In the 10th-13th centuries, with the development of cities and consumption, the range of crops grown expanded. At these times, onions, cucumbers, dill, beets, plums, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, and garlic were popular. Since they were grown mainly by urban residents, the price of these products was quite high, so the mentioned vegetables, fruits and herbs appeared on the tables of narrow social strata.

A revolution in nutrition was made by sour rye bread, or rather, not so much by the bread itself, but by the fermentation technology, thanks to which the dough was loosened. Like all food innovations, sour bread remained a delicacy of the princely circle for a long time. A similar situation was with kvass and jelly. However, later these products were tasted by all segments of the population and mastered the cooking technology.

The Baptism of Rus' and the subsequent expansion of contacts with the countries of the Christian world also influenced Russian cuisine. Spices, seasonings, and overseas fruit plants began to be added to food. The structure of nutrition also changed: during religious fasts, the share of meat and dairy products in the diet decreased, and plant foods and fish, accordingly, increased.

It is difficult to say how significant changes occurred at this time in the nutritional structure of the rural population, the very superficial Christianization of which dragged on for several centuries. However, the first specialized fishing villages began to appear in the immediate vicinity of the cities, and in the cities themselves in the second half of the 12th - first half of the 13th centuries. Professional fishing and fish trade are developing.

Since the 14th century, water mills began to be used. At the same time, the stove was changing: the ancient Russian one with a semicircular top gave way to a stove with a flat top. As a result, they began to bake not only the usual bread, but also sweets, such as gingerbread. The growing popularity of porridges is associated with the development of crop production. Among vegetables, they preferred those that could be stored for a long time. It becomes a habit to consume the fruits of cultivated plants and berries. For example, in Novgorod there were not only boyar apple orchards, but also small gardens in the courtyards of middle-income citizens. There is also a method of processing products called canning.

Meat consumption decreased noticeably during this period compared to the 10th-13th centuries. Hunting is being replaced by livestock farming. There were two main ways to store meat: freezing and salting. The established practice of religious fasts made fishing one of the most important industries.

Since the 14th century, water mills began to be used

The greatest changes in Russian food culture occurred in the 16th-17th centuries. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, sweet cherries, raspberries, and strawberries were cultivated everywhere.

The situation with dairy products remained virtually unchanged: fresh and sour milk was consumed, cottage cheese, cheese, butter were produced, and sour cream appeared. Meat products continued to be consumed: beef, lamb, and pork; they began to eat more poultry meat and eggs. Only horns and hooves were not eaten. And everything that could be eaten in one form or another was carefully prepared. Technologies for processing fish are significantly improving: now it is salted, smoked, and boiled. Caviar and viziga are widely used; Fish is used to make fish oil, fish glue, everything is used, right down to the melted bladder and scales.

Lunch was recognized as the main meal of the day in Rus'

From the 16th century, the division into rural, monastic and royal cuisine began. The first was the least rich and varied, but had its own charm: lunch was recognized as the main meal of the day in Rus', so special attention was paid to its organization. During the holidays, about 20 dishes could be served, which were placed on the table in a strictly defined order: first a cold appetizer, then soup, second course, and pies for dessert.

The basis of the monks' diet was plant foods: vegetables, herbs, fruits. The royal kitchen was famous for the abundance of the refectory table, which was sometimes bursting not only with a variety of Russian dishes, but also with exotic delicacies from overseas.

Today, the Internet community is discussing the adopted law, according to which the import of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheese, milk and fruits and vegetables from Australia, Canada, EU countries, the USA and Norway will be prohibited into Russia. Whether this is a tragedy or not, time will tell. However, centuries ago, when some of the mentioned countries were not even on the map, our ancestors managed just fine without imported goods. Texas beef? Nonsense, we have enough of our own cows. French cheeses and puddings? Well, no, our great-grandfathers ate sour meat. And shouldn’t we be afraid of the ban on Norwegian trout, since the waters of Rus' are full of domestic fish?

We have collected ten recipes for Old Church Slavonic cuisine, for the preparation of which you will not need anything foreign or foreign - just bright thoughts and a Russian stove.

Ingredients:

flour................................................. .7 glasses
milk........................................2.5 cups
butter........................................25 g
salt................................................. ..........1 tsp.
eggs................................................. .........2 pcs.
sugar................................................. .......1 tbsp. l.
yeast................................................. .....40 g

How to cook:

Mix butter with a glass of yogurt, add half a teaspoon of soda, a glass of sugar and salt to taste. Add flour (wheat or rye). Roll the resulting mixture into a ball, flatten it and cut it with a knife. Place in the oven and bake until done.

