Who invented okroshka? Old recipes of Russian national cuisine

In the national Russian cuisine, there are many unique recipes, of which even experts can not say with real confidence. It is still unknown, for example, who invented okroshka and which initially set of products was used for its preparation.

The secret of the name

The history of Russian national cuisine dates back several centuries. During this time, it was replenished with new dishes, the names of which in our days sound rather unusual. True, there is one secret here. All these names are talking. That is, it is easy to guess by them how this or that product is prepared. For example, it is not known for certain who invented okroshka, but everyone knows that this is a traditional cold soup for Russia. The way of its preparation lies already in the name, after all the word "okroshka" comes from the well-known verb "crumb", which means finely chopped.

Hence it is clear that large pieces of food for such a dish will not work. The one who invented okroshka, tried to crush them as much as possible. This is the main feature of the old cold soup. But to the present day the name of its creator has not reached. Although, perhaps, they were not one person. This is now the cooks try to give their inventions sonorous names. Previously, culinary novelties appeared exclusively as an opportunity to adapt different products for use in food.

Ingredients

History does not know who invented okroshka. Up to now, only the composition of this unusual dish has reached . Indeed, for the preparation of ancient Russian soup, a mixture of crushed products of different types was used:

• Meat or fish;
• Fresh or boiled vegetables;
• Various pickles;
• spices.

The prepared loose bulk was poured with liquid dressing, which is usually used as kvass. But there are other options. There are known recipes, where okroshka is made on the basis of:

• Beer;
• Whey;
• Diluted vinegar;
• Kefir;
• Mineral water;
• Birch kvas;
• A tea mushroom;
• Meat or beet broth;
• Tomato juice;
• Cucumber brine.

Each of these liquid fractions provides a special set of ingredients for the preparation of a known cold soup. In different regions of Russia there is an individual variant of its preparation, based on ancient local traditions and special taste preferences.

From the depths of centuries

Despite the fact that the history of okroshka dates back centuries, the first official mention of it appeared in the book "The Poster and the Scion Table", published in 1880.

The main ingredients included the following products: 400 grams of boiled beef (or any fish), half a liter of kvass, 4 boiled eggs, a liter of sour cabbage (a malt drink, not a cabbage soup), a glass of sour cream, greens (feather Onions and dill), 4 cucumbers and crawfish.

The book described a rather interesting way of cooking:

1. First of all, all components (meat, eggs, greens and cucumbers) must be thoroughly chopped.
2. After that they should be put in a deep bowl.
3. Add salt, add sour cream and mix well.
4. The resulting mass should be poured with kvass or shchi. In the second case, the dish will have a more intense and pronounced taste.
5. Put the cervical collars, pieces of ice and mix again.

You can consume this soup only after it has been properly absorbed and cooled.

Interesting Facts

Some scientists suggest that the history of okroshka is directly related to burlaks. It is believed that they have come up with a mix of such different products. In the old days on the Volga, manual labor was used to move cargoes along the water. Groups of people with the help of strong ropes pulled along the shore of the barge with goods. The luncheon lunch, as a rule, consisted of kvass and dried fish (vobla). Now hardly anyone will like this menu. But then the peasants had no other choice and they had to somehow adjust themselves. There were no dentists at that time, and it was difficult to cope with stiff food without grooming sick teeth. Therefore, before eating, they soaked the vobla in kvass. The fish became softer and it was easy to bite. Later, to make the dish more nutritious, it began to add different vegetables (turnips, potatoes and others). So the usual snack gradually turned into soup, which over the years has gained immense popularity.

In the best traditions

Originally, as is known, okroshka was prepared on kvass. The classic recipe has changed a little over time.

Nowadays for this dish it is customary to use: 300 grams of potatoes and fresh cucumbers, 4 chicken eggs, a teaspoon of salt, 200 grams of radish and boiled sausage, as well as 30 grams of parsley, green onions and dill.

The process technology includes several steps:

1. First, potatoes and eggs must be boiled, and then cooled and cleaned.
2. After that, they, together with cucumbers and sausage, should be cut into small cubes.
3. Radish can be grinded on a grater or cut into thin slices.
4. Collect the prepared ingredients in one bowl.
5. Greens to rinse well, finely crumble and add to the rest of the products.
6. Salt and then mix thoroughly.
7. Pour the mixture with kvass.
8. Before serving, put a little sour cream.

It turns out a wonderful okroshka on kvass. The classic recipe is simple enough, so you can cook the dish for half an hour. It's fast, convenient and very tasty.

Vegetarian option

Now it's hard to say who invented okroshka with kvass. But it does not matter, after all, people eventually learned from the main recipe to cook a variety of variations of this original dish. For those who prefer vegetarian food, you can offer not quite the usual soup, in which there is no meat, fish and eggs.

For work it is necessary to use the following components: 0.5 liters of special okroshechny kvass, 400 grams of lettuce, 30 grams of garlic, 1 fresh cucumber, salt, 4 tablespoons chopped mint leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, sour cream, 4 grams of sugar and ground pepper .

