Orthodox cuisine is delicious! What do you eat during Lent?

The power of family in Orthodox cuisine

One of the tenets of the Christian faith is family traditions. And this is closely intertwined with the basis of our mentality: family is the main thing. The hearth symbolizes the strength of the family, and food and feasts unite relatives. At the same time, from time immemorial, the eldest woman has always done the cooking. Each housewife had her own recipes for preparing various dishes, from bread to preparations for future use. Times have changed, but the main goal of home cooking remains health, both mental and physical. Physically, it’s clear why, but spiritually, because at the table the family communicates, takes care of each other, each family member feels comfort and support. And Orthodoxy strongly supports this tradition to this day. However, many people remember traditions only on fasting days, confusing fasting itself with a diet.

Traditions of the Orthodox family meal

One of the problems of modern families is the lack of a culture of family meals, a departure from the traditions of Holy Rus', in the era of which one of the important responsibilities of women was to feed their household with delicious home-cooked food. In our age of ultra-fast pace, women are no less busy at work than men; due to lack of free time, an increasing number of people prefer not to bother themselves with preparing home-cooked food, but instead visit catering cafes.

Parents and children are alienated from the Christian traditions of our ancestors, for whom gathering at a common table was a joyful daily event. Their family food culture was at a very high level; in the old days it was customary to receive guests and treat them to various dishes. Even in those families where there was little income, they tried to prepare simple, but at the same time tasty food. The traditions of tasty and healthy food are vividly and colorfully described in Orthodox literature of past years, which clearly shows how important people were to family events, among which sharing a meal was one of the main home events.

Housewives prepared food with prayer; before eating the food, the whole family also prayed. Such food, according to Orthodox teaching, is useful not only for a person’s physical health, but also for his spiritual health.

What is modern food culture? This is, first of all, a lack of coziness, comfort, and community. Eating on the go, in a hurry, divides rather than unites people. And in the catering establishments themselves there is most often noise, din, loud music. All this distracts people from each other, interferes with communication and emotional closeness.

Since ancient times, Slavic women have been famous for their ability to cook deliciously. A girl who was skilled in culinary skills was considered an enviable bride. A woman who knew how to cook well was the pride of her husband, the source of his joy.

But what about the culinary talents of women these days? Some modern brides direct most of their efforts to improving their appearance, considering their initial responsibility to look “at 100.” Female beauty is, of course, an undeniable plus for every girl, but the ability to cook deliciously should still be a priority. No chic restaurants or gourmet dishes can replace a man’s meal prepared by his beloved wife. Every man, even an ardent lover of restaurants and fast food, even before the wedding dreams that after marriage his wife will try to cook tasty and healthy food.

In Orthodox families of past centuries, girls from an early age helped their mothers and grandmothers prepare food. At the age of 16, girls could already be full-fledged housewives.

Many modern girls are not taught by their parents that they are future housewives and homemakers. They grow into well-groomed, beautiful, but completely helpless “dolls” in everyday life. “Be a woman, not a servant,” modern advertising urges. In families where it was customary to eat processed foods, grown-up children implement this practice in their adult lives. The real problems begin when a husband, accustomed to home-cooked food, lives with a wife whose parents did not attach much importance to the culture of home-cooked food. Replacing healthy food with semi-finished products and “fast food” is a sign of a lack of proper care on the part of the wife, her inattention to the health of family members. After all, it has long been known that fast food has a detrimental effect on the human body, creating favorable conditions for the development of diseases. Unfortunately, many do not want to remember this, giving up on the warnings of doctors. “Maybe it will blow by...”, fans of junk food hope.

The main secret of tasty and healthy food is prayer and love put into the work. Only then will the process of preparing food itself bring joy, and the dishes will benefit those who eat them.

One day, the great Kiev prince Izyaslav visited the monastery of St. Theodosius of Pechersk (+1074) and stayed to dine with him. On the table there was simple monastic food - black bread and vegetables. But this food seemed so tasty to the prince that he asked the monk: “I have a lot of everything, expensive supplies, overseas seasoning. Learned cooks - but I have never eaten with such taste as yours. Why is this?

“Sovereign!” answered the holy elder. “Our brethren, when they cook food or bake bread, first take a blessing from the abbot, then make three bows in front of the altar, light a candle from a lamp in front of the icon of the Savior, and with this candle they light a fire in the kitchen and bakery . When it is necessary to pour water into the cauldron, the servant also asks the elder for this blessing. Thus, everything is done with blessing. That's the reason why everything here is so delicious. Your servants begin every task with grumbling and annoyance at each other. And where there is sin, there can be no pleasure; besides, your courtyard managers often beat servants for the slightest offense; and the tears of the offended also add a lot of bitterness to the food, no matter how expensive they are.”

Grand Duke Izyaslav could not but agree with the correctness of the words of Saint Theodosius. We should remember the same thing.

Source: vichuga-voskr.cerkov.ru

Orthodox cuisine is not a diet!

Recipes for Orthodox dishes are rich and varied. Even during Lent, old people, the sick, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children under 14 are allowed to eat meat and other “forbidden” foods.

For those who decide to fast, there are no standards either for the number of dishes or for the frequency of meals. Everyone decides for themselves when and how much food they need for normal life and work. If a person feels great, the amount of food should be reduced within reasonable limits.

Any restriction in food products is not intended to make believers faint from hunger. Fasting heals body and soul, for in a healthy body there is a healthy spirit. Problems with the gastrointestinal tract that arise due to too ardent adherence to fasting will not bring anyone closer to the Lord. On the contrary, a person will think not about God and the salvation of the soul, but about illnesses and expenses for examinations and medicines.

During the divine service during Lent it is said: “Let us fast a pleasant fast, pleasing to the Lord.” God does not call anyone to harm their health.

