We can confidently say that cabbage soup is only a Russian dish, because no foreigner can clearly pronounce this name, and in special foreign literature cabbage soup is called cabbage soup, and its recipe is extremely rare in cookbooks.
By the cabbage soup you can study history, geography and literature, from oral folk art to the works of the great Russian classics.
Each housewife knows a couple of cabbage soup recipes prepared by her mother and grandmother. But this is within the framework of a single family, in a particular area. In the neighboring region, they can be cooked differently, and on the outskirts of immense Russia, where Russian traditions and culture are closely intertwined with the traditions of other peoples, the differences in cooking are sometimes even surprising.
If you push the boundaries of time and space, then cabbage soup is much more interesting, which we will now try to understand in more detail and with examples.
Sauerkraut cabbage with pork - the main technological moments
Cabbage is the basis of cabbage soup. This has happened since the ninth century, when this vegetable began to be cultivated in Russia. In summer and autumn - fresh leaves, in winter - sour, pickled. There are recipes for cabbage soup using sorrel, nettle, and other herbs. But sauerkraut is the hallmark of an old Russian dish.
Old recipes for cabbage soup are minimalist. In addition to cabbage, they contain very few herbs and roots. Later, spices were added to cabbage soup, but in small quantities. Until the sixteenth century, cabbage soup was more like a drink. Meat and fish products have gradually grown to the vegetable base.
Cabbage soup based on meat or fish broth in ancient Russian cuisine was a privilege of the nobility. Poor peasants could afford such luxury only on major Orthodox holidays: Russian cuisine was formed not only under the influence of neighboring states and traditions of other peoples, but had a social stratification, and was largely oriented towards observing Orthodox canons.
Therefore, there are still varieties of cabbage soup:
- Seedlings - using young cabbage leaves;
- Green - from nettle, sorrel and other leafy greens
- Lenten - with mushrooms, beans, etc.
- Fish - this kind of cabbage is rarely prepared, since a good fish broth requires the use of sturgeon and several types of river fish;
- Rich cabbage soup (or full) - with meat or fish, sauerkraut and porcini mushrooms; they are also called merchants;
- Prefabricated - with several types of meat and meat products. In modern cooking, cabbage soup teams can be cooked on meat broth with the addition of ham, smoked and raw smoked sausages, which go well with sauerkraut. Such cabbage soup served to the boyar table and have a second, corresponding name;
Perhaps, we will consider the preparation of meat broth for cabbage soup in detail so as not to repeat the technology of its preparation in each recipe, which are attached below.
The rules of the perfect broth for meat first courses
For soups, cabbage soup and borscht, sets of tubular bones and joints are ideal. The broth from them turns out to be extremely tasty and rich. If you want a delicious first course, make a bone broth. You can add anything further. Even if there is no other meat, then the "sugar" seeds will be enough to form a breathtaking taste.
Do not forget to remove the foam before the boil begins, and shortly before the end of cooking, add pieces of roots, bay leaf, pepper, and onion. Filter the broth. If there is meat on the bones, collect it and return it to the liquid at the end of the soup preparation.
The broth should languish for at least two hours, and add the pork loin one hour before the end of cooking, so that the meat has time to cook. Soak the pulp in water in advance to make the broth clear. Boil the whole pork so that the flesh is more juicy, and before serving, cut into portions and put in plates.
Bring the prepared broth to a boil and reduce the heat. Next cabbage soup should cook in the mode of languor; This cooking technology is closest to boiling cabbage in a Russian oven and makes their taste special.
What is thickening of soups, and is it necessary to thicken cabbage soup with sauerkraut and pork?
In the old days, the poor, who did not have meat on tables even on holidays, seasoned cabbage soup with flour or boiled potatoes in water, and even earlier - turnips so that lean broth was more satisfying. The issue of thickening the meat broth is decided individually, it depends on the taste and level of appetite.
The energy value of meat broth is much higher than that of a vegetable broth. Meat increases the calorie content of the dish, but well-cooked vegetables give a different taste to the broth. Moreover, our grandmothers boiled the whole potato, then knead it in a mortar and return it back to the pan - it was very tasty.
Flour, as one of the methods of thickening, it is desirable to fry in a pan until creamy. Although traditional Russian cabbage soup differs from all other first courses with the laying of raw products, except cabbage, it is pre-stewed separately.
To thicken cabbage soup, you can use mushrooms, beans, apples. In some southern regions, an egg chatter is added to the cabbage soup - raw eggs are combined with a small part of the warm broth, beat and poured into the cabbage soup at the end of cooking.
Until the nineteenth century in Russia, spelled (a very hard wheat variety) was a very revered grain. In the southern regions of Russia and among the peoples inhabiting the Volga region, cabbage soup was prepared, including with spelled. But because of the extraordinary hardness, the cereals were pre-soaked in yogurt, then washed and fried with onions. In this form, it was added to cabbage soup. Now also often add cereals: millet, rice, wheat, Artek.