The bun can be stuffed - make the filling from pork and beef, finely chop raw potatoes and onions. Place large pieces of butter on top to keep the potatoes soft and juicy.

Ingredients:

honey................................................. .............50 g
water................................................. .............1 l
spices.............................................by taste

How to cook:

Dilute honey with water, boil, skimming off the foam, strain and cool. By adding mint and cooling, you can drink it in the heat, adding coriander and cinnamon and heating it in the cold season.

Simenukha porridge

Ingredients:

buckwheat........................................300 g
mushrooms................................................. .......100 g;
eggs................................................. ......3–4 pcs.
onion................................................. ............2 pcs.
butter........................................100 g

How to cook:

Cook regular buckwheat under the lid, then boil the mushrooms and hard-boiled eggs, chop them. Fry the onion in a frying pan in oil for porridge. Add the mixture to the cereal, stir. On fasting days, serve without oil.

Sbiten with herbs

Ingredients:

honey................................................. ..........500 g
water................................................. ..........1.5 l
a mixture of fragrant herbs (St. John's wort, sage, oregano, mint)..................................................... .......80 g
spices (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom).......10 g

How to cook:

Dissolve honey in boiling water, mix thoroughly, leave for a day at room temperature. Pour the mixture into a clay pot, simmer over low heat for 2 hours with the lid open. Remove the foam with a slotted spoon. 15 minutes before cooking, add herbs and spices to the pot. Serve with gingerbread and cookies.

Yahnia from zucchini

Ingredients:

young zucchini...................................800 g;
onion...................................................200 g;
garlic................................................. .......20 g;
vegetable oil...................................80 g;
wheat flour........................................40 g;
vinegar................................................. ..........20 g;
parsley...............................................40 g;
salt................................................. ......taste

How to cook:

Cut the peeled zucchini into cubes, fry in oil, remove. Sauté finely chopped onion in a frying pan, add fried zucchini, chopped garlic, add a little water and simmer until tender. Add finely chopped herbs, flour diluted with vinegar, and salt. Cook over low heat until the water has completely evaporated.

Milk bathhouse

Ingredients:

flour................................................. ...2 glasses
eggs................................................. .........5 pieces.
milk........................................1/2 cup
sugar................................................1 /2 cups

butter...................................100 g
semolina................................2 tbsp. l.
vegetable oil........................1 tbsp. l.
vinegar................................................. .1 Art. l.

How to cook:

Make a not very stiff dough from flour, 1 egg, vegetable oil, vinegar and water. Roll out the dough into 3-4 layers, place on a baking sheet one on top of the other, greasing each with melted butter. Boil milk, add sugar, remaining butter and semolina. Cool, mix with beaten eggs. Place the resulting mixture onto the dough layers. Bake the bannitsa for 30-35 minutes at 180°C. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or cocoa before serving.

Snetovica

Ingredients:

dried smelt ....................................300 g
onion................................................. .............2 pcs.
vegetable oil........................3 tbsp. l.
potatoes........................................6 –8 pcs.
water................................................. .............3 l
sour cream................................................. taste
greens (dill, parsley)........................ to taste

How to cook:

Rinse the smelt (a small form of European lake smelt) in cold water and place it in a saucepan. Finely chop the onion, fry in vegetable oil and add to the smelt. Peel the potatoes, cut into strips, add to the pan. Mix everything, add water and boil lightly. Serve the finished soup with sour cream, or with herbs.

Pies with navels and bream caviar

Ingredients:

fresh bream caviar
(can be replaced with perch)........................750 g
chicken navels...................................200 g
chopped dill...................3 tbsp. l.
butter...................................1 tbsp. spoon;
egg................................................. ...........1 PC;
salt and ground black pepper................to taste

For the test:

yeast................................................. .......25 g
water................................................. .....1 glass
sugar................................................. 3 tsp.
salt................................................1 .5 tsp.
vegetable oil........................5 tbsp. l.
flour................................................. ....3 glasses

How to cook:

Boil fresh caviar in salted water for 10 minutes, mix with egg and herbs. Season with oil, salt and pepper. Boil chicken navels. Pour warm water into a bowl, add yeast and sugar, stir thoroughly and place in a warm place until fluffy foam forms. Pour vegetable oil into the yeast mixture, add 1 cup of flour, salt and mix. Then add the second glass of flour and mix again. Pour the third glass of flour onto the table, dump the dough out of the bowl there and knead the dough with your hands. The dough should not be sticky. Knead thoroughly, form a lump, cover with a clean towel, and leave to rise.

