Around the World discussion

Lilisa and I realised we both wanted to read Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing and thought there might be others in the Group who would like to join us. So instead of just a buddy read, we decided to make it a Group Read for January 2020.

No sign-ups necessary! If you're keen to read it, come and join us.

How it will work:
Read the book some time during the month of January 2020. Come back here to discuss. Hide spoilers in your comments as we won't all be at the same stage of the book. By the end of the month there will be at least 2 other people (Lilisa, me) who have it fresh in their memory to talk about this book, which comes recommended by Jenny (Reading Envy).

That's it. Simple!

I'm in. I skimmed this from my library when it was first published. I believe I thought it was a straightforward cookbook and didn't have time to give to it when I realized it was a little more -- Sadly, the local library seems to have already lost or purged their copy. I'll order a Used one today.

Thanks for setting up the thread Andrea! Looking forward to reading and discussing the book. Yay - Karen is joining too! Anyone else???

Looks interesting. I'll give it a try!

Vya wrote: "Looks interesting. I'll give it a try!"

Awesome Vya!

I collected my copy from the library and began reading it last night. The author has an engaging style of writing and I’m growing fond of her mother already. I like the way she has structured the book - exploring the cuisine by decades. It’ll be interesting to follow the changes.

I’ve been reading with my iPad by my side so that I can jump on Google images to check what the food looks like. So far I know that I am going to make the kulebiaka (most likely with salmon) - it sounds and looks amazing!

Sounds like you’re having fun, Andrea. I’m going to start it this weekend.

Just finished the prologue of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing - I am loving the writing and anticipating heading into Soviet 1910s - to learn and eat, not to live, that is!

Loved the quote: “Food, as one academic has noted, defined how Russians endured the present, imagined the future, and connected to their past.”

I’ve just emerged from the 1940s - that was pretty heavy-going, as you can imagine. Very little food around, and so many millions dying of starvation. There was a paragraph or so devoted to German/Russian spy, Richard Sorge. I’d never heard of him (no surprise there). Then lo and behold, when I logged on to my library’s website to check out new eBook acquisitions, there’s a new release about Richard Sorge! It was only published last month, but seems quite well-regarded. It’s An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin’s Master Agent by Owen Matthews, if anyone else is interested. I won’t delve in straight away, but have added it to my wishlist to borrow some time in the future. He sounds like a fascinating character.

I’m looking forward to see how the USSR changes (and how quickly) with the death of Stalin coming up in the 50s.

Just finished the 1910s and the cooking storm with the author and her mother. The kulebiaka took front and center stage. What a fine feast dinner must have been. I can relate to the hours of slaving making stuff from scratch, especially the dessert and the penki explosion! Sometimes wonderful food can take so much time - especially the traditional dishes. I like the way the author weaves in history into her chapters. She juxtapositions the food with how everyday life was during that time in Soviet history. When the author mentions old world Russians, I recalled The House by the Dvina: A Russian Childhood - one of my favorites.

Lilisa wrote: "Just finished the 1910s and the cooking storm with the author and her mother. The kulebiaka took front and center stage. What a fine feast dinner must have been. I can relate to the hours of slavin..."

I’ll definitely be looking into The House by the Dvina: A Russian Childhood at some stage - thanks for recommending.

Meanwhile, I’m at the end of the 1960s, the decade of Anya von Bremzen’s birth. I’ve enjoyed the crash-course in Soviet history to date. But it’s got me thinking:

What is a memoir?

I’m interested in other readers’ thoughts (you don’t need to have read the book).

It’s a wonderful book, Andrea!

Memoir - a book that someone’s writes about a section of their life. What do you think? Curious, what brought on the question - something in the 1960s portion of the book?

Lilisa wrote: "Memoir - a book that someone’s writes about a section of their life. What do you think? Curious, what brought on the question - something in the 1960s portion of th..."

Well, I suppose it comes from the fact that I’m halfway through the book before the author is born. I’ve loved reading about the USSR’s history and Larisa’s memories, but I suppose I’ve always thought of a memoir as the author’s (or subject’s) own memories of a period of their life, much as you say. This book has Memoir in the title and I’m happy to think of it as a memoir, but it stretches my previous understanding of what a memoir is.

Is she cooking her way through the decades like the 1910s section or is it pretty much a history lesson through the decades? I haven’t made progress since my last post. Sounds like literary license here?

It is part memoir, part food history, part cookbook. And some of the memoir is more of a family history than her own story. Stretched in those ways, it works. Some books are not so easily categorized.

I loved the anecdotes about the food that is clearly trash food but still is associated in her mind with strong memory.

And when Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving, I made the kulebiaka from this book as the main dish. It was SO MUCH WORK I can't even remember wanting to eat it by the time it was done, but very interesting.

