In the 21st century, when store counters are full of a variety of food products, it becomes very difficult to surprise consumers with new recipes. But people do not always think that their distant ancestors did not have all this rich variety, and cooking took much more time and effort than now.
Let's plunge into Ancient Russia and try to find out what our ancestors ate.
As you know, the national peculiarity of Old Russian cuisine began to manifest itself already in the 10th century, but only by the 15th century it reached its highest peak.
Foreigners often noticed that the Russian table is one of the most expensive in the world, even among the poor. Although in Russia for a long time there were no food products familiar to us, such as potatoes, corn, tomatoes and rice.
What, then, was the basis of the diet?
Usually the main place at the table was occupied by bread. Therefore, it is not surprising that the basis of the national cuisine was made up of bread and flour products, as well as grain dishes.
In addition, other provisions were eaten:
- Turnip, - Cabbage, - Radish, - Cucumbers, - Fruits, - Berries, - Mushrooms, - Fish.
Sometimes you could also see meat on the table.
In Russia, all of the above was included in the daily diet.
The abundance of the following products allowed to cook a large number of varieties of bread, pancakes, beer and kvass: rye, wheat, oats, millet, peas and lentils.
Soups took center stage on the table. True, once upon a time they were called Khlebova. The name comes from the word slurp. All kinds of cabbage soup, stews, beetroot soup, vegetable soups. In the summer in Russia it was customary to eat cold soups: okroshka, beetroot, and in winter - hot borscht and cabbage soup. There were up to six dozen varieties of this dish alone.
Okroshka was made from two vegetables. It tasted very different from what we used to eat. From vegetables: carrots, cucumbers, beets. Necessarily added greens: parsley, onions, dill. They could have added fish, chicken meat, eggs. All this was filled with sour cream and diluted with whey.
Porridge is another favorite dish of our distant ancestors. Porridge was prepared both on weekdays and on holidays. Even at royal feasts, this nutritious, aromatic dish was served.
Rusichs and pancakes loved to bake. They commemorated the dead. They baked on Shrovetide, and on any other day with all kinds of fillings: fish, meat, cabbage, carrots.
Russian cuisine has been very diverse at all times. The dishes were not only delicious but also nutritious.