When the volume of the dough increases by about 1.5 times, knead it again, cover it with a towel again and leave it to rise again. When the dough has risen a second time, form into pies.

Place the pies on a greased and floured baking sheet, tuck side down, cover with a towel, let stand and rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes. The pies are baked in a Russian oven for about half an hour.

Perun's stew

Ingredients:

sour cabbage................................................ ...
meat................................................. ...............
sour......................................................... ...............
greenery................................................. ................
garlic................................................. ...............

Ferment the milk (take the fattest one available), ferment the cabbage, chop into small pieces. Chop a large bunch of herbs and garlic cloves. Take specially prepared meat (or its remains), preferably using pig meat, turkey and black grouse. Fry the meat, mix it with sour sauce, add cabbage, herbs and garlic. Leave for up to 48 hours and serve cold.

Roast boar

Ingredients:

boar meat (can be replaced with pork)..............
cranberry juice................................................ .
honey................................................. ....................
salo................................................. ...................
kvass................................................. ...................
(all in any quantity)

Marinate the meat, cut into medium-sized pieces, pour juice over the top edge of the pot, add a spoonful of honey and stir. Leave to marinate for 1.5 hours. Chop the lard, fry in a frying pan, add the meat there, mix thoroughly and fry to taste. When the meat is almost ready, pour 1/4 cup of kvass into the pan and evaporate it. It is recommended to serve the dish in clay pots that retain heat.

So Ilya arrived in the capital Kyiv city
And to the glorious prince in the wide courtyard
And Prince Vladimir came out of God’s church,
He came to the white stone chamber,
To his dining room in the little room.
They sat down to eat and drink and eat bread,
Eat bread and have lunch.

This is an excerpt from one of the many epics about Prince Vladimir and Ilya Muromets, in which princely feasts and feasts are often mentioned. But almost nothing is said about what the heroes ate - most often it’s just bread and salt.

What did they eat in Rus' under Vladimir Red Sun?

Let's start with the fact that Prince Vladimir is a very real character. He ruled the Russian principality at the very end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries. and died in 1051. Vladimir the Baptist, Saint Vladimir, Vladimir the Red Sun, was one of the most prominent people in Russian history. A monument to him was erected in Kyiv on the banks of the Dnieper.

Of course, the feast in the time of the prince was very different from the modern one, and if the prince had come to our table, then almost all modern vegetables and fruits, except for apples and pears, would have been unfamiliar to him.

The prince's main food was bread, porridge and meat. But even among our porridges there are those unknown to the prince and his heroes: our most familiar semolina porridge appeared much later, and the appearance of corn grits had to wait another 600 years, and rice was very rare and was called “Sorochinsky millet.” But there was more than enough millet. They ate oatmeal much more often, but not at all like what it is now. When we hear the word “oatmeal,” we immediately imagine rolled oatmeal, but this cereal appeared less than 200 years ago. And the prince ate porridge from whole, peeled oat grains, which were steamed in the oven for a long time so that it became soft. And he seasoned the porridge with butter, linseed or hemp oil. Sunflower oil will also appear very soon. Perhaps, on major holidays, the prince also ate olive oil, which was brought from overseas, from distant Byzantium, where it was necessary to sail for a long time along the Dnieper, and then through the turbulent Seas of Azov and the Black Sea.

The picture with vegetables was especially strange for us. You, of course, know that potatoes appeared in our country only under Peter I. But under Prince Vladimir there were neither carrots nor cabbage, not to mention tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pumpkin and even beets, which seems to us one of the most Russian vegetables. What about beets, the prince didn’t even have onions on the table, which would appear only in the next century!

What happened then? There was a radish. Apparently, ever since then there has been a saying: “I’m tired of worse than a bitter radish.” Try to eat only radishes all winter until spring - you will really get tired. Only the radish was not quite the same as it is now. Firstly, it was much larger; there were varieties with root crops up to 10–12 kg. Now radishes of this size remain only in Japan; they are called “daikon” and can weigh up to 20 kg or more. Not every adult can pick up such a radish. These radishes are not bitter at all. Both in Europe and here, when new and more tasty vegetables appeared, giant radishes were simply forgotten. They have long ceased to be the main food, and a small root vegetable is enough for a salad. Don’t think that they ate radishes the same way as we do, only in salads. They boiled it, fried it, and baked pies with it. I came across a recipe for such pies in a book from the century before last. There was even a saying about seven radish dishes: “Terikha radish (grated), lomtikha radish (slices), radish with kvass, radish with butter, radish in pieces, radish in bars and whole radish.”

