Shrovetide: history, traditions and recipes

2024 Author: Arianna Cook | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:55

Shrovetide is, of course, pancakes. However, not only them everything is limited! In this article we will tell you all about how to celebrate your favorite Russian holiday, incl. and what to cook for Shrovetide to make it festive, tasty and fun! For some, Maslenitsa is associated with mass merry festivities, some see it as preparation before Lent, others remember the famous cartoon by Robert Sahakyan: "Look, you, Maslenitsa." All these versions will be correct and correct, because Maslenitsa is a multifaceted holiday that contains a large number of symbols and meanings. But still, what is Maslenitsa, and how is it celebrated?

How is it traditionally celebrated and what is prepared for Shrovetide?

Shrovetide is an ancient Slavic holiday, which, according to history, has always been the longest of the year. The emergence of Maslenitsa goes deep into the past, and consists of scraps of chronicles and letters. They show that the holiday originated from a pagan culture, which survived after the adoption of Christianity, and became the eve of Great Lent before Easter.

What date is Maslenitsa celebrated?

It is celebrated differently every year! For example, in 2016 it is celebrated from 7 to 13 March. And in 2015 it was celebrated from 16 to 22 February. After the adoption of Christianity, the last week before the coming Great Lent in the Orthodox Church calendar began to be called "Cheese Week". The meaning of Cheese Week is forgiveness of grievances, reconciliation of neighbors, and preparation before Great Lent. This time should be fun because there are 7 weeks of strict restrictions ahead. Each day of a given week has certain interesting customs and characteristics.

According to Christian canons, it is still allowed to eat dairy products (milk, kefir, cheese, cottage cheese and eggs) on Shrovetide, fish dishes are allowed, while meat is no longer allowed. An indispensable attribute of Shrovetide - pancakes, which had ritual significance - were a symbol of the sun. They were usually baked from buckwheat, rye or wheat flour. Various seasonings and sauces were served to them.

The presence of a lot of fatty foods and intoxicating drinks at the solemn feasts was characteristic. In addition to pancakes, a variety of flour products were traditionally prepared: pancakes, dumplings, dumplings, cheesecakes, flat cakes, potato pancakes, brushwood and all kinds of pies. Also Shrovetide feasts were distinguished by a large abundance of fish dishes: fried and stewed crucians and carps, salted and smoked herring and jellied fish. But the main signature dish of this holiday is still pancakes, which we are used to cooking according to our favorite recipe. Well Maslenitsa is a great occasion to experiment and learn new amazing recipes for pancakes, because they can be not only sweet, but also vegetable, meat and fish.

Flour for pancakes: variety of types

We are usually used to baking wheat flour pancakes. However, there are other types of it: rye, oatmeal, rice, buckwheat, pea and corn flour.

• Wheat flour is obtained by grinding food grains and is the main raw material for the confectionery, bakery and pasta industries.
• Rye flour does not form gluten, but it contains more active enzymes that break down starch. Some properties prevail in it much more than in wheat flour, for example, iron by 30%, and magnesium and potassium - by 1.5-2 times.
• Buckwheat flour is good for allergy sufferers, but it is not very suitable for pancakes due to the lack of stickiness. Therefore, buckwheat pancakes are baked only in company with wheat flour, otherwise they will simply fall apart.
• Rice flour pancakes are a very capricious product, they do not turn out thin and transparent and will also fall apart. Therefore, it is preferable to buy them ready-made.
• Corn flour can only be combined with wheat flour, and even then, if it is of the finest grinding.
• Oat flour is great for pancakes, especially when combined with oat bran. Then the pancakes turn out to be dietary and in a beautiful small brown dot.
• Pea flour produces thin and crispy Indian-style pancakes. It can glue anything you want, so you don't even need to add eggs to the dough.

Weekly Pancake Menu

We will not deviate from the habits of our ancestors, and we will tell you how they traditionally walked and what they cooked for Shrovetide.

Monday - "meeting"

The first day of the Maslenitsa holiday begins on Monday. From old clothes, straw and other improvised materials, they made a stuffed animal of a fat and large woman, impaled it on a stake and installed it on the main square. Women, putting aside household chores, went to the inn to drink a glass, have fun, and talk about life. If men wanted to join them, then they put “pads” on their necks (small boards tied with a long ribbon). They could be removed only by exposing the maharich to the young ladies.

Also on Monday, all families began to bake pancakes, while the first baked pancake was given to a beggar, poor and needy person so that he could remember the souls of deceased relatives and loved ones. All people invited friends and acquaintances to taste pancakes. But the father-in-law with the mother-in-law in the morning sent the daughter-in-law to the mother and father in order to come to visit the matchmakers in the evening. We offer to open the butter week with yeast pancakes and milk.

