Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)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.
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"Joyce Toomre... has accomplished an enormous task, fully on a parwith the original author's slave labor. Her extensive preface and her detailed andentertaining notes are marvelous." -- Tatyana Tolstaya, New York Review ofBooks"Classic Russian Cooking is a book that I highlyrecommend. Joyce Toomre has done a marvelous job of translating this valuable andfascinating source book. It's the Fanny Farmer and Isabella Beeton of Russia's 19thcentury." -- Julia Child, Food Arts"This is a deliciousbook, and Indiana University Press has served it up beautifully." -- RussianReview"... should become as much of a classic as the Russianoriginal... dazzling and admirable expedition into Russia's kitchens andcuisine." -- Slavic Review"It gives a delightful andfascinating picture of the foods of pre-Communist Russia." -- The ChristianScience MonitorFirst published in 1861, this "bible" ofRussian homemakers offered not only a compendium of recipes, but also instructionsabout such matters as setting up a kitchen, managing servants, shopping, and properwinter storage. Joyce Toomre has superbly translated and annotated over one thousandof the recipes and has written a thorough and fascinating introduction whichdiscusses the history of Russian cuisine and summarizes Molokhovets' advice onhousehold management. A treasure trove for culinary historians, serious cooks andcookbook readers, and scholars of Russian history and culture.
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