[Sca-cooks] Zakuskas

Wed Jul 19 17:46:53 PDT 2006

Okay.  I concede that the Domostroi isn't as OOP as I thought it was.  

But according to many books, zakuski was introduced to Russia by Peter the
Great in the 18th Century.  The Food and Cooking of Russia - Lesley Chamberlain
states this in her book.  And all that I have read about smorgasbord is that
it was introduced even later that zakuski.  Very likely 19th century.

However, I have just been reading about "mezze" and one expert, Ayla Algar, 
feels that there is some evidence to an ancient Persian origin for mezze.  
If I were trying to substantiate that there was a older form of zakuski before 
Peter the Great, I would think that to connect mezze to Russia would be a better 
route to go.  But that is just my opinion.

I understand the problems of trying to research pre-1600 practices in a culture
that didn't document its practices in writing often.  You have a hard challenge.

I have to admit that I have a knee-jerk reaction to hearing about zakuskas as
several people here in Caid have tried to introduce it, with the explanation of
"Well it is hundreds of years old.  It just had to have been done prior to 1600."
With no further research done.  In my humble opinion, they just wanted an
excuse to drink vodka...

I am sorry if I upset you.  That was not my intent.

Huette
Caid

--- Stephanie Ross <hlaislinn at earthlink.net> wrote:

> The Domostroi is only marginally period. Most of it is way out of period.
> The zakuska table is a 19th Century invention. I am sure that you did
> a great job of it and that it was most tasty and delicious, but the concept
> isn't period.
>  
> Huette
> 
> I am unsure why you think The Domostroi is OOP, especially WAY OOP. Its
> translator and the text itself puts it firmly within the 1500's, during the
> time of Elizabeth and when she sent envoys to Russia in hopes of becoming
> the first European country to trade with them. "It was not printed until
> 1849 - partly because printing did not become established until the 1630's,
> at least 50 years after the Domostroi, partly because when printing was
> introduced, the chuch controlled the presses for its own use. By the time
> private printing presses became established (after 1775) public interest
> had passed the Domostroi by..." Pouncy, p. 38. Basically, by that time the
> book was too quaint for the masses to care about mass-producing it. There
> are 42 hand-written editions of The Domostroi, and while the sections in
> the back on feast days and wedding info were probably not written by the
> original author, there is nothing in it to suggest they were from the
> 1800's. The wedding sections state that furs were being used as currency,
> the architecture of the houses mentioned in passing was firmly 16 century,
> and the structure of the wedding feast was common only during the Middle
> Ages. This book is definitely period, in all its parts.
> 
>  Also, you folks with European personas for whom the Middle Ages ended
> before 1630's Cavalier (If Digby can be used for documentation for brewers,
> then the cutoff is not firmly set at 1600 IMO), must understand that the
> Middle Ages did not end in Russia until 1700. That was when Peotr the Great
> made his reforms. He brought in French cooks which mortally changed the
> cuisine of the nobility, and declared that only French fashions could be
> worn at court. He exempted the peasant and clergy from changing the
> fashions however, and it is known that he continued to wear kaftans and eat
> traditional Russian cuisine when not at court. The only things that changed
> Russia through the centuries until 1700 were their invaders, and then the
> Russians absorbed the fashions and cuisine of their overlords, never
> actually changing, just adding to what was already there. The kaftan is a
> good example. It is not native to Russia per se, but when the Mongols
> brought it with them, it just became another layer of clothing while the
> peasants wore what they always wore underneath it. In fact, parts of
> Russia's peasant costume, "folk costume", haven't changed from the time of
> the Rus (1000 AD), namely the shirt and lapti, birchbark shoes still
> produced in Russia. Up until the 20th century, married women still covered
> their hair with the tradional towels (what rushnyks actually were - they
> became table linens when covering the head went out of fashion). Life
> changed excruciatingly slowly in Russia, and some villages in Russia still
> cling to the old ways and styles of dress. I need to write a paper/article
> about how things didn't change to educate my European friends. The Laurels
> in my kingdom think that all peasant clothes are 19 century, and it just
> isn't so.
> 
> As far as the concept of the "zakuska table" being period, I'm really not
> sure it isn't. A lot of cultures put out a variety of dishes for feast
> days, especially Christmas when people came visiting. The Russians
> commercialized the zakuska table during the 1800's, selling a set number of
> dishes for a set price, but the idea is far older. I have been trying to
> find out if the smorgasbord table of the Swedes is tracable to period. It
> has become a Christmas custom also, but started out (supposedly) as a type
> of "pot-luck". http://www.scandinaviancook.com/page10.htm  So many things
> came to Russia from Scandanavia that the concept of smorgasbord as zakuskas
> is not really much of a stretch. Russia is a culture that always feeds its
> guests (a very old Ukrainian greeting is to offer black bread and salt as
> welcome), and putting out blini pancakes with herring, caviar, sour cream
> and butter at Easter for guests to eat is a type of zakuska table. If you
> read the description of dishes "put on the table" during feast days at the
> back of the Domostroi, one could extrapolate from the wording that all the
> dishes were put out on the table together, creating a zakuska table. My
> thought is that setting a variety of dishes out for people to eat from is a
> concept from at least the later Middle Ages. The term "zakuska table" as
> the starter to a meal is probably not that old however. Russian noblity
> during the time of the Tzars was driven to excess, and a zakuska table with
> beaucoup vodka to wash it all down before the main meal is a vivid symbol
> of that excess.
> 
> A zakuska table for the Judge's luncheon was the perfect format for the
> Laurels. They could nibble on it all afternoon and not have to take a
> complete break from judging to eat. The theme for the event was Russian, so
> there really was nothing else to be done but do a zakuska table, even
> though it might be OOP. More on my zakuska table next post.
> 
> 
> ~Aislinn Columba of Carlisle~
> aka Nadezhda Petrova Stoianova
> 
> Et si omnes ego non.
> 
> "The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the
> first and only legitimate object of good government." --Thomas Jefferson to
> Maryland Republicans, 1809.
> 
> 
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Remember that while money talks, chocolate sings.

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