There are many unique recipes in the national Russian cuisine , the true origin of which even experts cannot say with full confidence. It is still unknown, for example, who invented the okroshka and what initial set of products was used for its preparation.
Name secret
The history of Russian national cuisine dates back several centuries. During this time, it was replenished with new dishes, whose names today sound quite unusual. True, there is one secret. All these names are speaking. That is, it is easy to guess from them how this or that product is prepared. For example, it is not known for certain who invented the okroshka, but everyone knows that this is a traditional cold soup for Russia. The way of its preparation lies already in the name, because the word “okroshka” itself comes from the well-known verb “crumble”, which means finely chopped.
From here it is clear that large pieces of products for such a dish will not work. The one who invented okroshka tried to grind them as much as possible. This is what is the main feature of the old cold soup. But the name of its creator has not reached our days. Although, perhaps, he was not one person. It is now the chefs are trying to give their inventions sonorous names. Previously, culinary innovations appeared solely as an opportunity to adapt different products for use in food.
Dish composition
History does not know who invented the okroshka. Only the composition of this unusual dish has survived to our days . 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 bulk material was poured with liquid dressing, which is usually used kvass. But there are other options. Recipes are known where okroshka is made on the basis of:
- beer
- whey;
- diluted vinegar;
- kefir;
- mineral water;
- birch kvass;
- Kombucha
- meat or beet broth;
- tomato juice;
- cucumber pickle.
Each of these liquid fractions provides a special set of ingredients for the preparation of the famous cold soup. In different regions of Russia there is an individual version 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 “Lent and fast-food table”, published in 1880.
The following products were listed as main ingredients: 400 grams of boiled beef (or any fish), half a liter of kvass, 4 boiled eggs, a liter of sour cabbage soup (meaning a malt drink, not cabbage soup), a glass of sour cream, greens (feather onions and dill), 4 cucumbers and crayfish.
The book described a rather interesting way of cooking:
- First of all, all components (meat, eggs, greens and cucumbers) must be carefully chopped.
- After that, they must be put in a deep bowl.
- Salt, add sour cream and mix well.
- Pour the resulting mass with kvass or cabbage soup. In the second case, the dish will have a more intense and pronounced taste.
- Put the cervical necks, pieces of ice and mix again.
You can eat such a soup only after it is well infused and cooled.
Interesting Facts
Some scholars have suggested that the history of okroshka is directly related to the barge haulers. It is believed that they came up with the mix of such different products. In the old days on the Volga, manual labor was used to move goods across the water. Groups of people using strong ropes pulled goods barges along the coast. Lunch of barge haulers, as a rule, consisted of kvass and dried fish (roach). Now hardly anyone will like such a menu. But then the peasants had no other choice and they had to somehow adapt. There were no dentists in those days, and it was difficult to cope with hard food with groomed, ill teeth. Therefore, before eating, they soaked the roach in kvass. The fish became softer and could be easily bitten. Later, to make the dish more satisfying, various vegetables (turnips, potatoes and others) were added to it. So the usual snack gradually turned into a soup, which over the years gained immense popularity.
In the best traditions
Initially, as you know, okroshka was cooked on kvass. The classic recipe has changed a bit over time.
Today it is customary to use such a dish: 300 grams of potatoes and fresh cucumbers, 4 chicken eggs, a teaspoon of salt, 200 grams of radish and boiled sausage, and 30 grams of parsley, green onion and dill.
The process technology includes several steps:
- First, boil the potatoes and eggs, and then cool and peel.
- After that, they, along with cucumbers and sausage should be cut into small cubes.
- Radishes can be chopped or cut into thin slices.
- Collect the prepared ingredients in one bowl.
- Rinse the greens well, finely chop and add to the rest of the products.
- Salt, and then mix thoroughly.
- Pour the mixture with kvass.
- Put a little sour cream before serving.
It turns out a wonderful okroshka on kvass. The classic recipe is quite simple, so you can cook the dish for half an hour. It is fast, convenient and very tasty.
Vegetarian option
Now it’s hard to say who came up with okroshka with kvass. But it doesn’t matter, because people eventually learned to cook the most varied versions of this original dish on the basis of the main recipe. For those who prefer vegetarian food, you can offer a not quite ordinary soup, in which there is no meat, fish and eggs.
