What did they eat in winter in Rus'. The ancient Greeks did NOT eat

What in Rus' was grown in the garden before potatoes April 6th, 2018

Indeed, everyone is used to a certain gardener's set: potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, onions, peppers and all kinds of greens.

However, almost everything that grows in the beds of a modern Russian gardener has nothing to do with traditional Russian gardening.

Potato? Back in the middle of the 19th century, only 1.5% of the country's agricultural land was occupied by it. Particularly orthodox peasants even believed that the potato is the body of an evil underground inhabitant, whose head and limbs are invisible to the Orthodox.

Tomatoes? They appeared in Europe on beds and tables only towards the end of the 19th century. Carrot? Yes, it was actively eaten in Rus', but not at all the Dutch bright orange variety that is common now. We are restoring historical justice and talking about what should grow in a proper Russian garden.

Turnip

Undoubtedly number one. The most important Russian (and not only Russian - he played the same role of "second bread" before the appearance of potatoes, for example, in Central Asia) vegetable, experienced gardeners managed to harvest two crops during the summer. In early spring, white turnips were sown - more early, but not so well stored and not so sweet. Having removed it in the middle of summer, they sowed the yellow turnip, already more familiar to us, which kept in the ground until frost. It is perfectly stored in the cellar until Christmas.

onion

Onions, our ancestors grew many varieties - at first green onion and leeks, then onions, shallots and batun. All these varieties are known now, but the cube onion is forgotten. Bred by Rostov gardeners from ordinary onion, it is devoid of pungency and can be used like an ordinary vegetable.

Swede

A hybrid of turnip and cabbage. It is similar in taste to the first, but much more nutritious and unpretentious than turnips, therefore it was especially actively grown in the northern and northwestern regions of the Russian Empire. Parsley root, parsnips, beets, radishes and radishes were grown no less actively in Russian gardens (all this is still there, but they forget about rutabaga) - root crops are well stored, and this is extremely important in long and cold winters.

gray cabbage

familiar to us cabbage was grown only by wealthy peasants - after all, it occupied much more space in the beds than leafy cabbage, or gray cabbage, which grew with a continuous leaf cover. Not as sweet and juicy as cabbage, this whole cabbage was used to make crumble. For him, the cabbage was finely chopped, stacked with coarse salt in barrels, the bottom of which was sprinkled with rye flour. All winter, cabbage soup, called kholopsky, was cooked from kroshev.

Primrose

The young greens of these flowers with a philosophical and automobile name were grown for salads, stuffing for botvinia, turi and other summer dishes with greens.

Rhubarb

It is unpretentious, undemanding, it literally grows like a weed - but from its stems they prepared wonderful kissels and fruit drinks, jams and fillings for sweet pies. Look carefully - perhaps among the burdocks and dandelions in your dacha, rhubarb also grows.

Hemp

The main oilseed in middle lane Russia, now banned due to overseas unnatural use. Hemp oil was seasoned with porridge and kissels, fried on it, they ate greens with it or just fresh Rye bread.

leafy mustard

Spicy greens, reminiscent of the taste of mustard and horseradish at the same time. Mustard leaf was added to okroshka and botvinia and eaten like that, with other greens. The grain mustard known to us appeared in Russia only at the end of the 18th century, when German mustard cuttings were grafted into wild mustard. The Germans, in fact, did just that.

Salsify

He is an oatmeal. However, it has nothing to do with oats - it is a relative of ordinary garden asters. Long white, with light fish peasants collected the roots of the plant in the fall, boiled, stewed and fried, like other numerous root crops.

There was also amaranth. By the way, now you can buy flour. Useful. And of course horseradish and radish.

The writing of the Slavs was formed quite late, in connection with this, evidence that they ate in Ancient Rus' practically not . However, thanks to the discovery of a number of archaeological sources, it became known that Russian cuisine was distinguished by the constancy of ingredients in dishes and palatability. They note that there were always cereal porridges, rye and oatmeal bread on the table.