Calendar of fasts and meals

What can and cannot be eaten during Lent?

Orthodox cuisine during Lent is very simple. In addition to animal foods, all dairy and fermented milk products are excluded from the daily diet, even if their fat content is zero.

Lent brings the body back to normal, and a healthy person should adhere to a diet that has been tested for thousands of years.

Vegetable oil can be added to soups and hot dishes, as well as on weekends and holidays during Lent. Fish is a lean product, but it is eaten depending on the severity of the fast; for this you need to check the calendar. For example, during Lent, fish can only be eaten on Annunciation and Palm Sunday. Caviar is equal to fish and is allowed on fasting days.

There is no clear point of view regarding seafood. It is believed that seafood can be eaten on any day when vegetable oil is allowed.

On weekends and holidays of any fast, you can drink a glass of wine a day.

Not a single day is complete without bread, it all depends on its composition. Buying from a church store or baking at home is the housewife’s choice.

The uniqueness of original Russian cuisine

Russia is a territory where a wide variety of nationalities live, each of them has added its own flavor to Russian cuisine, making it original and unique.

The Russian people are famous like no other in the world:

• an abundance of treats;
• variety of snacks;
• a variety of first courses;
• unique recipes for pickling vegetables, mushrooms and fruits;
• delicious baked goods;
• various fish products.

Russian Orthodox cuisine has been formed over centuries, maintaining the traditions of its ancestors and strictly observing all the laws of the Church. Foreign tourists and people living abroad consider caviar, red and black, cabbage soup, Ural dumplings, pancakes and pies, which have no equal in the whole world, to be a symbol of Russian cuisine.

It was Russia that gave the world more than 60 cabbage soup recipes. The Russian summer menu is rich in cold soup recipes. They are prepared lean and with meat, using kvass, kefir and beet broth. Thanks to the early invention of yeast, Russian women learned to create baking miracles that made Russian cuisine famous throughout the world. Lush rolls and crumpets, kulebyaki and pies with all kinds of fillings, pancakes, pancakes and pancakes evoke a huge appetite just by their names.

Being an agricultural country for a long time, our ancestors came up with a wide range of dishes based on cereals and vegetables. Various porridges are served with dairy products, fish and meat. Unique recipes from rutabaga, turnips, radishes are so captivating with the taste of the prepared dishes that sometimes it is hard to believe that they are based on simple root vegetables.

Potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants appeared on Russian menus only at the end of the eighteenth century. Nowhere else in the world are there an abundance of recipes for preparing pickled apples. Meat preparations differ from world recipes in the abundance of dishes made from offal. Jellied meat, beloved by all the peoples of Russia, is one of the unique inventions of the Slavic peoples.

Only in Russia can they serve exclusively prepared and decorated game, the list of which includes:

• hazel grouse;
• hares;
• wild ducks and geese;
• black grouse.

The presence of forests has added variety to the menu of the Russian people. The berries are used as a filling for pies and pancakes, they are used to make jam and prepare fruit drinks.

Forest gifts, including nuts and mushrooms, which are salted, dried, pickled, and stored for the winter, are a good help, because Lent is ahead.

Russia is an Orthodox country, and according to the charter of the Church, people live in fasting for more than 200 days, this explains the close connection between Russian cuisine and Orthodoxy.

Is it possible for Orthodox Christians to cook dishes with blood?

The entire Internet space is filled with controversy on this issue. Opponents of the preparation of the original Russian dish, blood, are based on God’s prohibition to eat blood, because it contains the soul. (Leviticus 17:14).

Jews still, when preparing meat dishes, first drain all the blood from the animal, and then soak the meat. Christians who have accepted the command of God as law do the same.

Many priests allow the consumption of blood and steaks with blood, claiming that the Blood of Jesus Christ washed Christians from all Old Testament prohibitions.

In this case, each Christian makes his own choice.

The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 15:11) says that food cannot defile a person; it is sin that it comes out of the mouth not according to the laws of mercy and love.

Weeks when there is no fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays

There are several weeks during the year when you can eat a variety of foods for 7 days. These weeks are called continuous weeks.

During Christmastide (January 7 - 18), you can eat everything, but do not forget that gluttony is a sin from the position of the Church and is completely unhealthy.

For two weeks, in 2021 it is January 29 - February 11, before Lent you can enjoy eating fast food.

During Cheese Maslenitsa, in the last week before strict abstinence, you can eat everything except meat products.

You don’t have to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays of Bright Week after Easter and 7 whole days after Trinity, and in 2021 it’s May 28 - June 3.

Christian table in the first centuries

Many Christians of the 1st century. n. e. continued to consider themselves Jews and therefore adhered to the everyday traditions of their fathers. The successes of preaching the Gospel soon raised the acute question of how necessary it is for newly converted pagans and for Christians in general to follow kashrut (a Jewish tradition that regulated the permissibility of consuming certain foods - hence the familiar term “kosher”). The problem was already solved in apostolic times. Almost all of the first Christian communities recognized adherence to the gastronomic prohibitions accepted in Judaism as optional. The rationale for the break with the previous culinary tradition was the plot with the vision of the Apostle Peter. He saw a vessel containing various foods forbidden to the Jews. Then a mysterious voice commanded the apostle to eat it, but Peter refused, citing precisely the religious inadmissibility of eating such food. “What God has cleansed, do not consider unclean,” the voice answered him then. This story from the book of Acts was then interpreted as permission for Christians to eat any food, even unclean food, forbidden by Jewish law. Although some Christian apologists continued to argue that the refusal of products prohibited by the Law for a Christian believer, although not obligatory, is desirable. Thus, even in the 3rd century, Clement of Alexandria urged his readers not to eat pork and some types of fish as unhealthy products.