To work, you need to use the following components: 0.5 liters of special okrosy kvass, 400 grams of lettuce, 30 grams of wild garlic, 1 fresh cucumber, salt, 4 tablespoons of chopped mint leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, sour cream, 4 grams of sugar and ground pepper .
Preparing such an okroshka is very simple:
- Finely chop the cucumber salad and add the crushed garlic.
- Combine the products with mint and sprinkle them with sugar.
- Add salt, pepper and pour all this with kvass.
- Put sour cream and stir well.
Before serving, add a little chopped wild garlic to each plate separately. If desired, the work can be simplified and with the help of a blender prepare soup puree.
Interesting assumption
In official sources there is no specific information about who and when invented okroshka. Nevertheless, some historians believe that this culinary invention dates back to the 10th century. Then Russia was ruled by the famous Prince Vladimir. Some chronicles preserved records of how in 989 he issued a decree to distribute honey, food and kvass to all peasants. From this we can conclude that it was then that the idea of the first dressing for an old cold soup came up. Therefore, the end of the tenth century can rightfully be considered the starting point of the very idea of making okroshka. Since then, every housewife has learned to cook this dish using products that were available in the house.
In those years, people ate almost any food with brown bread and fresh onions. This habit has survived almost unchanged to our days. Now bread is also a compulsory addition to the table, and onions are part of many dishes. The idea of making okroshka has survived, which over time has only been supplemented with new components.
Sour milk dressing
Nowadays okroshka can be found even in the menu of many restaurants. True, kvass is rarely taken for refueling. As a liquid fraction, various fermented milk products are used more. For example, you can consider a simple method of how to cook okroshka on serum.
To do this, you will 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 herbs (dill, parsley).
The cooking method is similar to the previous options:
- Boil the meat, then cool and cut into small pieces.
- Potatoes and eggs, too, must first be boiled, and then peeled and cut into cubes.
- Chop the cucumber with slices of the same shape, and it is better to chop the radish in a blender.
- Put the products in a common plate and sprinkle with chopped herbs.
- Pour in whey, add lemon juice and salt.
Before eating, put a little sour cream on each plate separately.
Variations on the theme of okroshka
Many cookbooks have a cold soup recipe called okroshka. Russian cuisine stores dozens of ways to cook it. For example, a book by Vasily Levshin published in the nineties of the eighteenth century describes a variant of soup that does not contain potatoes. Of the products for its preparation are used: fried meat, onions, cucumbers (salted and fresh), vinegar, salted plums and kvass.
Everything is done very simply:
- First pickles must be chopped into strips.
- Do the same with plums, after removing the seeds from them.
- Finely chop the onion. You can use either bulb or green feather.
- Cut the meat from the bone and chop it randomly with straws.
- Combine the ground ingredients together.
- Add 2 tablespoons of plum and cucumber brine.
- Pour in a little apple cider vinegar.
- Fill everything with kvass.
This option is very convenient, because it allows you to use the simplest products that can remain in the refrigerator after yesterday's dinner.
Similar option
A little earlier, this dish appeared in the book of Nikolai Osipov, “An Old Russian Mistress, Housekeeper and Cook”. It also described a recipe for a refreshing soup filled with kvass. The difference with the other numerous recipes consists only in the fact 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 kvass is that before the product was white and completely unsweetened. He played the role of a refreshing component, for the preparation of which was used wort from rye flour and sourdough in the form of malt. Nowadays, you can do it yourself. For this you will 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:
- First, the bread should be arbitrarily cut and browned to a dark brown color.
- Pour the food with water and leave them alone for 5 hours.
- Strain the infusion and add pre-diluted yeast and sugar to it.
After eight hours of insistence, the okroshny kvass will be ready.
On a hot day
When it's hot outside, it's unlikely anyone will want to eat hot soups. For a long time, such first courses as okroshka, botvini and a cold were popular in Russia. During the hot summer, they helped to escape from the effects of scorching heat. Among these three options, particular attention is attracted to Botvini. Cooking it is as easy 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.
It is necessary to prepare the soup in stages:
- First spinach with sorrel must be washed, boiled, and then grind the products through a sieve and dilute with ready-made kvass.
- Add diced cucumbers and grated onion with salt.
- Sprinkle with sugar, salt and chopped dill.
- Pour the finished soup into plates.
Immediately before use, it remains only to add horseradish, put pieces of boiled fish and a few ice cubes (for cooling).