What did they eat in Rus' in ancient times?

Meat and flour products were the main components of the diet of the princes in the period Kievan Rus . In the southern part, bread made from wheat was preferred, but in the northern part, rye was popular. In times of famine, dry leaves, various herbs and crow's feet. IN holidays in monasteries rich bread was presented, which was baked with poppy seeds and honey. They were also addicted to meat dishes, preferring pork, beef, lamb, chickens, pigeons, ducks and geese. During the period of campaigns, soldiers ate horse meat or the meat of wild animals, among which hares, deer, wild boars, sometimes bears, hazel grouses, and partridges can be distinguished.

After the adoption of Christianity, the church began to adhere to the old canons, which forbade the consumption of meat from wild animals, namely hares and bears, as they believed that they were “unclean”. According to the Old Testament, meat with blood was forbidden, as well as the use of birds that were killed in snares. However, the foundations built up over the years were not easy to get rid of. At times Muscovite Rus a gradual transition to the observance of church prescriptions was carried out.

What did they eat in Rus' before the appearance of potatoes? The church favorably treated the use of fish. Friday and Wednesday counted fast days, as well as three periods for spiritual purification and Great Lent. Naturally, fish was also consumed before the Baptism of Vladimir, as well as caviar, despite the fact that the first information about it appeared only in the twelfth century. The entire list of edible supplies was supplemented by dairy products, eggs and vegetables. In addition to animal oil, the diet included vegetable oil, which was extracted from flax seeds and hemp. Olive oil supplied from overseas.

Very little information has been preserved about what the cuisine was like at that time. Meat was often boiled or roasted on a spit, and vegetables were consumed raw or boiled. Some sources indicate that stew was also present in the diet. Pies have become the most original and delicious invention of distant ancestors, the tradition of making which has come down unchanged to our times. The most common dishes that people ate in Rus' in ancient times before the appearance of potatoes were oatmeal and millet porridge. In the household of the princes, the main cook (the elder of the cooks) controlled the staff of kitchen workers, so they were all trained. Given that some of them had foreign roots, such as Hungarian or Turkish, it is not surprising that Russian cuisine recipes contained foreign elements.

What did they drink in ancient Rus'?

Already in those days, the Russian people did not refuse to drink. Also in " Tales of Bygone Years"The main reason why Vladimir abandoned Islam was sobriety. For a modern person, Russian booze is immediately associated with vodka, only in the days of Kievan Rus they did not manufacture alcohol. Among the drinks of the ancestors, one can single out kvass, a non-alcoholic or slightly intoxicating drink that was made from rye bread. Its prototype was beer.

Honey was very famous in the times of Kievan Rus, so both ordinary people and monks were engaged in its production. From the annals, it became known not only what people ate on the lands of Rus' in ancient times, but also what they washed it down with. Prince Vladimir asked to make three hundred cauldrons of honey on the eve of the opening of the church in Vasilevo. And in 1146, Izyaslav II found 500 barrels of honey and about 80 barrels of wine from his enemy Svyatoslav in the cellars. There were such varieties of honey: dry, sweet and with pepper. The ancestors did not disdain wine, which was imported from Greece, and the monasteries and princes imported it for the celebration of the liturgy.

Table setting was carried out according to certain rules. The princes used silver and gold utensils when they waged wars or invited foreign guests. Gold and silver spoons were in use, which can be confirmed in The Tale of Bygone Years. Forks were not used. Each cut meat or bread with his own knife. Bowls were usually used for drinks. Simple people used wooden, pewter utensils and goblets, wooden spoons.

Gastronomic passions originate Since those times, little has changed, and we can say with confidence that they ate in ancient Rus', and today in every family on the table.

