Historical Russian Dinner Menus, Month by Month

Molokhovets organized sample dinners according to seasons and historical classes of meals. The digital library brings together 36 monthly menu lists covering all twelve months and three grouped categories: Class I, Classes II–III, and Class IV.

Those categories are the terms used by the historical book. They do not represent modern nutritional ratings or the difficulty of a recipe. They help us study how food expenses, meal composition, and household expectations were organized around 1901.

Browse all 12 months

The English directory below links to the corresponding 1901 menu in the Russian-language archive. The original pages contain references to numbered recipes and scans of the book.

January

Class I · January16 recipes · scan page 41 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · January174 recipes · scan page 47 · Russian-language source Class IV · January108 recipes · scan page 70 · Russian-language source

February

Class I · February13 recipes · scan page 41 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · February118 recipes · scan page 50 · Russian-language source Class IV · February51 recipes · scan page 72 · Russian-language source

March

Class I · March15 recipes · scan page 42 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · MarchReference section · scan page 53 · Russian-language source Class IV · MarchReference section · scan page 73 · Russian-language source

April

Class I · April16 recipes · scan page 42 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · April110 recipes · scan page 53 · Russian-language source Class IV · April61 recipes · scan page 73 · Russian-language source

May

Class I · May16 recipes · scan page 43 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · May85 recipes · scan page 56 · Russian-language source Class IV · May49 recipes · scan page 74 · Russian-language source

June

Class I · June12 recipes · scan page 43 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · June84 recipes · scan page 57 · Russian-language source Class IV · June63 recipes · scan page 76 · Russian-language source

July

Class I · July12 recipes · scan page 43 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · July81 recipes · scan page 59 · Russian-language source Class IV · July74 recipes · scan page 77 · Russian-language source

August

Class I · August12 recipes · scan page 44 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · August86 recipes · scan page 62 · Russian-language source Class IV · August56 recipes · scan page 79 · Russian-language source

September

Class I · September13 recipes · scan page 44 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · September81 recipes · scan page 63 · Russian-language source Class IV · September64 recipes · scan page 80 · Russian-language source

October

Class I · October14 recipes · scan page 45 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · October76 recipes · scan page 65 · Russian-language source Class IV · October61 recipes · scan page 81 · Russian-language source

November

Class I · November17 recipes · scan page 45 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · November83 recipes · scan page 66 · Russian-language source Class IV · November62 recipes · scan page 83 · Russian-language source

December

Class I · December13 recipes · scan page 46 · Russian-language source Classes II–III · December82 recipes · scan page 68 · Russian-language source Class IV · December91 recipes · scan page 84 · Russian-language source

What these lists reveal

Read the menus alongside other chapters: the same ingredient could appear in different dishes, winter supplies connected summer harvesting with later meals, and the number and composition of courses changed between categories.