Preparing such an okroshka is very simple:

1. Salad with cucumber finely crumble and add mashed garlic.
2. Combine the products with mint and sprinkle them with sugar.
3. Add salt, pepper and pour it all with kvass.
4. Put sour cream and stir well.

Before serving, add a little ground minced meat to each plate separately. If desired, the work can be simplified and using a blender to cook soup-mashed potatoes.

An interesting assumption

In official sources there is no specific information about who invented okroshka and when. Nevertheless, some historians believe that this culinary invention dates back to the 10th century. Then Rus ruled the famous prince Vladimir. In some chronicles there are records of how in 989 he issued a decree to distribute to all peasants honey, food and kvass. Hence we can conclude that it was then that the idea of the first refueling for an old cold soup appeared. Therefore, the end of the tenth century can rightly be considered the starting point of the very idea of cooking okroshki. Since then, every housewife has learned to cook this dish, using the products that were available in the house.

In those years people used almost any food with black bread and fresh onions. This habit has almost reached the present day. Now bread is also a must-have supplement to the table, and onions are a part of many dishes. Preserved and the idea of cooking okroshki, which in time only supplemented with new components.

Sour-milking dressing

Nowadays, you can meet okroshka even in the menu of many restaurants. True, kvass is rarely used for refueling. As the liquid fraction, various dairy products are used more. For example, you can consider an easy way of how to cook okroshka on the serum.

To do this, you need the simplest ingredients: 0.5 kilograms of pork fillet and the same number of fresh cucumbers, 3 liters of whey, 8 eggs, 400 grams of radish, 1 lemon, 5 potatoes, a little salt and greens (dill, parsley).

The method of preparation is similar to the previous versions:

1. Boil the meat, and then chill and cut into small pieces.
2. Potatoes and eggs, too, must first be cooked, and then cleaned and cut into cubes.
3. Cucumber crumble pieces of the same shape, and radish is better chopped in a blender.
4. Put the products in a common dish and sprinkle them with chopped greens.
5. Pour the serum, add lemon juice and salt.

Before eating in each plate separately put a little sour cream.

Variation on the topic of okroshki

In many culinary books, there is a recipe for cold soup called "okroshka". Russian cuisine stores dozens of ways to prepare it. For example, in Vasily Levshin's book, published in the nineties of the eighteenth century, a variation of soup is described, in which there is no potato. From the products used for its preparation: fried meat, onions, cucumbers (salted and fresh), vinegar, salted plums and kvass.

Everything is done very simply:

1. First pickled cucumbers to chop straw.
2. The same thing to do with plums, after removing the bones from them.
3. Finely chop the onion. You can use both the bulb and the green feather.
4. Cut the meat from the bone and optionally grind it with straw.
5. Shred the ingredients together.
6. Add 2 tablespoons of plum and cucumber brine.
7. Pour in a little apple cider vinegar.
8. Refuel with kvass.

This option is very convenient, since it allows you to use the simplest products that can stay in the refrigerator after yesterday's dinner.

A similar option

Earlier this dish appeared in Nikolai Osipov's book "Ancient Russian hostess, housekeeper and cook". It also described the recipe for a refreshing soup filled with kvass. The difference with the other numerous recipes is only that the liquid fraction is prepared in advance in a special way from bread and malt with the addition of a small amount of mint. The difference between old and modern kvas is that before the product was white and quite unsweetened. He played the role of a refreshing ingredient, for the preparation of which was used a must from rye flour and a leaven in the form of malt. Nowadays you can make it yourself. To do this, you need: 80 grams of rye bread, 12 glasses of water, 3 grams of yeast and 2 tablespoons of sugar.

The technology of the drink is extremely simple:

1. First, the bread should be arbitrarily cut and fried until dark brown.
2. Pour the products with water and leave them alone for 5 hours.
3. Infusion strain and add to it pre-diluted yeast and sugar.

After an eight-hour infusion, the okroshechny kvass will be ready.

On a hot day

When the heat in the street, hardly anyone will want to eat hot soups. In Russia, for a long time, such first dishes as okroshka, botvina and chill were popular. During the hot summer they helped to escape the consequences of the burning heat. Among these three options, botzinia attracts special attention. Cook it as simply as okroshka. To work, you must first prepare the main ingredients: a liter of bread kvass, 250 grams of sorrel, spinach and boiled fish, 2 fresh cucumbers, a tablespoon of sugar, salt, a bunch of green onions, dill and grated horseradish root.

Cooking soup is necessary in stages:

1. First spinach with sorrel should be washed, boiled, and then rub the products through a sieve and dilute with ready-made kvass.
2. Add the diced cucumber and ground onion.
3. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and chopped dill.
4. Ready soup spilled on plates.

Just before consumption, it only remains to add horseradish, put pieces of boiled fish and a few ice cubes (for cooling).