Food of the ancient Slavs: video

There were times when a Russian peasant could not treat himself to a salty or fresh tomato, boiled potatoes. ate bread, cereals, milk, oatmeal jelly, turnips. By the way, jelly is an ancient dish. Mentions of pea jelly are found in the annals of the Tale of Bygone Years. Kissels were supposed to be consumed on fast days with butter or milk.

Habitual dish among the Russians, cabbage soup with cabbage was counted for every day, which were sometimes dressed in addition with buckwheat or millet porridge.
A slice of steeply salted rye bread was used to refresh Rusich at work in the fields, on campaigns. Wheat was a rarity for the table of a simple peasant in central Russia, where growing this cereal turned out to be difficult due to weather conditions and the quality of the land.
TO festive table in ancient Rus', up to 30 types of pies were served: mushroom pickers, kurniki (with chicken meat), with berries and with poppy seeds, turnips, cabbage and chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Along with cabbage soup, ukha was also popular. But don't think it's just fish soup. Soup in Rus' was called any soup, not only with fish. The ear could be black or white, depending on the presence of seasonings in it. Black with cloves, and white with black pepper. Ukha without seasonings was nicknamed "naked".

Unlike Europe, Rus' did not know the deficit oriental spices. The route from the Varangians to the Greeks solved the problem of supplies of pepper, cinnamon, and other overseas spices. Mustard has been cultivated in Russian vegetable gardens since the 10th century. The life of Ancient Rus' was unthinkable without spices - spicy and fragrant.
The peasants did not always have enough grain. Before the introduction of potatoes, turnip served as an auxiliary food crop for Russian peasants. It was prepared for the future in different types. The wealthy owner's barns were also filled with peas, beans, beets, and carrots. Chefs did not skimp on flavoring Russian dishes not only with pepper, but also with local spices - garlic, onions. Horseradish turned out to be the king of Russian seasonings. They didn’t spare him even for kvass.

Meat dishes in Rus' they cooked both boiled, and steamed, and fried. There were many game and fish in the forests. So there was never a shortage of black grouse, hazel grouse, swans and herons. It is noted that until the 16th century, the consumption of meat food by the Russian people was much higher than in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, here Rus' kept pace with the European trend in the nutrition of the common people.
Of the drinks, all classes preferred berry fruit drinks, kvass, as well as strong intoxicating honeys. Vodka was made in a small amount, drunkenness until the 16th century was condemned by the church and the authorities. Transferring grain to vodka was considered a huge sin.
However, it is known. that at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, craftsmen made vodka on herbs, which the tsar ordered to grow in his apothecary garden. The sovereign sometimes consumed a cup or two of vodka on St. John's wort, juniper, anise, mint. Fryazhsky wines (from Italy) and wines from Germany, France, the tsar's treasury bought for official receptions in large quantities. They were delivered in barrels on racks.

The life of Ancient Rus' assumed a special order of eating food. In peasant houses, the head of the family led the meal, no one could start eating without his permission. best pieces were given to the main worker in the household - the peasant owner himself, who sat under the icons in the hut. The meal began with the creation of a prayer.
Localism dominated in boyar and tsarist feasts. The most respected nobleman at the royal feast sat at the right hand of the Sovereign. And he was the first to be offered a goblet of wine or honey. In the hall for feasts of all classes, the female gender was not allowed.
Interestingly, it was forbidden to come to a dinner party just like that, in passing. Those who violated such a ban could have paid with their lives - it is likely that they would have been hunted down by dogs or bears. Also rules good manners in the Russian feast, it was recommended not to scold the taste of food, to behave decorously and drink in moderation so as not to fall under the table drunk to the point of insensibility.

The food of our commoner ancestors was quite simple. They used to eat bread, garlic, eggs, salt, drink kvass.

Russian cuisine for everyone obeyed custom, not art.

Despite the fact that the rich had a variety of dishes, they were rather monotonous. The wealthy even made a gastronomic calendar for whole year, taking into account church holidays, meat-eaters and fasts.

In addition, everyone cooked soup, porridge, oatmeal jelly. Soup with a piece of bacon or beef was a favorite dish at court.

