The 1901 Cookbook Archive
No. 970 — Fresh Boiled Pork for Borscht or Sour Cabbage Soup
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 970 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Fresh pork is served chiefly in borscht or sour cabbage soup (shchi), in which it may be cooked.
Rinse the pork and lower into salted boiling water with pepper, bay leaf, onion and root vegetables.
Boil until done, which the source describes as the point when a fork pierces it easily; the author recommends piercing deeply and often. The original gives a cooking time of about three hours.
Historical editorial note: Ease of piercing with a fork is a historical test for doneness, not a modern safe internal-temperature check.
Original source: Read Russian recipe No. 970. Historical quantities and terminology are retained. See the measurements guide. Period preparation and storage methods are not modern safety guidance.