The second important vegetable was turnip. Yellow, juicy varieties of turnips are a Russian invention. In Europe, turnips are less familiar, although even there it is one of the most ancient crops. In Latin, turnips are called “rapa”; in ancient times, we borrowed the plant along with the name from the Romans.

The prince was also familiar with garlic. Remember the saying: “There is a baked bull standing in a field, a sharpened knife in one side, and crushed garlic in the other.”

But it cannot be said that the table of our ancestors was poor. While there were no cultivated vegetables, we ate a lot of wild plants and mushrooms. In the forests and steppes of Ukraine, around Kyiv, under Prince Vladimir, dense forests rustled, several types of wild onions grew, which are still collected for food. Wild sorrel is still collected today. In the old days, it was fermented and dried for the winter. We also ate other wild herbs that we had completely forgotten about, such as quinoa, although during the hungry war years it also helped out your grandmothers. Meanwhile, since ancient times, its cultural forms with large, tasty leaves have existed. They collected the leaves of wild mallows, they are still eaten and even specially grown in Georgia, and they also ate the roots of various wild plants, such as parsnips, salsify, and chickweed. And there were plenty of mushrooms and berries. Back in the 19th century. For every Muscovite there were almost 40 kg of mushrooms per year, and under Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko there were even more. So the table at which the prince and Ilya Muromets were sitting was not empty.

Lunch by Yuri Dolgoruky

We “had lunch” with Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko, and now let’s try to guess what was on the festive table of his great-grandson, the no less famous Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, the founder of Moscow.

In 1147, Prince Yuri of Suzdal invited his friend and ally Prince Svyatoslav Olegovich Seversky and other princes “to a feast in Moscow.” From this mention the years of existence of our capital are counted.

Let's see what new plants have appeared on the prince's table over the course of a century and a half.

While talking about dinner with Prince Vladimir, I completely forgot one of the oldest food plants - peas. Meanwhile, it has been one of our main dishes since ancient times. It’s not for nothing that they say about incredibly distant times that it was under King Pea. Nowadays we mainly make soup from peas, and even then quite rarely, but in ancient times they cooked porridge from it, ground flour and baked pancakes and pies from pea dough and with pea filling. By the way, flatbreads made from pea flour are still the most common dish in India.

Pies and bread from the time of Yuri Dolgoruky were very different in taste from today. Now, when your mother starts baking pies, she first of all takes out the yeast, but there was none then. Pies were made either from unleavened dough, such as is now used for dumplings and dumplings, or from sour dough. It was called that because it was really sour (fermented) in a large special vessel - a kneading bowl. The first time the dough was kneaded from flour and well or river water and placed in a warm place. After a few days, the dough began to bubble - this was the wild yeast, which is always in the air, “working”. Now it could be used for baking. When preparing bread or pies, they left a little dough in the leaven, which was called sourdough, and the next time they just added the required amount of flour and water to the leaven. In every family, the leaven lived for many years, and the bride, if she went to live in her own house, received a leaven with leaven as a dowry.

Kissel was also prepared in the same way. The jelly of Russian fairy tales, from which the banks of milk rivers were “made,” was cooked from oatmeal. It was leavened in the same way as dough, but in a large amount of water. Kissel is called jelly because it is sour and fermented. The sour flour was diluted with water and boiled. This produced a dense, sour mass that could be cut with a knife. They ate this jelly with milk, sour cream, honey, butter, but there was no sugar yet; jam was made only with honey.

Another important innovation was buckwheat. At that time, it was just coming into use, having appeared along with the Greek monks who arrived in Rus' from Byzantium. Until now we call this plant buckwheat, i.e. Greek cereal. They ate especially a lot of jelly and porridge during Lent, when they were not supposed to eat meat and fish.

In the century and a half that has passed since our “dinner” with Vladimir the Red Sun, onions have already appeared on the great-grandson’s table, immediately winning a place of honor. “The bow of seven ailments,” people said about him.