Pancakes with milk: recipe

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour - 220 g
• Milk - 2 cups (400 ml)
• Powdered sugar - 2 tablespoons
• Eggs - 1 pc.
• Salt - a pinch
• Vegetable or melted butter - 2, 5 tablespoons

Cooking pancakes with milk:

1. Stir warm milk with icing sugar and salt.
2. Beat eggs with a whisk.
3. Sift the wheat flour into another container and add the beaten eggs. Mix well.
4. Add milk and knead to a homogeneous dough.
5. Pour in oil and stir.
6. Heat the pan well, brush with vegetable oil and pour a portion of the dough (one ladle) onto it, distribute it in a thin layer over the entire pan in a circular motion.
7. Bake pancakes on both sides until sunny.

Yeast pancakes: recipe

Ingredients:

• Flour - 300 g
• Dry fast-acting yeast - 11 g
• Milk - 300 ml
• Sugar - 60 g
• Salt - a pinch
• Water - 200 ml
• Eggs - 2-3 pcs.
• Sunflower or olive oil - 100 ml

Preparation:

1. Combine eggs, sugar, salt and beat thoroughly.
2. Add remaining ingredients (sunflower oil, milk, yeast, flour, water) and stir until smooth.
3. Place the dough in a draft-free place for one hour.
4. When the dough doubles in volume, stir it to release air. Leave the dough to rise again. (!) Do not interfere.
5. Heat the pan and brush the bottom of the pan with a little oil.
6. Scoop up the dough with a ladle and pour it into the pan, letting it spread evenly. After the surface of the pancake is dry, turn the pancake over and bake until golden.

Tuesday - "flirting"

In common people, Tuesday was called "flirtation", that is. the boys flirted with the beauties, inviting them to ride a sleigh or go down the ice slides to the fervent ringing of bells. Watching such skating, people judged the fate of a person, which was prepared for him. For example, if you slide down the hill successfully, the next year will be successful. I drove the farthest - there will be a long life.

Many Shrovetide rituals boil down to matchmaking, so on Tuesday there were still bridesmaids to celebrate the wedding at the end of Lent. The bride's parents made dumplings with cottage cheese, pancakes, pies and waited for their future son-in-law to visit, and the married women again had fun in the inn. Theatrical performances and merry amusements began on the streets of the city. Noise, din and laughter came from everywhere.

Also, on the second day of Maslenitsa, they prepared national Russian dishes - tsarist pancakes: with black and red caviar - for real men, and with red fish - for intellectuals. We invite you to cook these exquisite dishes.

Pancakes with salmon

Ingredients (pancakes):

• Flour - 320 g
• Chicken eggs - 4 pcs.
• Milk - 500 ml
• Salt - a pinch

Ingredients (filling):

• Sour cream - 300 ml
• Smoked salmon - 200 g
• Fresh dill - bunch

Cooking pancakes with salmon:

1. Beat flour, salt, half of the milk with a blender, breaking all the lumps.
2. Add eggs and remaining milk. Beat again and let the dough sit for 15 minutes.
3. In a hot skillet, bake the pancakes on both sides until golden brown.
4. Cut the salmon into 1 cm cubes and mix with the chopped dill and sour cream.
5. Apply the filling on the pancake, wrap it in a roll, cut into pieces with which to serve the table.

Pancakes with red (black) caviar

Ingredients:

• Flour - 250 g
• Chicken eggs - 3 pcs.
• Baked milk - 400 ml
• Sugar - 50 g
• Vegetable oil - 60 ml
• Butter - 65 g
• Salt - a pinch
• Red or black caviar - 200 g

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, combine eggs, salt, sugar and half of the milk.
2. Add flour, pour in the rest of the milk, vegetable oil in again, knead the dough well.
3. Heat a frying pan and fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown.
4. Put the finished pancakes in a stack, brushing them with soft butter.
5. Place 1 tablespoon on the pancake. caviar and distribute it evenly. Roll the pancakes into a roll and stack them on a plate.

Wednesday - "gourmet"

Wednesday of Shrovetide Week was called "Lakomka". Each family on this day laid a rich table and ate pancakes as much as the soul desires. Especially, on this day, mother-in-law was preparing, since on Wednesday sons-in-law came to them for pancakes. But she rested her son-in-law not only with pancakes, but also treated with sbitn and honey cakes.

Honey sbiten: step by step recipe

Sbiten is an ancient Russian drink that is especially popular on Shrovetide and honey spas. Sbiten is consumed cold and hot. It is prepared from honey and spices, and, if desired, add brewed tea, red wine or vodka.