Russians revered good bread, fresh and salted fish, eggs, vegetables from the garden (cabbage, cucumbers, turnips, onions, garlic). All food was divided into lean and modest, and depending on the products that were used to prepare a particular dish, all food could be divided into mealy, dairy, meat, fish, vegetable.

Bread.

They mostly ate rye bread. Although Russians learned rye much later than wheat. And she appeared on the soil by accident - like a weed. But this weed turned out to be surprisingly tenacious. While wheat perished from frost, rye withstood the test of cold and saved people from starvation. It is no coincidence that by the 11th-12th centuries the Russians ate mainly rye bread. Sometimes to rye flour barley was mixed in, but infrequently, since barley was rarely bred in Russia.

When there was not enough stock of rye and wheat, carrots, beets, potatoes, nettles, and quinoa were added to the bread. And sometimes the peasants were forced to cook salamata - fried wheat flour, brewed with boiling water.

Pure rye bread was called rich.

From seed flour baked pecked bread, or sieve.

From flour sifted through a sieve, baked sieve bread.

Wholemeal flour was used to make fluffy types of bread ("chaff").

Considered the best bread gritty - White bread from well processed wheat flour.

Wheat flour was used mainly for prosphora and rolls ( holiday food commoners).

Bread from unleavened dough made very rarely, mostly prepared from yeast, sour dough.

Due to the fact that our ancestors learned how to brew flour, they made bread that did not go stale for a long time.

It was difficult to make yeast on your own, so they put the dough on the "head" - the rest of the dough from the last baking.

Bread was usually baked for a whole week.

Bread round, high, lush, highly porous was called a loaf. Pies and buns without filling round and elliptical shape - loaves.

Kalachi enjoyed special love, they also baked saiki and pies.

Pies.

They were very famous in Rus' - spun and hearth. In fast days, they were stuffed with meat, and even with several types of meat at the same time; on Shrovetide baked pies with cottage cheese and eggs in milk, butter, with fish and eggs; in lean fish days- pies with fish.

IN fast days instead of butter and lard, lean (vegetable) butter was added to the dough and pies were served with molasses, sugar and honey.

Porridge.

Although in ancient Rus' any dishes made from ground products were called porridge, food made from cereals is traditionally considered porridge.

Kasha had ritual significance. In addition to the usual, everyday porridge and festive, there was a ritual - kutya. It was brewed from whole grains of wheat, barley, spelt, and later from rice. Raisins, honey, poppy seeds were added to kutia. As a rule, kutya was prepared under New Year, at Christmas and at wakes.

It was known in antiquity a large number of varieties of porridge. Sochivo - porridge made from crushed grain - was cooked on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Eve. Kulesh - liquid wheat porridge- cooked in the south of Rus' often with potatoes, seasoned with onions fried with lard or in vegetable oil. Barley porridge- from barley - they were very fond of in the Urals and Siberia. "Thick" porridge was prepared from pearl barley. Zavarukha is a special kind of porridge, which was brewed with boiling water.

vegetable dishes. Vegetables used to be revered more as spicy seasoning to food rather than independent dish. This is obviously due to the fact that the favorite food of the Russian people were onions and garlic. very respected in Rus' "crushed" onion with salt, which was eaten with bread and kvass for breakfast.

Turnip is a native Russian vegetable. Chroniclers mention it along with rye. Before the appearance of the potato, it was the main vegetable on the table. One of the most common dishes was turnip stew - repnitsa and turnip lads.

Cabbage also took root well on the table of our ancestors. Stocks were made from it for the winter - everywhere in the fall it was chopped. They fermented not only chopped cabbage, but also whole heads of cabbage.

The taste of potatoes - the second bread - was recognized in Rus' late - in the 18th century. But these "earth apples" very quickly conquered the table of the Russian people, displacing turnips unreasonably.

