SC - Migraines-off subject of SCA cooking

[Uduido@aol.com]

>Mark Harris wrote:
>
>> Is this Russian Cherry Soup period? Sounds like it probably isn't. Could
>> you please post this recipe anyway? Or send to me by email? It sounds
>> interesting.
>
>I suspect that it probably is period, or derived from some earlier
>version that is. An earlier version of the "Syrosye" recipe calls for
>the inclusion of "vlehs gret", or great flesh, which is probably chunks
>or slices of a large joint cooked (or partly cooked) whole and
>separately, either by boiling or roasting. The thickening of bread
>crumbs suggests it is quite early, too. Actually the Russian Cherry Soup
>sounds like borscht made with cherries. (Doesn't borscht just mean soup
>anyway? But you know what I mean.)

I'm sorry, I can't post the recipe. I got my copy of "Elena Molokhovet's
Gift to Young Housewives" through Inter-Library Loan and, annoyingly, they
wanted it back in 2 weeks! Anyone have a copy they'd be willing to thumb
through or live near a large library? I didn't save my recipe, since I
couldn't get the stuff to look appetizing (thick pink soup with sour cream
by candle light looks like---pardon me, please---vomit). I served something
else at the Russian feast instead---home made stuffed dumplings in vegetable
broth.

The recipe itself isn't period. The book (currently, to my knowledge, the
EARLIEST KNOWN Russian cookbook) was first published 30 years before the
fall of the Czars. It is surmised that there are no other surviving
historical Russian cookbooks because the Communists destroyed the
manuscripts, whose contents centered largely on cooking for religous
observance. An alternate theory is that the Russian people were fairly
illiterate, so didn't write down much. Many of the nobility imported French
Chefs. It is fairly easy to thumb through "Gift" and observe which recipes
show outside influences, however. Tomatoes do not make an appearance, and
Corn on the cob appears only in a recipe that instructs one to "slice" the
corn, cob and all! So, the general consensus is that over time Russian
cooking underwent few changes, or underwent these changes far later than the
west of the world, at the time of Mrs. Molokhovet's writing. 

BTW I was under the impression that Borshcht was simply Vegetable soup of
some sort, and didn't have to include beets. I vaguely recall a recipe for a
Summer Borshcht that involved pot herbs and summer veggies (and dill).

BUT, for my Russian Cherry Soup I used  canned tart cherries (Oregon brand,
which had the pits, but lacked a little in color). My kids ate it, though,
so it just goes to show you how good it is. They've gotten a little wary of
"Mom's Wierd Food". I have noted that it is now possible to get dried,
pitless cherries at my grocery store in small quantities, at a large price.
Does anyone have any experience with these?

Aoife

 

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