Ingredients:

• Honey - 150 g
• A mixture of ground spices (cloves, coriander, cinnamon, ginger) - 1 tsp
• Water - 1.5 l
• Sugar - 1, 5 tablespoons
• Lemon - half

Cooking honey sbitn:

1. Heat water and add honey, spices and sugar.
2. Boil the food and cook at low temperature for 5-10 minutes.
3. Then add the sliced lemon and turn off the heat. Close the saucepan with a lid and leave the drink for 20-30 minutes.
4. Then, if desired, alcoholic drinks or freshly brewed tea can be added to sbiten to taste.

Honey gingerbread: a step by step recipe

Fragrant, beautiful and delicious honey cakes from old Russian cuisine will create a pleasant holiday mood for everyone.

Ingredients:

• Honey - 300 g
• Flour - 600 g
• Eggs - 3 yolks and 1 whole
• Baking soda - 1 tsp (can be replaced with baking powder)
• Vanilla - 1 tsp
• Drinking water - 1 glass
• Lemon zest and lemon juice - 0.5 lemon
• Ground spices (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, anise) - 1.5 tsp.
• Sugar - ? glasses

Cooking honey cakes for Shrovetide:

1. Put honey in an enamel bowl and cover with hot water. Stir until dissolved and cool.
2. In another container, 3 yolks and one whole egg, mash with sugar. Add ground spices, vanillin, baking soda, zest and lemon juice. Beat the products with a mixer until firm foam.
3. Pour the dissolved honey into the beaten eggs and gradually add flour.
4. Put the resulting mass on a floured countertop, knead the dough that is not steep, and leave it for 5-6 hours.
5. Then knead the dough again, cut it into pieces and roll it out. Cut out the shapes or shapes and place them on a floured baking sheet.
6. Bake the gingerbread cookies in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees. Grease them hot with an egg, and when cool, beat the egg white with sugar and draw patterns on them.

Thursday - "wide Thursday" - "revelry, break"

On Thursday, all household work stopped, especially it was forbidden to sew and spin, and a wide celebration began. People walked, had fun, fist fights, rode horses, organized competitions, which were accompanied by the use of all kinds of food and eating pancakes. Even on Thursday evening, the son-in-law should go to his mother-in-law, bow to the belt and invite her the next day to his home for a pancake dinner. On a wide Thursday, a wild day, it is customary to bake figurines from butter dough, which are the harbingers of spring: larks, doves and swallows.

Butter yeast dough on dough

Ingredients:

• Flour - 3 tbsp. l. for dough and 3 glasses for dough
• Milk - 250 ml
• Dry yeast - 30 g
• Powdered sugar - 1 tablespoon for dough and 100 g for baking
• Chicken eggs - 2 pcs.
• Vegetable oil - 1 tablespoon
• Salt - a pinch
• Butter - 120 g

Preparation:

1. Make a dough. Put 1 tablespoon in warm milk (35–40 ° C). icing sugar, yeast, 3 tbsp. flour and stir until all ingredients are dissolved. Leave the dough for half an hour. After this time, a lush "cap" will turn out, which will later fall off, and bubbles will appear on the surface - the dough is ripe.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the muffins: soft butter, eggs, sugar.
3. Combine and mix: dough, pastry and flour, so that the dough becomes elastic and smooth.
4. Form a soft yeast dough into a lump, place in a saucepan, cover with a clean towel and leave in a kitchen cabinet for 1–2 hours. After this time, the dough will rise well.
5. Crumple the dough and form it into figures, which are laid out on a greased baking sheet. Bake the pastry in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees. In this case, after 20 minutes, grease the product with whipped egg yolk.

Friday - "mother-in-law's evening" - "guest day"

On Friday, the mother-in-law paid a return visit to her son-in-law for the pancakes baked by her daughter. After that, in the evening, the son-in-law must roll the mother-in-law through the streets of the village or city. Moreover, the quality of skiing depends on the mother-in-law's character. The angry and grumpy is driven over bumps and uneven roads, and the kind and gentle one is driven along a smooth plain. On this day, you can bake a variety of pancakes, incl. and beer halls.

Pancakes on beer: recipe

Ingredients:

• Baked milk - 250 ml
• Honey - 4, 5 tablespoons
• Salt - a pinch
• Ghee butter - 3, 5 tablespoons
• Flour - 250 g
• Chicken eggs - 2 pcs.
• Beer - 200 ml

Making beer pancakes:

1. Heat milk, honey, salt, but do not boil.
2. Put butter in warm milk and stir to dissolve. Remove food from heat.
3. In another container, mix flour with eggs and stirring vigorously in a thin stream, pour in the hot milk mixture. The dough should be smooth.
4. Pour in beer, stir and leave the dough for 30-45 minutes.
5. Heat the pan. Before baking the first pancake, brush it with butter and bake the pancakes on both sides until golden brown.
6. Ready-made pancakes can be served with sour cream, honey or jam. And also you can wrap any filling in them, both sweet and salty.

