The 1901 Cookbook Archive
No. 8 — English Meat Tea for the Sick
A complete English translation of historical recipe No. 8 from Elena Molokhovets’ 1901 cookbook, retaining the original quantities and method.
Take ¼ Russian pound of good tender beef without any fat or bones. Chop it finely and place it in a small stoneware pot. Add three glasses of water, boil vigorously for several minutes, salt, strain and tint with burnt sugar.
Put the remaining beef back into a pot to cook with the beef intended for the household's general dinner soup.
Historical medical context: the title calls this “English meat tea for the sick.” It documents a nineteenth-century dietary recommendation, not a modern medical treatment or evidence of nutritional adequacy. Use contemporary medical advice and food-safety practices.