SC - Test message...

[Philip & Susan Troy]

>I gather, from reading the Domestroi, that "kasha" is simply a Russian
>term meaning "grain", but agree that in most cases today it seems to
>refer to buckwheat.

More precisely, it means "dish of cooked grains or groats".  This could
refer to a porridge or a pilaf (is that the same as a frumenty?).  Today,
it can also refer to cooked rice or semolina.  The Russian word for grain
is  "zerno", "zernishko" or "krupinka".  

True, here in the West it does refer to buckwheat.  However, in Russia
kasha is the generic term for cooked cereal.  Some types of kasha (from
"The Russian's World" by Gerhart) are:

"mannaia kasha" -- cream of wheat
"grechnevaia kasha" -- buckwheat cereal
"pshennaia kasha " or "pshenka" -- a main dish of millet
"iachnevaia kasha" -- fine-grind barley kasha
"perlovaia kasha" -- whole-grain barley kasha
"gerkulesovaia kasha" -- name-brand cereal similar to oatmeal ("Hercules's
Kasha")

My husband has told me that several different types of kasha were offered
each morning at the Russian dormitory he lived in.  They were eaten topped
with oil (not butter) and as far as he saw, nothing else.  Sugar was not
available, no honey or preserves were in evidence.  Salt was on the tables,
though.  Unfortunately (the kasha was included in his meal plan), he hates
cooked cereal and ate bread and fruit, although he could have bought
Western-type ($10 a box) cereal .

Another grain dish, kut'ia, is made of steamed grain (usually wheat or
rice), raisins, honey and nuts.  It was, and still is in many places, a
required item served at post-funeral meals.  It is a period dish, but I
don't have the references handy at the moment.

>From the Domostroi (Pouncy:149):
"They [good housewives] stuff the entrails with kasha cooked with suet and
simmered (the kasha can be made from oatmeal, buckwheat, barley, or
whatever is available).  If these [sausages] are not eaten up in the
autumn, they make a pleasant Christmas feast." 

The _Domostroi_ also mentions "thin kasha with ham" and "thick kasha with
lard", saying, "this is what most people give their servants for dinner,
although they vary the menu according to which meat is available.
(Pouncy:161).  Cooking directions for kasha are on page 163; "steam it well
with lard, oil, or herring in a broth."  Several other fish are mentioned
as alternative accompaniments.  Pouncy has a footnote saying that the lard
(or possibly, butter) was probably for meat days and the oil for fast days.

To close, here is a popular Russian saying:
"Shchi da kasha--pishcha nasha" (Cabbage soup and kasha is our food)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ilyana Barsova (Yana)  ***mka Jennifer D. Miller
jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu *** http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~jdmiller2 
Slavic Interest Group http://vms.www.uwplatt.edu/~goldschp/slavic.html
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================