The way we ate in 1914: “A Typical Russian Mennonite Menu
(from manuscript in possession of the Mennonite Historical Society of
BC) translated by John B. Toews.
Around 1980 J. G. Neufeld of Fresno, California
allowed me to Xerox a manuscript in his possession compiled by a D. Peters.
He did not supply me with any further information about the author, who
provides varied descriptions of pre-revolutionary Russian Mennonite
life. Neufeld had a life-time interest in things Russian Mennonite.
My long time research assistant, Katherine Hooge of Saskatoon made
an excellent transcription of sections of the manuscript in 1981.[1]
| July, August, September |
| Sunday |
Breakfast |
White coffee, tea, fruit Platz |
| |
Lunch |
Roast mutton with fruit, potatoes, fruit juices, bread |
| |
Fesper |
Tea, fruit juice, rhubarb Platz |
| |
Supper |
Buttersuppe[2], buttered brown bread |
| Monday |
Breakfast |
White coffee, fruit Platz, Ruehrei |
| |
Lunch |
Kjieltje, fried ham, brown bread, watermelons, melons, Bulki |
| |
Fesper |
White coffee, white bread with rhubarb marmalade |
| |
Supper |
Cooked barley porridge, butter, brown bread |
| Tuesday |
Breakfast |
White coffee, Ruehrei, white bread, syrup |
| |
Lunch |
Green bean soup and Schnetki |
| |
Fesper |
Watermelons, melons, Bulki, syrup |
| |
Supper |
Buttermilk Mus, buttered bread, eggs |
| Wednesday |
Breakfast |
White coffee, Schnetki, fried potatoes, brown bread |
| |
Lunch |
Rhubarb Mus, fried ham, brown bread |
| |
Fesper |
Watermelons, melons, Bulki |
| |
Supper |
Cherry Mus, fried potatoes, brown bread |
| Thursday |
Breakfast |
White coffee, white bread, marmalade |
| |
Lunch |
Cherry Wareniki with sauce (sunflower oil with cream) |
| |
Fesper |
Watermelons, melons, Bulki, butter |
| |
Supper |
Boiled potatoes in jackets with gravy (sunflower oil with cream) |
| Friday |
Breakfast |
White coffee, white bread, syrup, fried potatoes, brown bread |
| |
Lunch |
Rhubarb Piroschki, thick sour milk |
| |
Fesper |
Watermelons, melons, Bulki, butter |
| |
Supper |
Sweet boiled milk with bread, Glomskuchen |
| Saturday |
Breakfast |
White coffee, white bread, Ruehrei, brown bread |
| |
Lunch |
Beans fried in onion fat, clabbered milk, brown bread |
| |
Fesper |
Watermelons, melons, Bulki, butter |
| |
Supper |
Armer Ritter, sweet milk with bread crumbs |
There were several things that I found interesting
about the menu aside from its calorie count.
- The rarity of roast chicken, beef
and mutton on the menu. If the menu is somewhat representative the
use of eggs must have been rather liberal. Peters cites 150 chickens
as normal for summer, down to 75 in winter , by spring to 40. Why
did the flock not make it to the dinner table more often? Meat (usually
pork) as a major item on the menu is rare.
- The seasonal use of watermelons
and melons is well documented in the July and October menus. Peters
estimated that the average farm produced 500 pood (8190 kilograms) of watermelons.
Since watermelons are a known diuretic and since they were consumed at
Fesper one wonders about calm and restful nights in the Russian Mennonite
home.
- Special thanks to Lydia Janz/Toews
and her consultants and to Agatha Klassen. They helped to enlarge
my knowledge of Russian Mennonite foods.
1 This menu is also found in First Mennonite Villages in Russia, pp.
80-81. (N.J. Kroeker, 1981); in several cases, I have substituted
Kroeker’s translation of the food item. (ed.)
|