Onions have been cultivated in Egypt since time immemorial. (The builders of the pyramids received several flatbreads, a couple of onions and a handful of olives a day.) From Egypt, onions came to Europe, and then to us. And onions apparently came to Egypt from Asia, where wild onions with large bulbs are still found in the mountains.

In Rus', one of the centers of onion cultivation from the most ancient times was the outskirts of the city of Rostov, which during the time of Yuri Dolgoruky was an independent principality and was called Rostov the Great. This city on Lake Nero is now just a regional center in the Yaroslavl region, but it is almost three centuries older than Moscow. It’s interesting that onions are still grown there today, 800 years later.

There were also carrots on the prince’s table, but they were also not at all similar to modern carrots - with white roots. Wild carrots are a perennial growing in meadows throughout Europe; they can still be seen even near Moscow. But in Europe, carrots at that time were still considered a delicacy; their mass cultivation would begin only 200 years later.

Another vegetable that recently appeared on the Russian table during the time of Yuri Dolgoruky was the well-known beetroot. We received its name, along with the beet itself, from the Byzantines, who spoke Greek. “Sfekeli” is a word apparently derived from “sphere” - ball. In fact, beets have been grown for almost 3.5 thousand years, but wild beets can still be found in Western Europe and on the coast of the Caspian Sea. It is a short grass that does not form large roots. From the very beginning, they ate its leaves, and only then they began to select plants with thick roots, until they got the modern beet. The first root vegetables were white and yellow, and red ones were first mentioned in the 3rd century. BC e. Swiss chard is also preserved in cultivation and is called chard. Now colorful chard is returning to our beds.

Feasting with Alexander Nevsky

The great-grandson of Yuri Dolgoruky was one of the greatest princes of the Russian land - Alexander Yaroslavich, nicknamed Nevsky. For his deeds, after his death he was canonized and has been considered the patron saint of Russian soldiers for almost seven centuries. The most famous battle of Alexander Nevsky is rightfully considered the famous Battle of the Ice - the battle with the crusading knights. The battle took place just in the last week before Easter, when the strictest Orthodox fast is observed, not only do they not eat meat and fish, but they also switch to a raw food diet, i.e. No boiled food is prepared at all, and any oil is not allowed.

So, despite the great victory, most likely there was no feast: all alcoholic drinks, including beer and honey, which were served at the festive table, were also prohibited during Lent. And fasting in those days was observed very strictly.

But this does not mean that everyone sat hungry for a whole week. During Holy Week they ate mainly various salted mushrooms: saffron milk caps and milk mushrooms, which in the fall were simply sprinkled with salt, adding herbs, such as dill and oregano.

It is interesting that at that time only those mushrooms that had plates on the bottom were considered mushrooms, and everything that we now classify as tubular mushrooms - boletuses, boletus, porcini - were called lips, and they wrote “mushrooms and lips.” They also served sauerkraut, other vegetables - radishes, onions, pickled and salted wild herbs, which were stored for the winter.

Pskov, in the vicinity of which the battle took place, has long been famous as an apple land, and on any table during Lent, and throughout the winter, soaked apples, dried apples, apples boiled in honey, which were much tastier than modern jam, were not available.

From a culinary point of view, it is much more interesting to remember another battle of Alexander, then still a very young prince - the Battle of the Neva, after which the twenty-year-old commander received the nickname Nevsky. This battle took place on July 21, 1240, two years before the Battle of the Ice. Alexander not only successfully led the battle, but also fought as an ordinary warrior, wounding the leader of the Swedes, Birger.

After this battle, in the summer, of course, they organized a real feast.

True, in July the new bread is not yet ripe; they use old stocks, if they exist. But there was plenty of space for vegetables: peas, only green, they were boiled and eaten directly in the young pods; first young turnip, radish, young cabbage. In July there are no beet roots yet, but they eat its tops. One of the most delicious old Russian soups was called “botvinya”; it was prepared with red fish.

At this time, wild berries also ripen - raspberries, currants, blueberries, blackberries, and in the Novgorod region - cloudberries, one of the most delicious berries. In good weather there will be an abundance of mushrooms.

At the same time, herbs smell the strongest; the best time to collect them is the holiday of Ivan Kupala. These herbs were added to food and always to kvass, which was called, depending on the herb added, mint, cumin, zoryn (there is such a herb as zorya, or lovage).

Honey harvesting begins in July. Cows grazing on meadows in summer produce a lot of milk, from which cottage cheese and sour cream can be obtained.

