The 1901 Cookbook Archive
No. 55 — Borscht with Fresh Mushrooms
English translation of the original Russian recipe No. 55 in Molokhovets’ 1901 cookbook, with historical quantities and source references.
Make and strain white broth from 3 Russian pounds of beef and spices.
An hour before dinner take a full plate of cleaned fresh mushrooms: porcini, slippery jacks, saffron milk caps or milk mushrooms, but not volnushki, the author specifies. Scald with boiling water and fry in butter with onion, sprinkling with one spoonful of flour. Pour in broth, add six to nine potatoes and cook.
Add a handful of chopped green onion, salt, sour cream or cream, and bring to the boil. Pour into a soup tureen, sprinkle with chopped greens and black pepper, and serve.
To provide
- 3 Russian pounds of beef and roots
- One plate of fresh mushrooms; 6–9 potatoes; a handful of green onions
- 1–2 spoonfuls of butter, 1 spoonful of flour
- ½–1 glass of sour cream or cream
- 1–2 onions, herbs and black pepper
Editorial note: Wild mushrooms cannot be identified safely from historic common names alone. This recipe is not a modern wild-mushroom preparation guide.
Original source: Read the matching Russian recipe No. 55 from the 1901 book. Historical measures are retained; see the measures guide. The methods are historical evidence, not validated modern food-safety instructions.