Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets' A Gift to Young Housewives

Front Cover
Indiana University Press, Jul 22, 1998 - Cooking - 680 pages

Classic Russian Cooking is a book that I highly recommend. Joyce Toomre has done a marvelous job of translating this valuable and fascinating source book. It's the Fanny Farmer and Isabella Beeton of Russia's 19th century." -Julia Child, Food Arts

Joyce Toomre... has accomplished an enormous task, fully on a part with the original author's slave labor. Her extensive preface and her detailed and entertaining notes are marvelous." -Tatyana Tolstaya, New York Review of Books

... should become as much of a classic as the Russian original... dazzling and admirable expedition into Russia's kitchens and cuisine." -Slavic Review

What a delightful discovery this is!... an astonishing and immensely appealing work that will serve adventurous readers and curious cooks." -Nahum Waxman, Owner, Kitchen Arts & Letters

What a joy to be introduced to Russia's Joy of Cooking by way of a scholar as knowledgeable as Joyce Toomre, who tells us what it was like to be a young housewife in the days of Chekhov and Tolstoy, feasting in Butter Week before the Great Fast, making pirogs and kvass, hazel grouse souffle [acute accent over e] and 'Drunken' plums, gathering berries, pickling mushrooms. A rediscovery of pre-Bolshevik times." -Betty H. Fussell, author of I Hear America Cooking

First published in 1861, this "bible" of Russian homemakers offered not only a compendium of recipes, but also instructions about such matters as setting up a kitchen, managing servants, shopping, and proper winter storage. Joyce Toomre has superbly translated and annotated over one thousand of the recipes and has written a thorough and fascinating introduction that discusses the history of Russian cuisine and summarizes Elena Molokhovets' advice on household management. A treasure trove for culinary historians, serous cooks and cookbook readers, and scholars of Russian history and culture.

Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies
Alexander Rabinowitc

 

Contents

ELENA MOLOKHOVETS A GIFT TO YOUNG HOUSEWIVES
4
Development of Cookbooks in Russia
7
Influence of the Russian Orthodox Church
13
French Influence on Russian Cuisine
20
Table Service and Settings
27
Image of a Russian Household
33
Food Preservation and Storage
40
Servants
47
Ice Creams Mousses Kissels and Compotes
347
Tortes
372
Mazurkas and Other Small Pastries
385
Babas Buns Rusks and Small Baked Goods
398
Paskhas and Colored Eggs
423
Gingerbreads
428
Jams Jellies and Syrups
432
Sugarless Juices Syrups and Conserves
447

Ingredients
54
Cooking Techniques
60
Measurements and Conversions
69
Appendix A Ingredients by Category 90 888888
90
Appendix B Weights and Measures
96
Authors Introduction to the Twentieth Edition
111
Evening Tea
114
Arrangement of the Kitchen
116
Soups
119
Soup Accompaniments
152
Sauces
165
Vegetables Greens and Garnishes
181
Beef Veal Mutton and Pork
205
Domestic and Wild Birds and Salad Accompaniments
235
Fish and Crayfish
256
Pirogs and Pâtés
273
Aspics and Other Cold Dishes
286
Puddings
299
Crêpes Pancakes for Butter Week Sippets and Eggs
316
Filled Dumplings Macaroni and Kasha
325
Waffles Wafers Doughnuts and Fritters
337
Fruit Liqueurs Cherry Brandies and Sparkling Wines
453
Sugarless Vodkas Punches and Fruit Drinks
461
Kvass Beer and Mead
468
Vinegars Mustards Fast Day Oils Grains and Starches
476
Butter Cheese Milk Cream and Eggs
484
Yeasts and Breads
491
Preserved Fruits and Berries
496
Preserved Vegetables and Greens
519
Preserved Fish and Wild and Domestic Birds
533
Preserved Meats
538
Fast Day Soups
548
Fast Day Accompaniments for Soup
553
Fast Day Sauces
558
Fast Day Vegetables and Greens
561
Fish for Fast Days
564
Pâtés Aspics and Other Cold Dishes for Fast Days
570
Fast Day Small Baked Goods
584
Bibliography
633
Index 649
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information