However, the rich and absolutely transparent meat broth for cabbage soup is no worse than thick. In this transparency of soups, a French trace is openly visible: the impoverished "monsieur Monsieur", impoverished in their homeland, as the great Russian poet called them, poured into Russia in the nineteenth century, taught us wisdom, French, refined manners, and at the same time decided to teach how to cook Russian cabbage soup, in French.
I must say that the French culinary school at first took root only among the boyar and merchant nobles, persons close to the court. Ordinary people remained faithful to ancient Slavic traditions. Therefore, from the beginning of the nineteenth century cabbage soup was divided into thick, with additives, and transparent, rich - with meat. Such a class division of cabbage soup existed until the beginning of the twentieth century. Try both - long live the diversity!
What is whitewash and what is it for?
Sour cream and cream not only enrich the taste of the dish, but make it different. These products also “whiten” cabbage soup. Whitewash is necessary for cabbage soup from sorrel, and in cabbage soup with cabbage they are added at will.
About the methods of making cabbage sauerkraut with pork
As already noted, the main principle of cooking cabbage soup is a special heat treatment - they are not boiled, but they are tormented. This mode brings the taste of the dish as close as possible to that of dishes from the Russian oven. It is clear that now not every villager will be able to accurately reproduce the process of such preparation.
But even in modern conditions, you can get as close as possible to cooking cabbage soup in a Russian oven, at a temperature “after bread”, which corresponded to approximately 85-95C. That is, liquid food at this temperature does not boil, but is pasteurized for a long time. Modern ovens and crock-pots are equipped with timers and thermometers. They are available in almost every home, which means there is a chance to try real cabbage soup.
Separately, you need to talk about daily cabbage soup, because this is not some kind of special recipe, according to the composition of the ingredients, but a special thermal method of preparation. Daily cabbage soup after cooking is slowly cooled: after cooking they are wrapped for 3-4 hours, and then exposed to cold for a day. Before serving, they must be heated in the oven or microwave. Often the surface of the pot, in which the daily cabbage soup is prepared, is tightly closed with yeast dough - flat cake, in order to better preserve the aromatic flavor. Sprinkle the dough with caraway seeds or rub with a mixture of oil, garlic, chopped herbs. In this case, bread is not needed for soup.
1. Sauerkraut with pork, Little Russian
In Russian cuisine, cabbage soup is traditionally prepared from beef. In the southern and western regions, poultry and pork are used. A small piece of low-fat pork fillet and a lot of “sugar” seeds - a meat set that creates the characteristic south-western flavor of Russian cabbage soup. For thickening use potatoes, for whitewash - sour cream.
Products:
Soup set 500 g
Pork pulp 900 g
Water 3.5 L
Cabbage with brine 700 g
Celery, parsley, yellow carrots (roots) - to taste
Leafy greens (dill, parsley) 120 g
Potato 300 g
Onion 150 g
Bay leaf, pepper mixture, coriander, salt
Sour cream
Operating procedure:
Strain the broth, temporarily put the flesh in a separate bowl, cut into portions. Since the whole flavor of the roots weathered during the cooking of the broth, put some more fresh roots with peeled potatoes: it can be cut into slices or put whole - it does not matter, but it is important that the potatoes are completely boiled. Add cabbage with brine when the potatoes are easy to break. Roots can be removed with a slotted spoon.
Chopped leafy greens, ground spices, add 10 minutes before cooking. Taste and salt. Put the chopped meat in the cabbage soup so that it is warmed before serving in the broth.
Cabbage soup according to this recipe is convenient to cook in a slow cooker. Serve by putting in each plate a piece of meat and a spoonful of sour cream.
2. Sauerkraut cabbage soup with pork and mushrooms
Products:
Bone broth 4 l
Cream (or sour cream) 250 ml
Raw eggs 4 pcs.
Cabbage1 kg
Canned Mushrooms 450 g
Onion 200 g
Pork neck 900 g
Mushrooms, white (powder) 50 g
Parsley, chopped
Bay leaf, pepper
Butter, 60 g
Salt
Work sequence:
Cook the whole meat. In a deep frying pan, dissolve the oil, pass the finely chopped onions and first put the mushrooms, sliced in slices, and then add the sauerkraut.
Cut the prepared meat, put it equally in portioned pots. Put the stewed vegetables on top, also dividing them into equal parts. Season the meat broth with mushroom powder, to enhance the mushroom taste, with ground spices, salt. Beat the eggs and combine them with cream. In a whipped mass, add a few tablespoons of warm broth to warm the cream with eggs and avoid clotting. Then pour the mixture into a hot broth, stirring continuously. With meat broth with cream and egg mass, fill the pots with liquid, covering meat, mushrooms and cabbage, 3 cm above the ground level. Sprinkle with herbs. Cover the portioned pots, place on a baking sheet and soak in the oven for 45-50 minutes at 80C.
Serve cabbage soup in pots.
