Customer Reviews

Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets' "A Gift to Young Housewives"

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So far I did not have a chance to see an American version of Madame Molokhovet's, only the Russian one. But since probably nobody knows about this book in US, and I turned out to be the first one to review it, I have to "break the ground" and drop a couple of lines.

The original version, first published at the end of the XIXth century, had a goal to help young middle-class housewives covering a wide range of issues from hiring servants to shopping for the house. The recipes were only a part of what can be called an "encyclopedia on running the house".

During the Soviet times there was almost no opportunity to use it because it was almost impossible to buy the ingredients. However, the book was still fun to read. It gives a good picture of the Russian culture of the time.

The recipe part (of the original version) is very thorough and understandable. However, most of the dishes require considerable time, exquisite ingredients and, in many cases, help of another person. However, trying them pays off, for they help you to discover REAL Russian cuisine, very different from "chicken-Kiev" and other tourist traps.

I would recommend this book to those who love Russia, are interested in Russian culture and like to cook something very unconventional. Very curious to see the American version.

My grandmother immigrated to Canada from Russia well over a century ago and lived to the age of 104. With her she brought many authentic Russian recipes, but alas, they remained in her head and not on paper. This cookbook comes very close to the recipes I, as a child, can remember her preparing. Yes, it is true, that some aspects of the recipes found here are lost in the translation, particularly when it comes to measurements; however, in reality, that is how my grandmother, and many Russian homemakers in her time, prepared a meal. There was no such thing as a teaspoon of this or a cup of that. Accurate meansurements would have meant nothing to my grandmother, for like many immigrants in the 1800's she had little scholastic education. Her education came from the "school of hard knocks" and life's experiences. Measurements included "a little of this a small handful of that." I can remember her placing three fingers in a small cup and when the liquid reached the top, that was how much one used. Confusing? Yes, for the traditional chef, it would be. However, as one becomes experienced with Russian cooking, the delicious recipes found here will not seem like such a challenge to prepare - trial and error is often the best way of learning.

This is such a classic that it was intended, in the past, to be given to young housewives to be a much-used reference. As such, in addition to the predictable recipes for coulibiac (fish in pastry crust), sturgeon, borscht, kasha and Russian sweets, there is a wide variety of household food preservation and preparation you just don't find in today's cookbooks. Such as--butchering a pig and then portioning out, preserving and preparing the resulting meats. NOT for vegans or the fainthearted, believe me. Also, there are recipes for improving the flavor of homemade vodka (including how to make birch charcoal for the purpose.) And how to make imitation butter from mutton fat, how to get rid of the off-flavor in butter that is going rancid.

If you are a home-brewer, this is a surprisingly good book for making such things as mead and fruit wines and liquers. One caveat for the whole book; measurements are either baffling, in Russian terminology that has no English referent, or "two wineglasses" , etc. And for brewers, it requires some basic knowledge of the process.

For cooking, there are a lot of beef and fish recipes but the borscht recipes were disappointing as there were only of few of these and there are LOTS of ways to make borscht. However, for interesting reading on food history and technique, and for some authentic Russian cooking, this book is absolutely fascinating reading.

I'm really just beginning with this book, but it is already frustrating. Some reasons: Measurements are given oddly, like 1/2 pound flour, 2 glasses water. There will be an instruction to "bake" without mention of temperature or time. There will often be ingredients in the list which are not mentioned in the instructions. It seems to me that it was written as a technical reference for someone that already knew what they were doing in this cuisine. I strongly recommend that in future editions there be some editing and clarification done along with translation.

The title of the book is misleading. IT IS NOT a translation of ELENA MILOKHOVET's famous book. It is ONLY selections from the great book. This is so small a part of the book, I can only give 3 stars. The Classic Russian Cooking is a shadow of the Russian original. It is a nice addition for those who have the Art of Russian Cuisine. Until this great cookbook is 100% translated, I recommend The Art of Russian Cuisine by Anne Volokh for those wanting to learn classic Russian cooking.

I wait a full translation of Elena Molokhovet's "A Gift to Young Housewives". The limited parts translated are well done. It is a real shame that this book is only selections.

I found this book recommended to me by my Russian professor, and after eating at a Russian dinner hosted by my university's Russian club, I decided I really had to have this book. It has an excellent introduction which covers a large variety of topics on Russian cooking through the years. Another thing I like about it is that it uses mainly ingredients that are commonly available today. Although a few of the ingredients used are highly unusual today (like dried backbone of a fish), they appear in relatively few of the recipies. I am anticipating cooking recipies from it!

I seriously dislike when translators change the nature of books by seletive translation. "Oh, I don't think this sections is interesting. Let's not bother translating it." This book only includes 25% or the recipes in the original. No kidding; most of the recipes have been removed. The translater also has the audacity to remove the author's name from the spine of the book. Instead she puts her own name there as if the book was written by her. What kind of person would do such a thing? The book also contain a longer, scholarly, and fairly interesting introduction by the translator.

The book is still valuable for the historian who wants to know more about life in Russia 100 years ago. You certainly can cook from this book, even though the translator kind of wonders why you would do such a thing. You should know that the translator must be as as far removed from being a foodie as possible. There is not a single word signalling that the author has any kind of passion for food. So for the cook who wants to cook Russian food you just have to accept that the translator removed 75% of the recipes. The back of the book lists the title of all the removed recipes.

It looks like we will have to wait for the full translation of this book.

Another not so good book is The Art of Russian Cuisine, which has taken a lot of recipes from Molokhovets book. However, since this book was written by an exiled Russian in the 1980s, it is quite dreary reading. The choices of recipes included are a product of the author's Soviet upbringing. Not at all the strange and interesting dishes found in Molokhovets book.

Finally, the third Russian cookbook that I am familiar with is Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, which is written by a very passionate person who loves food.

This is a very good book to perfect your recipies, if you are familiar with Russian kitchen.
But in general it is a very interesting book to learn about other country's etiquiet , favorite foods and recipies to try.