Saturday - "sister-in-law's gatherings"

On Saturday evening, the main rite of Maslenitsa took place - the burning of a scarecrow. Our ancestors considered this Shrovetide fire to be some kind of magic. For example, people threw unnecessary things into the fire, and with them all the troubles of the past year. Then the ash was blown across the field, which promised a good harvest. According to old beliefs, fire possessed magical powers, and cleansed a person from negativity and sorrows. On Saturday evening, the Pancake week should be bursting with an abundance of flour dishes: dumplings with cherries, chicken pies and various pies.

Dumplings with cherries

Cherries for dumplings can be used fresh, frozen or canned. Dumplings are steamed or boiled in water.

Ingredients:

• Flour - 300 g
• Kefir - 250 ml
• Soda -? tsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Powdered sugar - how much will it take
• Cherries - 350 g

Preparation:

1. Pour kefir into a bowl, add salt, soda and stir.
2. Add flour gradually and knead to a soft dough that does not stick to your hands.
3. Make a sausage from the dough, cut it into pieces, which you flatten by hand into a thin cake 3 mm thick.
4. Place 4-6 pitted cherries and 1 tsp in the middle of the flatbread. icing sugar. Pinch the edges.
5. Steam the dumplings in a double boiler or water. If you want to steam, but there is no steamer, then make a steam bath as follows. Boil water in a wide saucepan with cheesecloth stretched over it. Then put the dumplings on cheesecloth, leaving 3 cm between them, cover them with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.

If you want to boil dumplings in water, then dip them in a saucepan of boiling water. Stir to keep them from sticking together and cook until they float to the surface. This usually happens in 3-5 minutes.

Kurnik

Kurnik is a Russian pie, which is called a tsar's pie, the king of pies or a festive pie. It is served on special occasions, incl. and on Shrovetide.

Ingredients:

• Butter (preferably homemade) - 100 g
• Sour cream - 110 g
• Soda - 0.5 tsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Flour - 2 cups
• Meat - 500 g
• Potatoes - 2 pcs.
• Onion - 1 pc.
• Eggs - 1 pc.

Step-by-step cooking kurnik:

1. Melt the butter and cool. Add sour cream, salt, baking soda and beat in an egg. Mix everything.
2. Sift the flour, add the sour cream-butter mixture and knead a light dough, cover it with cling film and leave for 1 hour.
3. In the meantime, prepare the filling. Chop the meat, potatoes and onions very finely with a sharp knife, add salt and pepper. Stir.
4. Divide the dough into two parts in the following proportions: 2/3 and 1/3.
5. Roll out most of it 5 mm thick and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
6. Step 5 cm away from the edges, distribute the filling evenly.
7. Roll out the second piece of dough and place on top. Pin the edges and make cuts in the center with a knife to let the steam out.
8. Lubricate the chicken with a beaten egg and place in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees.

Sunday - "Forgiven Sunday" - "Seeing off Shrovetide"

The last day of Cheese Week is called Forgiveness Sunday or farewell to Maslenitsa. On Sunday, the most magnificent and massive festivities, fun and games were held. We went around all relatives and friends, asked them for forgiveness for the grievances brought, so that the next day of Great Lent could begin with peace of mind. When meeting people, one had to bow three times, asking for mutual forgiveness, and as a sign of reconciliation, kiss three times.

On the last Sunday of the Great Shrovetide, it is customary to gorge yourself on any goodies, because after it, Great Lent will come. In the evening, at a large table, the family got together again, where the main dish was pancakes, pancakes with cottage cheese, pancakes and pies with cabbage. And after supper they did another interesting ritual - they rinsed their teeth. There was an opinion that if this is not done at the end of Maslenitsa, then the devils will stretch out the curd, which remains in them, along with their teeth.

Kefir pancakes

Ingredients:

• Kefir - 350 ml
• Eggs - 2 pcs.
• Flour - 200 g
• Salt - a pinch
• Powdered sugar - 2 tablespoons
• Baking soda - 1 tsp (can be replaced with baking powder)
• Lean oil - for frying

Preparation:

1. Whisk eggs, icing sugar, salt.
2. Add kefir, soda and gradually add flour. Substitute thick dough, according to the consistency of fatty sour cream.
3. Heat a frying pan with butter and gently spread the dough with a tablespoon.
4. Fry pancakes on both sides for 3 minutes until sunny and serve with honey or sour cream.

