Who was the author of the fish day? What day of the week is fish day?

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

Everyone who lived in the USSR is familiar with the phrase "fish day". For those who did not catch this time, let us explain: the fish day is one of the days of the week on which the meat menu is replaced by the fish one.

I must say that the practice of the fish day was known long before the creation of the USSR. The roots of this phenomenon go deep into the past and are purely religious in nature. The fact is that the concept of "fish day" has a special meaning for religious, Orthodox people. According to Orthodox tradition, fish day is Wednesday and Friday. It is these days that are fasting, when eating meat is prohibited, but eating fish is allowed. There are also such Orthodox holidays that are characterized by a fish menu, for example, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Transfiguration of the Lord and Palm Sunday.

Author

It is interesting to know who was the author of the fish day in the Soviet Union. But it was a very specific person. For the first time, a fish day was introduced on September 12, 1932, according to a special decree of the People's Commissariat of Supply of the USSR, which was called "On the introduction of a fish day at public catering establishments." Anastas Mikoyan - that's who was the author of the fish day. At that time, he was the People's Commissar of the food industry and was really dedicated to his work. It was from his suggestion that the fish day appeared in the country.

The government was forced to introduce it due to the decline in meat production - the times were hard, and the workers had to be fed something. Due to the collectivization initiated by Stalin, the number of cattle in the country has halved, and sheep - three times. So, for some time in catering and factory canteens, only fish was served once a week. There was no hard fixing for the day of the week yet.

Management level fish day

Mikoyan himself (the one who was the author of the fish day, if you forgot), who in the past preferred pork, began to eat fish, like everyone else - the call of the country and the party turned out to be stronger than the call of the stomach. At the 17th Congress of the CPSU in 1934, the graphs presented by Mikoyan on pig breeding and the consumption of fish products unequivocally illustrated the improvement in the state of affairs.

Fish Day didn't last long. In the war and post-war years, there was nothing to talk about him, there was tension not only with meat, but also with fish.

Fish Day Return

He returned October 26, 1976. Who was the author of the fish day this time, or rather, the initiator, is not specifically known. The resolution was issued again by the Central Committee of the CPSU. This time the decision was caused not only by the lack of meat, but also by the desire to increase the pace of fish production, to create a chain of stores "Ocean".

Why Thursday

I wonder what fish day was in the USSR? Thursday was not chosen by chance. A clear and extensive justification was given, to which people of various professions had a hand - statisticians, sociologists, psychologists. Thursday as the middle of the working week was considered the most favorable. At a high level, they did not forget that a Russian person loves to kiss a glass. On weekends, this was taken for granted, the especially impatient ones began the “holidays” already on Friday, so Friday was not considered as a fish day of the week - labor productivity was already low. Monday, as you know, is a hard day, Tuesday and Wednesday are harsh working days - the body of the workers should be supported with meat proteins. And so it happened that no matter what day of the week you set the fish day, the best option is Thursday.

It is also believed that the country's leadership favored Thursday also because they wanted to oppose Soviet traditions to Orthodox ones. Perhaps this is also why the traditional Lenten Wednesday and Friday in Orthodoxy did not become fish days in the USSR.

Voice of the people

So it happened: no matter what Thursday is a fish day, and you will not find meat during the day with fire, except in restaurants. The ordinary working man had to be content with what he had. And it was not up to revelry in Soviet canteens on Thursday: pollock, hake, capelin, herring were served. Everything is exclusively from one fish: soup, salad, second. But if the herring was respected by the people, however, only as a good snack, then they didn’t particularly want to eat the rest of the fish, and it was suppliedon the shelves in a rather miserable form. Now we know that dishes prepared from fresh pollock are dietary and tasty, at the same time, eternally frozen pollock was considered the lot of cats.

Needless to say, workers on Thursday often remained hungry, brought food from home, in general, tried to somehow get out of the situation, cursing the one who was the author of the fish day. It was especially difficult for those who were allergic to fish. Various stories and jokes were invented on the theme of the fish day.

The people grumbling was heard, but what can you do - they ordered at the top. To keep passions from flaring up, the introduction of fish day was accompanied by powerful propaganda campaigns designed to smooth over discontent.

Posters depicting fish literally pursued the Soviet people.

What fed the Soviet worker

I wonder what the menu was like that day. Fish day for the most part did not please with variety. They usually prepared fish balls from pollock, cutlets from capelin, fried herring and mackerel. However, sometimes they went to extremes, came up with exotic recipes, such that the workers refused to eat on that day. For example, whale meat sausage lasted for some time on the shelves, according to the reviews of those who tried it - a terribly tasteless thing. For a long time they could not figure out what to do with the saber fish. It was necessary to somehow cook it so that it became more or less edible - and they thought of it, learned it. In huge quantitiessprat pate was produced - in fact, ground fish waste.

Thanks to Stalin for this

Although it must be said that there were also positive aspects, for example, in Soviet times, sturgeon kebab was quite an affordable dish. It cost only three rubles, which, of course, was not cheap, but affordable for a person receiving an average salary.

Fish Thursday lasted until perestroika, and then sank into oblivion. Although now many nutritionists are in favor of its return, explaining that eating fish is extremely beneficial for the body.

Benefits of fish

But in vain the people in the Soviet Union did not respect the fish so much! This product is extremely useful, the fish contains all the necessary trace elements, and even in combination with iodine, so they are much better absorbed. The most important constituents of fish are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. What are they needed for? They maintain a normal level of cholesterol in the blood, favorably affect the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Fish dishes are rich in vitamins A, D, E, trace elements such as iron, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, etc.

Fish is an indispensable product for those who have stomach problems. Fish proteins are faster and better absorbed by the body. The process of digesting fish takes only two hours, unlike animal meat (five hours).

It should be noted that the fish diet can be used not only for general he alth improvement, but also for weight loss.

Unloadinga day on the fish

The so-called fish fasting day is very useful. Usually a person lacks fatty amino acids, an easily digestible protein. It is especially difficult for the human body who lives in an area remote from water bodies. He does not receive the necessary trace elements. Fish unloading day is designed to make up for their lack.

You only need to remember that fresh fish can be stored for up to two days, and frozen - up to two months. With longer storage, useful substances begin to break down. The head must be discarded and the fish thoroughly cleaned of scales - these are the parts that accumulate toxins. It is better to choose smaller fish. The smaller the fish, the less toxins it managed to accumulate during its short life.

The menu on this day can contain up to 400 g of boiled fish, you can drink weakly brewed tea with milk, rosehip broth, still water - all up to half a liter. The most suitable fish for a fish diet are pike, cod, perch, pike perch, bream. Often it is not so easy to get fish from fresh water in the store, so you can give preference to sea fish - the iodine content in it is increased, so it's even better. The most successful option is red fish, such as salmon, pink salmon, chum salmon.

An approximate menu for a fish fasting day might look like this:

1. Morning: either yogurt or egg (soft-boiled), tea.
2. Shortly before dinner, it is recommended to eat some red fish, 100 grams - only boiled or stewed, in no case fried.
3. Lunch: the main course at lunch is fish with herbs. It is recommended to supplement it with either a cup of green tea, or an apple, or an orange.
4. Dinner: cook fish with vegetables. Instead of tea, they drink low-fat kefir.

It should be especially noted that such a diet does not tolerate s alt. Instead, they try to use various spices and soy sauce.

This is such a simple diet. As a result, you can improve your he alth and lose weight. Still, it was not in vain that the USSR came up with a fish day.