Willy-nilly, people became staunch vegetarians during fasts. They ate sauerkraut, beets with vegetable oil and vinegar, pea pies, onions, mushrooms, various dishes from peas, horseradish, radish.

Herbal Dishes. Nettle soup, quinoa cutlets were prepared not only when hunger was pressing. In the past, a mixture of thistle leaves, sorrel, onion. Ate and duckweed, adding butter and hell. And for cabbage soup, cow parsnip, wild sorrel, hare cabbage, oxalis, and other wild plants were suitable.

Bay leaf, ginger, cinnamon used to be replaced by calamus.

Angelica, St. John's wort, mint, lovage, lemon balm, saffron were used as seasonings.

Teas insisted from Ivan-tea, oregano, lime blossom, mint, lingonberry leaves.

Quick meals.

As a meat-eater, Russian people allowed themselves to taste meat food, dishes from fish, cottage cheese, milk. However, little is known about traditional fast Russian dishes. Moreover, there were some prohibitions on mixing products. Therefore, you will not find minced meat, rolls, pates, cutlets in the original Russian cuisine.

Fish was considered a semi-lenten dish. It was not allowed to eat it only on special days strict fast. However, for herring and roach, even these days an exception was made. But on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, fish dishes formed the basis of the menu.

Milk played a significant role. However, in poor families, only the smallest children were allowed to drink milk, and adults ate it with bread.

Oil.

After the adoption of Christianity, it was customary for Russians to divide all types of edible oils into modest (animal) and lean (vegetable). Vegetable oil was especially appreciated by the people, since it could be eaten both on fast and on fasting days. In the northern regions, they preferred linen, in the southern regions - hemp. But such oils as walnut, poppy, mustard, sesame, pumpkin were also known. Sunflower oil became widespread only in the 19th century.

Vegetable oil was widely used in Russian cuisine. Various dishes (cereals, snacks, soups) were seasoned with it, cakes were dipped in it. Usually eaten without prior heat treatment.

The ancient Slavs ate:

The ancient Slavs did NOT eat:

• . It just wasn't. But honey was consumed in large quantities;
• tea and . Instead, they drank herbal teas and honey drinks various;
• a lot of salt. Food would seem very insipid to a modern person, because. salt was expensive and saved;
• tomatoes and potatoes;
• there were no soups or borscht. Soups appeared in Rus' in the 17th century.

The ancient Greeks ate:

• cereals (mainly barley or wheat). Everything was topped with olive oil.
• meat fried on a spit (mainly game and wild animals). Sheep were slaughtered "on holidays".
• fish in a huge assortment + squid, oysters, mussels. All this is fried and boiled with vegetables and olive oil;
• wholemeal flour cakes;
• vegetables: various legumes, onions, garlic;
• fruits: apples, figs, grapes (more than 100 varieties) and various nuts;
• dairy products: milk (especially sheep's milk), white cheese (like our cottage cheese);
• They only drank water and wine. Moreover, the wine was diluted with water at least 1 to 2;
• various herbs and spices;
• sea ​​salt.

The ancient Greeks did NOT eat:

• sugar. It just wasn't. Just like the Slavs used honey in large quantities;
• tea and coffee. Only diluted wine and water;
• cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes;
• buckwheat porridge;
• soups.

The main feature was that they cooked mainly on fire and the "average income" was not intricate and did not take long to prepare. Everything was simple. As a refueling vinegar without complex sauces. For breakfast, the Slavs put - milk with bread and honey, the Greeks - cakes with honey and diluted wine.

The history of the appearance of such traditional (from our point of view) for Ukrainian cuisine dishes like borscht and lard, in the article "History and traditions of Ukrainian cuisine" . We ourselves are gradually complicating everything and complicating life by cooking. And at first it wasn’t like that…… There is always something to learn from history.

Tags: history of food, stories about food, history of simple food, food history of occurrence, Russian food history, history of food development, history of food in Russia, history of food appearance.