Pancake cake with sweet cottage cheese: recipe

Ingredients (pancakes):

• Flour - 6 tablespoons
• Chicken eggs - 3 pcs.
• Vegetable oil - 2, 5 tablespoons
• Homemade milk - 500 ml
• Salt - a pinch
• Sugar or honey - 1 tablespoon

Ingredients (filling):

• Sweet curds - 400 g
• Sour cream or cream - 1 tablespoon
• Chicken egg - 1 pc.

Preparation:

1. Whisk eggs, sugar, salt.
2. Add flour, add vegetable oil and mix well.
3. Pour in milk and stir.
4. Preheat a skillet, brush it with vegetable oil (for the first pancake) and pour out the batter. Fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown.
5. Stir sweet curds, eggs and sour cream.
6. Grease a baking dish well with butter. Assemble the cake by spreading cream over each pancake and brush with 2 tablespoons of the top pancake. sour cream.
7. Bake the pie in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown at 180 degrees. Cool it well afterwards.

Draniki: a step by step recipe

Appetizing and hot potato pancakes are an excellent solution for the last day of Shrovetide.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 4 pcs.
• Chicken eggs - 1 pc.
• Onion - ? PCS.
• Flour - 3 tablespoons
• Salt and ground pepper to taste
• Lean oil - for frying
• Sour cream - 2, 5 tablespoons

Cooking potato pancakes:

1. Grate peeled potatoes and onion or pass through a meat grinder. Squeeze out excess juice from the resulting mass.
2. Beat an egg into the potato-onion mixture, add flour, salt, sour cream and ground pepper. Mix well.
3. Heat a frying pan with oil. Spread out the potato dough with a tablespoon, and fry on both sides until golden brown.
4. Put the finished potato pancakes on a paper towel so that it absorbs all the fat, and serve them hot with sour cream.

Pies with cabbage

Ingredients:

• Fresh yeast - 30 g
• Flour - 4 glass
• Carrots - 2 pcs.
• Powdered sugar - 2 tablespoons
• Onions - 1 pc.
• Cabbage - 300 g
• Drinking water - ? l
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons

Preparation:

1. Dissolve the yeast with warm water, add salt and powdered sugar, add oil and gradually add flour. Mix the products well so that the dough turns out to be liquid without lumps. Cover it with a napkin and leave for 1.5 hours.
2. In a skillet in vegetable oil, fry the grated carrots and onion, cut into half rings, until browning and soft. Then add the shredded cabbage. Season with salt, sugar, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Place the matched dough on a plate sprinkled with flour, form a thick sausage, which is cut across into small pieces. Breaded each bite in flour and make a tortilla with the filling in the center. Form a patty.
4. Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil, put the pies and send them to bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 200 degrees. They can also be fried in oil in a hot skillet.

How is Maslenitsa celebrated in other countries?

The arrival of spring is celebrated in almost all of Europe. In the cities of Western Europe, Maslenitsa, or rather farewell to winter, turns into a national carnival. They forget about quarrels, and irrepressible fun and laughter reign. In Poland, on Sunday, the last day of the holiday, in a tavern, a violinist pleases unmarried girls with his light melody. In Scotland, it is customary to bake "lean cakes". In the Czech Republic, young boys smear their faces with soot and, to the music, walk around the village, hanging a wooden block (klatik) around the girls' necks. In Iceland, a lavish feast is held, after which a variety of cakes are consumed. In France, winter is seen off with the Mardi Gras carnival, where pancakes and various snacks are prepared. In Switzerland and Germany, they also organize a Maslenitsa carnival along unlit streets with a theatrical procession. In schools in Denmark, costumed performances are held, where schoolchildren, through acquaintances, send comic letters to their friends, without a return address.

Pancake fortune-telling on Shrovetide

The first baked pancake on the first Shrovetide day speaks of the future that awaits during the year:

• the pancake has straight edges - there will be a happy marriage. Uneven or torn - you need to think: is the narrowed one you are going to marry?
• the pancake easily turned over - marriage is ahead, and stuck to the pan - 3 years to be in the parent's house;
• a thin pancake - to a quiet life, but if thick - to hard work;
• a pancake beautiful and ruddy - there will be a lot of health, and a pale one - to disease.

After reading the above article, you already know how fun it is to celebrate Maslenitsa, you can easily decide on the Maslenitsa menu and guess the future. After all, this week is a time of fun, family and friendly gatherings, delicious food and drinking songs. May this wonderful holiday be perfect for you!

Video: