In the X-XIII centuries, with the development of cities and consumption, the range of crops grown is expanding. In these times, onions, cucumbers, dill, beets, plums, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, and garlic were popular. Since they were grown mainly by city dwellers, the price of these products was quite high, so the mentioned vegetables, fruits and greens appeared on the tables of narrow social strata.

The revolution in nutrition was made by sour rye bread, or rather, not so much the bread itself, as the fermentation technology, thanks to which the dough was loosened. Like all food novelties, sour bread for a long time remained a refinement of the prince's entourage. A similar situation was with kvass and jelly. However, later these products were tasted by all segments of the population and mastered the cooking technology.

The baptism of Rus and the subsequent expansion of contacts with the countries of the Christian world also influenced Russian cuisine. They began to add spices, seasonings, overseas fruit plants to food. The structure of nutrition also changed: during religious fasts, the share of meat and dairy products in the diet decreased, while plant foods and fish, respectively, increased.

It is difficult to say how significant changes took place at that time in the nutritional structure of the rural population, a very superficial Christianization of which dragged on for several centuries. However, in the immediate vicinity of the cities, the first specialized fishing villages began to appear, and in the cities themselves in the second half of the 12th - first half of the 13th centuries. professional fishing and fish trade are developing.

Since the 14th century, watermills have been used. At the same time, the stove was changing: the old Russian one with a semicircular top gave way to a flat-top stove. As a result, they began to bake not only the usual bread, but also sweets, for example, gingerbread. The growing popularity of cereals is associated with the development of crop production. Of the vegetables, they preferred those that could be stored for a long time. Consuming fruits of cultivated plants and berries becomes a habit. For example, in Novgorod there were not only boyar apple orchards, but also small gardens in the courtyards of middle-class citizens. There is also such a way of processing products as conservation.

The consumption of meat decreases markedly during this period compared to the X-XIII centuries. Hunting is being replaced by animal husbandry. There were two main ways to store meat: freezing and salting. The well-established practice of religious fasting has made fishing an important industry.

Watermills were used from the 14th century.

The greatest changes in Russian food culture took place in the 16th-17th centuries. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, sweet cherries, raspberries, and strawberries were cultivated everywhere.

With dairy products, the situation remained practically unchanged: they consumed fresh and sour milk, produced cottage cheese, cheese, butter, and sour cream appeared. From meat products, they still consumed beef, lamb, pork, and began to eat more meat from poultry and eggs. Only horns and hooves were not eaten. And everything that could be eaten in one form or another was carefully prepared. Fish processing technologies are significantly improving: now it is salted, smoked, boiled. Caviar, viziga is widely used; fish oil, fish glue is made from fish, everything is used, up to the fused bladder and scales.

Lunch was recognized as the main meal in Russia

Since the 16th century, the division into rural, monastic and royal cuisine begins. The first was the least rich and varied, but had its own charm: lunch was recognized as the main meal in Russia, so special attention was paid to its organization. During the holidays, about 20 dishes could be served, which were placed on the table in a strictly defined order: first a cold appetizer, then soup, second and pies for dessert.

The basis of the diet of the monks was plant foods: vegetables, herbs, fruits. The tsar's cuisine was famous for the abundance of the refectory table, which was sometimes torn not only by a variety of Russian dishes, but also by outlandish delicacies from overseas.

The culinary traditions of the Russian people are rooted in deep antiquity. Even in pre-Christian Russia, when Shrovetide was celebrated and bloodless sacrifices were made to the gods, such once ritual dishes as porridge, pancakes, spring larks and others were known. The Slavs were engaged in arable farming, growing rye, barley, wheat, oats, millet. In the 10th century, according to travelers, the Slavs "sow millet most of all." During the harvest, they take millet grains in a ladle, raise them to heaven and say: "Lord, you who gave us food until now, give us it and now it is in abundance."

A little later, ritual porridge appears - kutia. It was made from cereals with the addition of honey. The Slavs cooked ordinary porridge from flour, for which they grinded the grains, in water or milk. Breads were baked from flour - first unleavened flat cakes, and then rolls and pies cooked with honey.
In Russia, they were engaged in the cultivation of garden crops. The most popular were cabbage, cucumbers, turnips, rutabagas and radishes.

Ancient chronicles, telling about the fate of the state, wars and disasters, nevertheless sometimes mentioned facts, in one way or another, related to food and nutrition.

Year 907 - in the annals, among the monthly tax, wine, bread, meat, fish and vegetables are named (in those days, fruits were also called vegetables).

Year 969 - Prince Svyatoslav says that the city of Pereyaslavl is conveniently located - there converge "different vegetables" from Greece and honey from Russia. Already at that time, the table of Russian princes and rich people was decorated with salted lemons, raisins, walnuts and other gifts eastern countries, and honey was not only an everyday food product, but also an item of foreign trade.

Year 971 - during the famine, the high cost was such that a horse's head cost half a hryvnia. It is interesting that the chronicler is not talking about beef or pork, but about horse meat. Although the case takes place during the forced wintering of the troops of Prince Svyatoslav on the way from Greece, the fact is nevertheless remarkable. This means that there was no ban on the use of horse meat in Russia, but it was probably used in exceptional cases. This is evidenced by the relatively small proportion of horse bones in kitchen waste found by archaeologists.

Usually for the characteristic, as we would now say "price index", the value of products of everyday demand is indicated. So, another chronicler reports that in the lean 1215 in Novgorod "there was a cart of turnips for two hryvnias."

Year 996 - a feast is described at which there was a lot of meat from cattle and animals, and bread, meat, fish, vegetables, honey and kvass were transported around the city and distributed to the people. The squad grumbled that they had to eat with wooden spoons, and Prince Vladimir ordered to give them silver ones.

Year 997 - the prince ordered to collect a handful of oats, or wheat, or bran and ordered the wives to make "tsezh" and cook jelly.

So, bit by bit, you can collect in our chronicles a lot of interesting information about nutrition in the X-XI centuries. Describing the simplicity of the morals of Prince Svyatoslav (964), the chronicler says that the prince did not take carts with him on campaigns and did not cook meat, but thinly slicing horse meat, beef or animals, ate them, baking them on coals.

Frying on coals is the oldest method of heat treatment, characteristic of all peoples, and it was not borrowed by the Russians from the peoples of the Caucasus and the East, but has been used since ancient times. Historical literary monuments of the 15th-16th centuries often mention chickens, geese, hares "twisted", that is, on a spit. But nevertheless, the usual, most common way of preparing meat dishes was boiling and frying in large pieces in Russian ovens.

For a long time cooking was a family affair. As a rule, the oldest woman in the family knew them. Professional chefs first appeared at the princely courts, and then - in the monastery refectory.

Cooking in Russia became a specialty only in the 11th century, although the mention of professional chefs is found in chronicles as early as the 10th century.

The Laurentian Chronicle (1074) says that in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery there was a whole cookery with a large staff of monks-cooks. Prince Gleb had an “elder cook” named Torchin, the first Russian chef we know of.

The monastic cooks were highly skilled. Prince Izyaslav, who had visited the borders of the Russian land, who had seen a lot, especially loved the "meals" of the monks of the Caves. Even a description of the work of cooks of that era has survived:

“And put on a hair shirt and a hair shirt for my retinue, and begin to create ugliness, and help the cooks, cooking on my brothers ... And at matins I go to the cook, and prepare fire, water, firewood, and I’ll get the other cooks away from taking them.”

During the times of Kievan Rus, cooks were in the service of princely courts and wealthy houses. Some of them even had several chefs. This is evidenced by the description of one of the houses of a rich man of the 12th century, where a lot of "sokachy" is mentioned, that is, cooks "working and making darkness."

Russian chefs sacredly preserved the traditions of folk cuisine, which served as the basis of their professional skills, as evidenced by the most ancient written monuments - "Domostroy" (16th century), "Painting for the Tsar's dishes" (1611-1613), table books of Patriarch Filaret and boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, monastic expenditure books, etc. They often mention folk dishes - cabbage soup, fish soup, porridge, pies, pancakes, pies, pies, jelly, kvass, honey and others.

The nature of the preparation of Russian cuisine is largely due to the peculiarities of the Russian oven, which for centuries has faithfully served both ordinary city people, noble boyars, and posad peasants as a hearth. Ancient Russia cannot be imagined both without chopped huts and without the famous Russian stove.

The mouth of the Russian stove was always turned towards the doors, so that the smoke could leave the hut by the shortest route through the open doors to the entrance. The stoves in the poultry huts were large, in which it was possible to cook several dishes at the same time. Despite the fact that the food sometimes smacked slightly, the Russian stove also had advantages: the dishes cooked in it had a unique taste.

The peculiarities of the Russian oven are due to such features of our cuisine as cooking dishes in pots and cast iron, roasting fish and poultry in large pieces, an abundance of stews and baked dishes, a wide range of baked goods - pies, cereals, pies, pies, etc.

Since the 16th century, we can talk about the differences between the monastic, rural and royal cuisine. In the monastery, vegetables, herbs, herbs and fruits played a major role. They formed the basis of the diet of monks, especially during fasting. Rural cuisine was less rich and varied, but also refined in its own way: at least 15 dishes were supposed to be served at a festive dinner. Lunch is generally the main meal in Russia. In the old days, in more or less wealthy houses, on a long table of sturdy oak planks, covered with an embroidered tablecloth, four dishes were served in turn: cold appetizer, soup, the second - usually meat in non-fasting times - and pies or pies that were eaten "for dessert ".
The appetizers were very different, but the main ones were all kinds of salads - a mixture of finely chopped vegetables, usually boiled, to which you could add anything - from apple to cold veal. From them came, in particular, the vinaigrette known to every Russian house. By the end of the 17th century, jelly became popular (from the word "jelly", that is, cold: firstly, jelly must be cold, otherwise it will spread on a plate; secondly, it was usually eaten in winter, from Christmas to Epiphany, that is, in coldest time of the year). At the same time, fish ears, corned beef and sausages appeared. The pickle amazed foreigners with its refined taste. Cabbage soup - remember the saying: "Cabbage soup and porridge - our food" - and so, cabbage soup was served with mushrooms, fish, and pies.

The most popular drinks were berry and fruit juices with fruit drinks, as well as tinctures. Mead - a drink based on bee honey - was stronger, and then vodka appeared. But since ancient times, bread kvass has remained the main Russian drink. With everything they did not make - from raisins to mint!

But at the feasts of the boyars, a huge number of dishes began to appear, reaching up to fifty. At the tsar's table, 150-200 were served. The dinners lasted 6-8 hours in a row and included almost a dozen changes, each of which, in turn, consisted of two dozen dishes of the same name: ten varieties of fried game, salted fish, ten varieties of pancakes and pies.

Dishes were prepared from a whole animal or plant, all kinds of chopping, grinding and crushing of food were used only in pie fillings. And even then it is very moderate. Fish for pies, for example, was not chopped, but plastered.

At feasts, it was customary to drink honey before the feast, as stimulating the appetite, and after it, at the conclusion of the feasts. The food was washed down with kvass and beer. This was the case until the 15th century. In the 15th century, “bread wine” appeared in Russia, that is, vodka.

In the 17th century, the order of serving dishes began to change (this applies to a rich festive table). Now it consisted of 6-8 breaks and only one dish was served at each break:
- hot (cabbage soup, stew, ear);
- cold (okroshka, botvinya, jelly, jellied fish, corned beef);
- roast (meat, poultry);
- body (boiled or fried hot fish);
- savory pies, kulebyaka;
- porridge (sometimes it was served with cabbage soup);
- cake (sweet pies, pies);
- snacks.

As for drinks, for example, the register of those released from Sytny Dvor to receive Polish ambassadors read: “There was a drink about Vel in the outfit (from Sytny Dvor). Sovereign: 1 serving: romance, bastru, renskago, by purchase; 2 feed: malmazey, musket, alkane, by purchase zh; 3 serving: cypress, French wine, church wine, by purchase; red honey: 1 serving: cherry, raspberry, currant, ladle; 2 feed: 2 ladles for raspberry honey, ladle for boyar honey; 3 feed: 2 ladles for juniper honey, ladle for cherry honey; white honeys: 1 serving: 2 scoops for honey treacle with nails, a scoop for honey with scoops; 2 feed: 2 buckets for honey with muskata, a bucket for honey bucket; 3 feed: 2 ladles for honey with cardamom, a ladle for honey with a ladle. All about the Great Sovereign: romanes, bastra, renskago, malmazei, musket, alkana, cynarea, French wine, church wine, 6 cups each, and 6 cups of vodka; red honeys: cherry, raspberry, currant, bone, cherry, juniper, scalded, bucket; white honey: scoop with cloves, muskata, cardamom, 8 mugs, 9 mugs of sugar. About boyars, and about circumstantial, and thoughtful people, and about ambassadors, and about royal nobles: 2 mugs of aniseed vodka from Romaneya, cinnamon, too, 8 mugs of boyar vodka, 5 buckets of Romaneya boyar's, too, 5 buckets of bastru, 2 buckets of renskago, 5 buckets of alkane, 4 buckets of fryazhsky wine, 3 buckets of church wine, 8 buckets of cherry wine, 4 buckets of raspberry honey ... ”And this is not the end of the register.

However, despite the difference in the number of dishes between the rich and the poor, the nature of the food retained national traits. The division took place later, from the times of Peter the Great.

The formation of Russian cuisine was also influenced by cultural exchange with neighboring peoples. Immediately after baptism, Slavic writing came to Russia from Bulgaria, books began to be translated and rewritten, and not only liturgical ones. At this time, the Russian reader little by little gets acquainted with literary works, historical chronicles, natural-scientific works, collections of sayings.In a very short historical period - during the time of Vladimir and especially his son Yaroslav - Russia joins the culture of Bulgaria and Byzantium, the Russian people are actively assimilate the heritage of ancient Greece, Rome and the Ancient East. Along with the development of spiritual and cultural life, the introduction of church canons in Russia significantly changed the nature of nutrition. Spices and seasonings have come into use: black and allspice, cloves and ginger, overseas fruits - lemons, new vegetables - zucchini, sweet peppers, etc., new cereals - "Saracen millet" (rice) and buckwheat.

Russian "cooks" borrowed many secrets from the Tsargrad masters who came to Muscovy - "men of skill, experienced not only in painting icons, but also in kitchen art." Acquaintance with the Greco-Byzantine cuisine turned out to be very useful for our cuisine.

The influence on Russian cuisine and our eastern neighbors, India, was no less strong. China, Persia. The first Russian people who visited these countries brought many new impressions from there. The Russians learned a lot from the famous book by Afanasy Nikitin "Walking the Three Seas" (1466-1472), which contains a description of products unfamiliar in Russia - dates, ginger, coconut, pepper, cinnamon. And the book by Vasily Gagara (written in 1634-1637) broadened the horizons of our compatriots. They learned about the products that the inhabitants of the Caucasus and the Middle East ate. Here are his observations on how sugar production was carried out in the East: “Yes, in the same Egypt reeds will be born, and sugar is made from it. And the reeds are dug near the sea ... and as the reeds ripen, and eat it, as there is honeycomb. "

But not only the practical methods of cooking were mastered by our ancestors. They also thought about the essence of the phenomena occurring in this case. A long time ago they mastered the secrets of making yeast dough, which is mentioned in the chronicles: the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra knew how to cook custard bread that did not stale for a long time.

Already in the XI-XII centuries. Russians knew many rather complicated methods of making kvass, honey, and hops. They can be found in the famous ancient Russian herbalists, as well as in various "lives". Thus, kvass was widely known - rye, honey, apple, yashny, etc. Our ancestors were well versed not only in the intricacies of preparing various types of kvass, but also in the mechanism of action of leaven, yeast, as evidenced by the numerous instructions of the ancients:

"You crush and grind the wheat, and sow flour, and knead the dough and ferment." Or: "And they ferment kvass with sour thick, and not yeast." "Kvass, on the other hand, separates the copulation and gluing of the dough and makes the bread thin and loaf."

And other literary sources confirm the knowledge of Russian people in the field of food. So, in the "Book, the verb cool vertograd" (XVII century) contains numerous arguments about the difference, for example, cow's milk from goat's, hare meat from bear meat, etc. It is curious that even then Russian people had an idea of ​​the antiseptic properties of protein : “Egg white is put into medicine ... on sores and on all sorts of subcutaneous wounds. It also helps protein for operelin, soaked in hot water ”(section“ about chicken eggs ”).

For a general idea of ​​nutrition in ancient times in Russia, we present several culinary recipes for the then popular dishes.

Stuffed turnip. The turnips are washed, boiled in water until soft, cooled, scraped off the skin, cut out the core. The removed pulp is finely chopped, minced meat is added and turnips are filled with this filling. Sprinkle with grated cheese on top, sprinkle with butter and bake.

Oatmeal jelly. Pour the groats with warm water and leave in a warm place for a day. Then strain and squeeze. Add salt, sugar to the resulting liquid and boil, stirring continuously, until thickened. Add milk to hot jelly, mix, pour into plates greased with butter, put in the cold. When the jelly hardens, cut it into portions and serve with cold boiled milk or yogurt.

"Pea block". The peas are completely boiled and pounded, the resulting puree is seasoned with salt and molded (you can use molds, cups, etc., oiled). The formed pea puree is laid out on a plate and poured with sunflower oil and fried onions, sprinkled with herbs.

Peasant bread soup. Fry small dry crusts of white bread in fat with finely chopped parsley and finely chopped onions, then add water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stirring continuously, pour the pounded eggs into the soup in a thin stream. This soup, which tastes like meat, should be served immediately.

Sbiten-scorched. To get burnt, heat the sugar in a spoon over low heat until a dark brown syrup is formed. Dissolve honey in 4 glasses of water and boil for 20-25 minutes, then add spices and boil for another 5 minutes. Strain the resulting mixture through cheesecloth and add burnt for color. Serve hot.

"Monastic chicken". Cut the cabbage head not very finely, put in an earthen pot, pour eggs whipped with milk, salt, cover with a frying pan and put in the oven. Cabbage is considered ready when it becomes beige.

When it comes to our ancestors who lived thousands of years ago, we often have the question of what they ate, how they prepared food, what dishes were the most famous. Research by archaeologists is helping to figure this out, and the experiments of skilled chefs are shedding light on what the ancient dishes looked like after they were cooked. An interesting fact is that many dishes have come down to us without changing either in cooking technology or in appearance.

For example, since ancient times, honey has been used by people as a natural and healthy food, which was also used for medicinal purposes. Our ancestors were very lucky that they did not have to cook honey themselves: bees were the "inventors" of honey. When the ancient people learned how to make fire, they got the opportunity to cook such dishes on an open fire that are very expensive for modern people in a good restaurant.

Kebab, or boar meat on sticks

This simple and tasty dish originated in a time when people had not yet learned how to make dishes from clay. Large boulders were used to prepare the dish, or pieces of meat were strung on sticks and brought to the fire. The ancient Cro-Magnons learned to decorate meat with strips using scallops. Oyster mushrooms were also used, and the finished meat was lightly watered with liquid honey.

Nettle pudding

It appeared later, during the Neolithic period, when people had already learned how to make pottery. Nettle was mixed with wheat flour, as well as dandelion leaves and sorrel. Green onions were also added to the dish. Of course, we, modern people, according to the logic of things, immediately want to supplement it with spinach, but for the sake of reliability, it should be borne in mind that spinach appeared in European territories much later.

Meat pudding

Here, for naturalness, historians are recommended to get a sheep stomach or a bovine cecum instead of a dough, because in ancient times, meat puddings were prepared in this way. Lungs, fat and lamb's heart should be used as a dressing. Full cooking time is long, up to seven hours. And this is not counting the time during which the stomach is soaked (the whole night) so that all the bitter substances are removed from it.

Stew of Neanderthals

The technology of its preparation has remained unchanged to this day. The composition is the same: beef (bison) meat, spices and vegetables.

Nutty sweet bread

It was originally made from hazel (hazelnuts). Ingredients: wheat flour, honey and nuts, which need to be mixed in a certain way, which, unfortunately, did not reach us from antiquity. Therefore, you have to fantasize a little.

The bread should be made in the shape of a crown and placed in an open space for forty minutes. After that, it should be prepared using the "hot stones" method, which in design somewhat resembled modern ovens.

In ancient Egypt, the bread preparation technique was similar, but the dish was prepared in special pots in order to give it a sacred form: the Egyptians often used bread as a sacrifice to their gods. Interestingly, yeast was not used by the Egyptians. All fermentation functions were assigned to the natural microflora abundantly present in the air.

Millet porridge with milk

The dish is typical for East Asian countries, in particular for China. As early as the 5th century BC, the Chinese were preparing millet with milk or cream. To the south, in the same area, rice was being prepared instead of millet.

The food of our commoner ancestors was quite simple. They had a custom of eating bread, garlic, eggs, salt, and drinking kvass.

For everyone, Russian cuisine was subject to custom, not art.

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

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

The 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 short, and depending on the products that were used to prepare a particular dish, all food could be divided into mealy, dairy, meat, fish, and vegetable.

Bread.

Mostly they ate rye bread. Although the Russians learned rye much later than wheat. And it appeared on the soil by accident - like a weed. But this weed turned out to be surprisingly tenacious. While wheat died from frost, rye withstood the test of the cold and saved people from hunger. It is no coincidence that, by the 11th-12th centuries, the Russians ate mainly rye bread. Sometimes barley flour was mixed with rye flour, but not often, since barley was rarely bred in Russia.

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

Pure rye bread was called lively.

They baked from sown flour spattered bread, or sieve.

They baked from flour sifted through a sieve sieve bread.

From wholemeal flour, fur types of bread ("chaff") were made.

The best bread was considered gritty- white bread made from well-processed wheat flour.

Wheat flour was used mainly for prosphora and kalachi (festive food of commoners).

Bread from unleavened dough was made very rarely, it was mainly made from yeast, sour dough.

Thanks to the fact that our ancestors learned to make flour, they got bread that did not dry out for a long time.

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

They usually baked bread for a whole week.

Round, tall, fluffy, very porous bread was called a loaf. Round and ellipsoidal pies and rolls without filling - loafs.

The rolls were especially fond of; they also baked cakes and pies.

Pies.

They were very famous in Russia - yarn and hearth. On short days they were stuffed with meat, and even several types of meat at the same time; on Shrovetide they baked yarn pies with cottage cheese and eggs in milk, butter, with fish and eggs; on fast fish days - fish pies.

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

Porridge.

Although in Ancient Russia, any dishes made from crushed products were called porridge, traditionally, food made from cereals is considered porridge.

The porridge had ritual significance. In addition to the usual, everyday porridge and festive cereal, there was ritual - kutia. It was cooked from whole grains of wheat, barley, spelled, and later from rice. Raisins, honey, poppy seeds were added to kutya. As a rule, they cooked kutya on New Year's Eve, at Christmas and at funerals.

In ancient times, a large number of varieties of cereals were known. Juice - a porridge made from crushed grain - was cooked on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Eve. Kulesh - liquid wheat porridge - was often cooked in the south of Russia with potatoes, seasoned with onions fried with lard or in vegetable oil. Barley porridge - made from barley - was very popular in the Urals and Siberia. "Thick" porridge was made from pearl barley. Zavarukha is a special type of porridge that was brewed with boiling water.

Vegetable dishes... Vegetables used to be revered more as a spicy food seasoning than as a separate dish. This is obviously due to the fact that onions and garlic were the favorite food of the Russian people. They respected very much in Russia "pounded" onion and salt, which they ate with bread and kvass for breakfast.

Turnip is a primordially Russian vegetable. Chroniclers mention it along with rye. Before the advent of potatoes, it was the main vegetable on the table. One of the most common dishes was turnip stew - turnip and turnip stew.

Cabbage also took root well on the table of our ancestors. They made supplies from it for the winter - they cut it down everywhere in the fall. Not only chopped cabbage was fermented, but also whole heads of cabbage.

The taste of potatoes - the second bread - was learned in Russia late - in the 18th century. But these "earthy apples" very quickly conquered the table of the Russian people, unreasonably replacing the turnip.

Willy-nilly, people became staunch vegetarians while fasting. They ate sauerkraut, beets with vegetable oil and vinegar, pea pies, onions, mushrooms, various dishes of peas, horseradish, and radishes.

Herbal dishes. Nettle cabbage soup, quinoa cutlets were cooked not only when hunger pressed. In the past, a mixture of thistle leaves, sorrel, and onions was also used in cooking. They also ate duckweed, adding butter and horseradish. And for cabbage soup, hogweed, wild sorrel, hare cabbage, oxalis, and other wild plants were suitable.

Bay leaves, ginger, cinnamon used to replace calamus.

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

The teas were infused from willow tea, oregano, linden blossom, mint, and lingonberry leaves.

Modest meals.

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

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

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

Butter.

After the adoption of Christianity among the Russians, it was customary to divide all types of edible oils into shallow (of animal origin) and lean (vegetable). Vegetable oil was especially appreciated by the people, as it could be eaten both on fast and fast days. In the northern regions, preference was given to linseed, in the southern - hemp. But oils such as nut, 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 served with it, cakes were dipped into it. Usually eaten without prior heat treatment.

In ancient times, people were rarely obese. They had their own healthy diet, which has nothing to do with modern diets and other troubles. They just ate natural food, grown with their own hands, mainly porridge and vegetable products, meat, milk. Because they didn't have hypermarkets full of sausages and cheeses. As the saying goes, what they grow up is what they ate. That is why they were healthy.

Regardless of nationality and climate conditions, a person will be healthy if he refuses artificially created products: chips, pizzas, cakes, food, abundantly filled with sugar.

It turns out that organizing healthy is very simple. You can borrow some recipes and concepts from the ancients, transfer them to modern life. The basis of the diet is to make easy-to-cook meals from vegetables, livestock meat, fish, add fruits, cereals and root crops.

The traditional cuisine of the Russian people has partially preserved the ancient recipes. The Slavs were engaged in the cultivation of grain crops: barley, rye, oats, millet and wheat. They prepared ceremonial porridge from cereals with honey - kutya, the rest of the cereals were cooked from flour, crushed grains. Garden crops were grown: cabbage, cucumbers, rutabagas, radishes, turnips.

Meat was consumed in different ways, beef, pork, there are even some records of horse meat, but this was most likely in the years of famine. Often meat was cooked on charcoal, this method of baking was found among other peoples, was widespread. All these references date back to the 10th century.

Russian chefs honored and kept traditions, you can learn about this from old books, such as "Painting for the Tsar's Food", monastic writings, the canteen book of Patriarch Filaret. These scriptures mention traditional dishes: cabbage soup, fish soup, pancakes, pies, various pies, kvass, jelly and porridge.

Basically, healthy food in ancient Russia was due to the preparation of food in a large oven, which was in every home.

The Russian stove was located with its mouth to the doors, so that the smoke when cooking was blown out of the room. When cooking, all the same, the smell of smoke remained on the food, which gave a special taste to the dishes. Most often, soups in pots were cooked in the Russian oven, vegetables were stewed in cast iron pots, something was baked, meat and fish were fried in large pieces, all this was dictated by the conditions of cooking. And as you know, healthy eating is based precisely on boiled and stewed dishes.

Around the 16th century, the division of food into 3 main branches began:

• Monastic (base - vegetables, herbs, fruits);
• Rural;
• Tsarskaya.

The most important meal was lunch - 4 dishes were served:

• Cold appetizer;
• Second;
• Pies.

The appetizers were varied, but mostly vegetable salads. Instead of soup in winter, they often ate jelly or pickle, and cabbage soup was served with pies and fish. Most often they drank fruit and berry juices, herbal infusions; the oldest drink is considered to be bread kvass, which could be made with the addition of mint, berries and the like.

On holidays, there was often a large number of dishes, for rural residents it reached 15, for boyars up to 50, and at royal feasts up to 200 types of food were served. Often festive feasts lasted more than 4 hours, reaching 8. It was customary to drink honey before and after meals, during the feast they often drank kvass and beer.

The character of the cuisine has retained traditional features in all 3 directions to this day. The principles of traditional nutrition fully coincide with the now known rules of healthy.

The basis of the diet was put forward vegetables, cereals and meat, there was no a large number sweets, pure sugar was absent altogether, honey was used instead. Until a certain time there was no tea and coffee, they drank various juices and brewed herbs.

Salt in the diet of our ancestors was also in very limited quantities due to its cost.

It is also worth noting that both the Slavs and the peasants were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, and this is hard physical labor, so they could afford to eat fatty meat and fish. Despite the widespread belief that boiled potatoes with herbs are a primordially Russian dish, this is not at all the case. Potatoes appeared and took root in our diet only in the 18th century.

How did the paleo diet come about?

You can dig deeper and remember that really healthy eating existed even in the Stone Age. Did the ancient people live without sandwiches and donuts? And they were strong and healthy. The paleontological diet is gaining popularity now. Its essence is to give up dairy products and cereal foods (bread, pasta).

The main argument in favor of this diet is as follows: the human body has adapted to life in the Stone Age and, since our genetic makeup has remained practically unchanged, the food of cavemen is the most suitable for us.

Basic principles:

• Meat, fish, vegetables, fruits can be eaten in any quantity;
• Salt is excluded from the diet;
• You will also have to give up beans, cereals, industrial products (cookies, sweets, cakes, chocolate bars) and dairy products.

Menu for the day:

• Steamed pike perch, melon, together up to 500 grams;
• Vegetable and walnut salad (unlimited), lean beef or pork baked in the oven, up to 100 grams;
• Lean beef, steamed, up to 250 grams, avocado salad, up to 250 grams;
• Some kind of fruit or a handful of berries;
• Carrot and apple salad, half an orange.

However, it is worth considering that such food is more reminiscent than healthy, because a modern person draws about 70% of his energy from cereals and dairy products.

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