CCCP Cook Book: True Stories of Soviet Cuisine

Description

This book contains over 60 recipes, each introduced with an insightful historical story or anecdote, and an accompanying image, spanning such delicacies as aspic, borscht, caviar and herring, by way of bird's milk cake and pelmeni. As the Soviet Union struggled along the path to Communism, food supplies were often sporadic and shortages commonplace. Day to day living was hard, both the authorities and their citizens had to apply every ounce of ingenuity to maximize often inadequate resources. The stories and recipes contained here reflect these turbulent times: from basic subsistence meals consumed by the average citizen (okroshka), to extravagant banquets held by the political elite (suckling pig with buckwheat), and a scattering of classics (beef stroganoff) in between. Illustrated using images sourced from original Soviet recipe books collected by the author. Many of these sometimes extraordinary-looking pictures depicted dishes whose recipes used unobtainable ingredients, placing them firmly in the realm of 'aspirational' fantasy for the average Soviet household. In their content and presentation the pictures themselves act as a window into cuisine of the day, in turn revealing the unique political and social attitudes of the era.

Food for comrades.-- "The Guardian Gift Guide" Food shortages and limited access to staples like bread, milk, and fresh produce were commonplace in the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s. Whenever rations are tight, creativity rules. Every day citizens were inspired to invent dishes that sustained them through long winters and hard economic times--Daniela Galarza "Eater" From Russia with Mayonnaise--Pavel Syutkin "NPR" If you think of the Soviet period in Russia as a culinary desert, a new book in English by the country's most prominent food historians, Olga and Pavel Syutkin, may change your mind--Michele A. Berdy "The Moscow Times" Soviet food nostalgia has taken off in the last few years, as a post-Cold War generation grows up intrigued by a period which many older than them would rather forget. Soviet-style canteens like Kamchatka serve herring in a fur coat to queues of Moscow hipsters, ... Olga and Pavel Syutkin's CCCP Cook Book continues the trend, serving up recipes of Soviet-era classics while delving into the stories behind the dishes to offer a cultural history of the USSR through its food-- "The Calvert Journal" CCCP Cook Book is an amazing work of culinary history. The book as an object is a marvel... It's my new You Must Buy This Book recommendation for my foodie friends.--Christina Ward "BoingBoing"