3. Prefabricated cabbage sauerkraut with pork and smoked sausages
You will need:
Pork and chicken broth 3.5 l
Sausages "Hunting" 300 g
Cabbage 600 g
Boiled pork 400 g
Chopped greens, fresh 100 g
Carrot 150 g
Celery Root 50 g
Salt
Sour cream (20%) 300 ml
Spice
Fried mushrooms 400 g
Cooking:
Cut fresh roots arbitrarily, put in the finished broth. Cut boiled pork and sausages into slices. Send along with mushrooms, following the roots. You can add sauerkraut at the same time, and at the end of cooking, add cabbage soup with chopped leafy greens and spices.
This is a quick version of cabbage soup, but after cooking, soak them for about an hour in a preheated oven to combine all the flavors. When serving, add sour cream in each serving.
4. Prefabricated cabbage sauerkraut with pork, tomato and red beans
Products:
Cabbage 500 g (with brine)
Chicken thighs 4 pcs. (600 g)
Red beans, boiled 300 g
Kitchen salt
Bay leaf
Ground pepper
Vegetable oil 75 ml
Soup set (or pork ribs) 0.5 kg
Water 4.5 L
Peeled potato 350 g
Carrot 140 g
Onions 200 g
Tomato paste 50 g
Fresh pepper, leafy greens
Sour cream - for serving
Technology:
Cook the meat broth by first putting the pork ribs in cold water, and after half an hour or forty minutes add the chicken thighs. At the end of cooking, add whole roots and spices so that the meat takes on a flavor. Remove the meat products and separate them from the bones.
Return the pieces of pulp to the pan. Slice the potatoes, toss in a pot of boiled beans. Stir chopped onions, carrots with tomato paste and sauerkraut in a saucepan, then transfer the vegetables to a pan, reducing the heat.
Cook the cabbage soup for another fifteen minutes. Add chopped peppers and herbs. You can add chili, if desired. Taste it. Add spicy spices. After removing the cabbage soup from the stove, wrap it with a towel and let it brew for a bit.
5. Boyar cabbage sauerkraut with pork and porcini mushrooms in the oven
Ingredients:
Beef with bone 1.2 kg
Pork (back) 700 g
Ceps, dried 70 g
Onion 180 g
Parsley and red carrot roots
Milk 200 ml
Tomato paste 50 g
Cabbage 500 g
Salt
Potato 300 g
Culinary Fat for Passaging Vegetables 50 g
Onion
1.2 kg yeast puff pastry
Egg 1 pc.
Spices to taste
Foil, ceramic pots 8-10 pcs.
Sour cream and chopped herbs for serving
Cooking:
Beef and pork broth, with roots, cook the day before. Separate the meat from the bone, chop. Also chop the pork pulp. Strain the broth.
Mushrooms put them in a bowl and fill with fresh unpasteurized milk, cover the bowl with a film and put in a cool place for an hour or a half: milk returns to the mushrooms the aroma of freshly picked mushrooms. After rinse the mushrooms with running water, chop.
Prepare vegetables: chop onions and carrots and sauté with tomato paste for two or three minutes. Add the sauerkraut.
Arrange meat, mushrooms, potatoes and stewed vegetables in portioned pots. Pour the contents into the broth. Wrap the surface of the pots with foil. Turn on the oven at 120C. Put the jars on the pallet and put in the oven for an hour.
At this time, mold the flat cakes from the yeast dough: their diameter should be equal to the diameter of the pot, the thickness is 1.5 cm. Put the flat cakes, let them rise. Cover with a napkin
After an hour, remove the cabbage soup from the oven, remove the foil and cover the surface with semi-finished products from the dough, greasing the surface with a beaten egg. Return the pots to the oven for 20 minutes, increasing the temperature to 180C.
When the dough is browned, remove the pots and cover them with a towel for ten minutes. Serve with sour cream and herbs.
6. Don field cabbage soup with sauerkraut with pork and millet
Product Composition:
Fillet (back) 1.0 kg
Potato 450 g (net)
Onion 250 g
Red carrots 120 g
Sauerkraut 700 g
Parsley, dill, celery (leaves and stems) 150 g
Spice
Raw eggs 4 pcs.
Water 4.5 L
Garlic 50 g
Millet 150 g
Sour cream, homemade 450 g
Order of preparation:
Pour water into a large pot, put cabbage, chopped potatoes, onions, grated carrots, millet, at the same time as meat. It is advisable to pre-soak the meat in water for at least 8 hours. For camping cabbage, fresh pork can be replaced with stew. Cook until millet is cooked.Beat raw eggs and pour them in a thin stream into boiling cabbage soup, at the same time quickly rotate the contents of the pan so that thin threads form from the egg white. Add sour cream and chopped herbs to the pan. Wrap cabbage soup for half an hour, and then serve.
Sauerkraut cabbage with pork - useful tips
Cabbage soup - the only first hot dish, which the next day becomes even tastier.
In conclusion, an important detail: take the choice of utensils for preparing cabbage soup very seriously. That is what our distant ancestors did. An ideal pottery is a clay pot, but due to its specific features when leaving and inaccessibility, use at least modern ceramics and heat-resistant glass. The main thing is that the capacitance for cabbage soup should never be oxidized and have thick walls - it slowly heats up and cools.