On the prince’s table there was game and fish from the same Neva and Izhora, which flows into the Neva right near the battle site; Lake Ladoga was also famous for fish. It was salted, smoked, dried. Halibut was considered the most delicious fish. In the fairy tale, the “mistress of the sea white lake-halibut fish” sits on the throne of the sea, and sturgeon are on her errands. Millet porridge with fish was one of the most common dishes.

And, of course, pies - with meat, fish, cottage cheese, porridge, berries. A variety of sauces were served with meat and fish; back then they were called broths. They were prepared from vegetables, berries, especially sour ones, like lingonberries and cranberries, and herbs.

Spices were very popular in Russian cuisine, especially since the road from Central Asia to Europe partially went through Russian soil, and our spices were much cheaper. Foreign travelers were quite surprised that the Russians put so many spices in their food that, in the opinion of the guests, it was impossible to eat.

At the same time, in Europe, black pepper was so expensive that they paid taxes and soldiers' salaries. And in Rus' they baked gingerbread, which is called that because they put spices in them, and more of them!

Baking gingerbread was a separate art; they were not only eaten, but also given as gifts. Gingerbread cookies were necessary at weddings, feasts, and were even given as gifts to foreign ambassadors. Of course, these were not the round pieces that we usually buy at the bakery, but real works of art. Boards - forms for printed gingerbread cookies were cut by special craftsmen, and the board was stored for many years, passed on by inheritance, until it completely became unusable. And some types of gingerbread were sculpted by hand, giving them a special shape.

Pies were also baked with “decorations” - whole pictures were made from the dough - flowers, animals, sometimes even cities. So you ate not only deliciously, but also beautifully, which is what I wish for you.

Times of the Golden Horde

And now we have reached a terrible time - from the depths of the steppes, the Mongols of the Golden Horde, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, set out to conquer the world. But is it only the conquerors who sow horror on our land? It turns out that new plants are coming to Rus' along with the Horde!

Around the X or XI century. Cabbage finally appeared in Rus'.

No, our beloved and so familiar cabbage did not come to us with the Mongols. She began her movement from the south and quickly took root on Russian beds and tables. The Slavs soon learned to ferment cabbage for the winter, and it became one of the staple foods. Cabbage began to displace the usual wild herbs, because it turned out to be more productive and was better stored fresh, and sauerkraut, in general, if properly stored, “survives” until the new harvest. Yes, and you can use it in different ways - boil, fry, stew.

Now let's talk about what appeared with the beginning of the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Before appearing on Russian soil, they managed to conquer the ancient states of Central Asia, even at that time, with highly developed agriculture, and even distant India. From there, along with the Tatar troops, those plants that were bred on the lands subject to the Tatar rulers came to us.

It wasn't just edible plants that went on trips. The history of calamus, a marsh grass with a strong odor, is interesting. All Slavic peoples, in different versions, associate it with the Tatars; in our country it is called the Tatar saber, and in the Polish language the name Tatarak has taken root. This plant is capable of purifying water where it grows. The homeland of calamus is Mongolia, from where the conquering troops carried the rhizomes all the way to Poland - almost half of the then known part of the globe! The warriors threw a piece of living rhizome into all bodies of water so that the plant would take root and the water could be drunk. So the calamus remained in all the rivers that came across the path of the Tatar army. In the Moscow region this is the Moscow River and its tributaries. But the calamus itself cannot spread; although it blooms here, it never produces seeds, except that during high water, pieces of the rhizome are carried away by ice floes downstream.

Well, what tasty things did the Tatars bring with them to Rus'? First of all, cucumbers. The first cucumber seeds were found in the Volga region in excavations of settlements of the 11th century, where the Horde stood at that time. Cucumbers quickly gained popularity and a hundred years later they were mentioned in the lists of monastic food, both fresh, salted, and soaked in vinegar. And on special occasions, cucumbers were served with honey.

Simultaneously with cucumbers, first in the Volga region and then in other places, melons appeared, which also originated from Central Asia. There, melon is not a sweet after lunch, but a normal food. Even now in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, a child at school is often given a flatbread and several slices of dried melon for breakfast. Melons have taken root less well than cucumbers - they need more warmth and do not grow everywhere. In addition, cucumbers are eaten green, and melon must be ripe. But the appearance of watermelons is still a long time coming; they come from South Africa and will not appear in Europe and Rus' any time soon.

