basis of sour dough, which was so characteristic of Russian traditional cuisine throughout its historical culinary evolution. Passion for kvass, sour formed the basis of jelly - oatmeal, rye and wheat. They appeared long before their modern counterparts, usually berry.

Alsoancient Russian dishes are represented by a variety of porridges and gruels, which were originally considered solemn and ritual food. And in order to dilute all this bread, flour abundance, they often prepared fish, mushroom, vegetable, dairy, and sometimes meat dishes. At the same time, classic Russian drinks appeared, namely all kinds of meads, kvass, sbitni. Needless to say, their range was very wide?

Note that Russian cuisine has long been divided into lean (fish, mushroom and vegetable) and the so-called fatty - dairy, meat and egg. This had a significant impact on the further development of our culinary tradition, until the end of the 19th century.

An interesting name for Russian dishes, or Why cabbage rolls were called cabbage rolls?

The history of such a favorite dish as cabbage rolls is connected with the Ottoman Empire, which left them, so to speak, as a legacy to the Russian people. The dish, which is called Russian all over the world, is, in fact, Moldovan. The word sarmale, or in our opinion - “stuffed cabbage” comes from the Turkish verb sarma and in translation means “to wrap”. This dish has been popular for hundreds of years.

In Russian cuisine, there are a huge number of variations of cabbage rolls, which differ mainly in the filling. It can be rice, and pork with mushrooms, and fried mushrooms with peanuts, and even sweet bean paste. They can also vary in size, ranging from miniature to obscenely large. A few of these cabbage rolls can feed the wholecity. For example, they serve as a traditional food at the Dragon Boat Festival.

Which other countries eat cabbage rolls?

This dish, which is called Russian all over the world, is present with a slight difference in almost all cuisines of the world. So, for example, in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Persia and Bosnia it is called Dolme. In Turkey, this, as already noted, is Sarma. Moldovan and Romanian cuisines have an analogue of cabbage rolls known as Sarmale. In Armenia they are called Tolma.

In addition, this Russian dish is popular in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Serbia, Belarus, etc. Even such a distant country as Sweden has a dish based on all the same cabbage rolls. There, a mixture of minced pork with rice is wrapped in cabbage leaves, and a treat is served with a side dish, which is boiled potatoes. Along with this, brown sauce and lingonberry jam must be present on the table. The dish is called Kaldolmar.

Thus, we can say that the name of Russian dishes can be found in different countries, albeit somewhat modified. Although it is customary to believe that it is we who borrow other people's names.

How does the traditional serving of national food begin?

The first courses of Russian cuisine are represented by a wide variety of soups. They can be divided into seven significant groups, namely:

1. Cold soups based on kvass: okroshka, turi and botvini.

2. Light soups or stews, the main component of which iswater and various vegetables.

3. Meat, milk or mushroom noodle soup.

4. Russian cabbage soup.

5. Solyankas and pickles, which are quite heavy due to the fatty meat broth and s alty-sour base.

6. Calla and fish soup are the two main varieties of fish first courses.

7. Cereal soup based on vegetables.

Shi as a national dish

Russian first courses, as you can see, are quite diverse. However, there is one thing, without which almost no table, both peasant and royal, could do. This cabbage soup is the most important everyday food that appeared in Russia in the 9th century. Their main ingredient is cabbage.

Many believe that this culture was brought from Byzantium. However, this opinion is not entirely correct, since in ancient times cabbage was cultivated in the Black Sea colonies of Ancient Greece, from where it came to the Russians. Then in Russia they cooked various stews and yushki. They were prepared from fresh, and most often from sauerkraut. This dish quickly gained popularity and received the name “Schi” or “Shti”.

Then, the dishes of Russian cuisine were replenished with another delicious dish derived from cabbage soup. We are talking about borscht, which immediately began to enjoy great love and popularity among the Eastern Slavs. Its name at first meant "beet soup", more precisely cabbage soup based on beets.

Shi yes porridge - our strength

Dishes of Russian cuisine, including cabbage soup, are common in manycountries of the world. These are Ukraine, and Belarus, and Poland, and Lithuania, and Latvia, and Estonia, and Finland, and Moldova. But they enjoy special love, for obvious reasons, among the Russians, and not only among the inhabitants of the Central Strip of the Russian Federation, but also among representatives of the Mordovian, Udmurt, Chuvash, Komi-Permyak peoples.

These Russian dishes, photos of which are presented in the article, were prepared both in merchant houses, noble estates, royal palaces, and in poor huts. Only the contents of the "shany pot" differed. We althy people cooked, so to speak, rich cabbage soup - in meat or chicken broth, and the poor put in them everything that was in the bins at that time.

Pomors preferred fish soup, to which small fish, ground into powder, were added. During fasting, lean or mushroom soups were prepared. For the emperor's table, an exceptional recipe called "Royal cabbage soup" was invented, to which many overseas delicacies were added. In the spring, “green” cabbage soup was cooked, which included sorrel or nettle, quinoa, and rejected cabbage seedlings. In winter, they were frozen and taken on the road, and then warmed up in a pot.

Besides cabbage, another ingredient of this dish is onion. They also put potatoes and carrots in them. In the south, it is customary to add sweet pepper and tomato. Many people prefer to use rye flour for thickening.

What are cabbage soup in modern Russian cuisine?

Today, culinary specialists offer twenty varieties of national Russian cabbage soup, the main of which areare:

1. Full or rich cabbage soup. It is they who are in great demand, due to the fact that they are cooked in chicken or meat broth with the addition of vegetables sauteed in oil. They can be cooked from both fresh and sauerkraut or from a mixture of both. It is acceptable to add mushrooms, mostly porcini.

2. Combined cabbage soup. In the cooking process, several varieties of meat are used (for broth), as well as smoked meats and sausages. The meat should be cut into small pieces. It is necessary to add fresh or sauerkraut in large quantities.

3. Lenten cabbage soup. They are cooked in vegetable broth, usually with any kind of mushrooms.

4. Fish soup. Cooked in fish broth. You can use small fish, ground into powder. A combination of fresh and s alted fish, mainly sturgeon, is suitable.

5. Gray soup. Prepared from the lower gray-greenish cabbage leaves, previously fermented. The dish is in high demand in the northern part of Russia.

6. Green soup. This is the only variety of this dish that is prepared without cabbage. The main ingredients are spring herbs such as sorrel, nettle and quinoa.

7. Seedling cabbage soup. Boiled from cabbage seedlings unsuitable for planting.

8. Daily cabbage soup. A special variety, since the container with the cooked dish is first wrapped for four hours with a thick blanket, and then put in a cold place for a day.

Demanded second courses. Russian cuisine in terms of originality and originality

Their traditionalrepresentatives are: cutlets, various meat rolls, zrazy, fish fries, meat, cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers, casseroles and more.

Second courses have characteristic differences, expressed in a longer cooking process and high calorie content. As a rule, products are fried, boiled or stewed. Naturally, primordially Russian dishes were baked or languished in the oven, in the free spirit.

The main tradition of the Russian table is the variety and abundance of products used to prepare the appropriate treats.

Stages of formation of Russian cuisine

Our cuisine has been continuously developing, and at the moment it is possible to single out the main stages of its development, namely:

• Old Russian cuisine - refers to the IX-XVI centuries;
• cuisine of the Muscovite state - dates back to the 17th century;
• cuisine of the Peter and Catherine era - XVIII century;
• Petersburg - refers to the end of the XVIII century;
• all-Russian national cuisine - prevailed in the 60s of the XIX century;
• Soviet - dominated from 1917 to the present.