It seems that mustard also came to us from India at the same time. There, its seeds are added to food as a spice and not at all like ours - they are first fried in a frying pan until the seeds begin to jump on it, and then put in rice, peas, cabbage and other food. In India, they also eat mustard greens and make salads from them. The dish that we now call salad was also known in Ancient Rus', only there it was called “kroshevo”, because everything that was put in it was first finely cut - crumbled. Topped with crumbled butter or sour cream. Mustard was first used to produce oil, which is still made today; it is dark and aromatic.

At the same time, the first mentions of pears appeared, and they were called completely differently - “duli”. Our small and sour wild pears, which are occasionally found in the forests of southern Russia, remained pears, but large and tasty garden forms were called dulya even under Peter I. It is difficult to say whether they came to us from the East or from the West, but for a long time they were rarity. Even now, pear trees are planted in dachas less often than apple trees. This is explained simply: ripe pears are not stored at all, they need to be either eaten or processed very quickly - made into jam or dried. The pear, unlike the apple tree, lives a long time, sometimes up to 150 years, and produces a lot of fruit. Where you need to plant two apple trees, one pear will suffice. So there are always fewer of them.

But the most important plant that appeared in the fields at this time was rye. Before this, wild rye was found in wheat crops as a weed; almost no attention was paid to it, and only in the 11th–12th centuries. began to grow it as a separate grain crop. Rye is convenient because it grows where wheat lacks heat. But the bread made from it is heavy and sticky and almost doesn’t rise. In order to get fluffy bread, add a little wheat flour to rye flour. And you need a different starter - yeast alone will not rise such dough.

It turns out that black bread, which the whole world considers the favorite food of Russians, was not tried by Prince Vladimir, Yuri Dolgoruky, or even, perhaps, Alexander Nevsky.

In Old Russian cuisine, pike was considered a royal dish. It was baked and fried. But they certainly decorated it in a special way. Alas, in our time, many have undeservedly forgotten about this river predator. Many people simply don’t know how to cook it. And completely in vain. After all, pike at speed turns out delicious! Especially if you cook it according to an old Russian recipe - in batter. And now you will find out [...]

Baked pies called rasstegai have long been famous in Old Russian cuisine. It was customary to serve them with various first courses, in particular cabbage soup. Pies with rice and mushrooms have a wonderful taste. Traditionally they are made from yeast dough and have a characteristic shape - with holes on top. This dish can be prepared in the everyday menu, during Lent, and [...]

In Rus', turkey has long been a holiday dish, especially at Easter or Christmas. The bird was prepared in different ways - stewed, baked in the oven, fried. The turkey in spicy sauce turned out very tasty, the recipe for which I present to your attention. You will not only learn how to cook a delicious turkey, but you will also be able to surprise everyone with an incredibly tasty dish! You will need: How […]

Today I have a wonderful recipe for old Russian cuisine for you! This dish can be prepared from any fish – lake, sea or river. Plus, stewed stuffed fish with carrots and beets looks festive and turns out very tasty. You will need: How to cook stuffed fish: All that remains is to place the stuffed fish on a dish, pouring […]

In Old Russian cuisine you can find many wonderful salad recipes. I recently made a discovery for myself by preparing an incredibly delicious salad with mushrooms and baked chicken. It turned out unusual, original and so delicious that it is impossible to describe in words. You just have to make it and try it! You will need: How to prepare the salad: The salad turns out so original and tasty that all the guests […]

In the old days in Rus' they prepared fish in various forms, and preference was given to fish dishes over meat dishes. What could you see at meals - stuffed fish, with sauces, boiled, steamed, baked! I suggest you cook baked bream. Such fish in the oven is not only tasty, the dish is also healthy, nutritious, and incredibly juicy. Suitable for […]

Remember the Russian fairy tale in which they cooked “porridge from an axe”? In fact, in Old Russian cuisine there were many recipes in which, in fact, magnificent dishes were obtained from the simplest product. For example, ancient Russian porridge made from corn flour was very popular. It can be prepared both sweet and salty, depending on your preferences. It is especially useful to serve [...]

You can prepare original dishes if you look through the recipes of Old Russian cuisine. Quail was often served at the table. The bird was prepared in different ways; there were also very unusual recipes - both in the method of preparation, taste, and appearance. For example, here are quails in the oven with pumpkin. What is unusual about the dish? Quails were baked right in the pumpkin!