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "when Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving, I made the kulebiaka from this book as the main dish. It was SO MUCH WORK I can't even remember wanting to eat it by the time it was done, but very interesting. ..."

Looks amazing Jenny! Such a lovely golden crust. I did wonder whether it had made an appearance at your table when I was reading about it.

Lilisa wrote: "Is she cooking her way through the decades like the 1910s section or is it pretty much a history lesson through the decades? ..."

There hasn't been so much contemporary cooking happening over the past few decades, which makes sense when you consider the food shortages. The food that was available during those times doesn't sound like anything you'd want to return to, either.

Yesterday I was reading through the 1970s, which was the author's early childhood. As you can probably imagine, she has vivid memories of some foods from that time. One in particular is Russian salad, which she loved, maybe not so much for the food itself but for the celebrations it represented. You know the one, diced potato, carrot and peas (plus a few other things) smothered in mayonnaise? It's one of the few dishes so far that I'm actually familiar with although I was going to say I'd never tried it, as I'm not a mayonnaise fan. But I have a recollection tugging away at my memory of being served Russian salad somewhere quite unexpected, like Bhutan or Sri Lanka, so yes I may have had a mouthful or two.

Anyway, the point I am leading to is that it has a name! Much like Greek salad is horiatiki salat and Tunisian salad is salata mechouia, Russian salad is called salat Olivier in Russia. I will undertake to call it that from now on.

Another feature of the 1970s was the focus on packaging, or lack of. It sounds somewhat like what we are grappling with in the western world right now as we try to reduce our reliance on plastic bags. You had to take your own bag into the interminable queues, or risk having to carry your bloody meat home in your bare hands, as Larisa did one time. One form of packaging that was readily available was the small, sturdy, watertight mayonnaise jar. It was used for everything, including some health/medical purposes that I'll leave you to discover as you read the book.

It made me reminisce about the Australian equivalent, the ubiquitous Vegemite jar drinking glasses that were in every household through my childhood and well into my Uni sharehouse days. I'm not talking about the screwtop jars that we get now, but the ones like this https://images.app.goo.gl/Qm3vj3URpfY..., with a lid you had to flip off with your butter knife. They came in a range of sizes and had a good, solid base, so they actually made really good, practical, affordable glassware. If I poked around in my parents' kitchen I'm sure I'd still be able to find one or two!

Andrea wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Is she cooking her way through the decades like the 1910s section or is it pretty much a history lesson through the decades? ..."

There hasn't been so much contemporary cooking happ..."

I forgot about the mayo jars thing. In my house, we kept all margarine containers (which were later repurposed for freezer jam!)

I don't know if you've seen this, Thai shoppers getting creative after their plastic bag ban. Seems related.

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I don't know if you've seen this, Thai shoppers getting creative after their plastic bag ban. ..."

No, I hadn’t seen it 😆 Kudos to them for the creativity. When we switched over in Australia (only a pseudo-national thing because of the two major supermarket chains switching at the same time) people didn’t get creative - they got cranky!

We also saved margarine containers in my family, which mum used in the garden for germinating seeds. You might need to explain freezer jam for me, as I’m not totally sure what that is.

Andrea wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "You might need to explain freezer jam for me, as I’m not totally sure what that is."
Freezer jam is made with super fresh fruit, because it’s never cooked, only mashed and stirred, so it tastes very much like the fruit. I grew up in an area with good strawberries so we'd make a lot of it and then eat it all year. You use a specific type of pectin and recipe for this kind of jam.

Andrea wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Is she cooking her way through the decades like the 1910s section or is it pretty much a history lesson through the decades? ..."

There hasn't been so much contemporary cooking happ..."

You’re clipping along, Andrea. I haven’t had a chance to pick up where I left off the earlier. Interesting about packaging, bags, etc. sounds like we’re all experiencing the bag situation around the world. Ours went into effect the first of the year too - I keep forgetting to bringing my own bags. I looked blankly at the gal when she asked me if I wanted to purchase a bag for all the stuff I’d bought - candles, lotion, etc. How the heck did she think I could carry all that without a bag - lol! I feel for the Thai shoppers!

Andrea wrote: "Lilisa wrote: "Is she cooking her way through the decades like the 1910s section or is it pretty much a history lesson through the decades? ..."

There hasn't been so much contemporary cooking happ..."

Oh and Vegimite - I’m in the “hate” category!

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Andrea wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "You might need to explain freezer jam for me, as I’m not totally sure what that is."
Freezer jam is made with super fresh fruit, because it’s never cooke..."

Ah well, not just a different name, but a totally new concept for me! I might need to do more research.

I've started with the audiobook version, and boy, this book makes me hungry! :)

I've finished the 1910 period, but I'm terrible at retaining what I heard though, especially with all those Russian names. I'm not sure I'll be continuing with this book. Although it's certainly well written, it doesn't hold my interest for long. So many books out there, so little time.

I'm just on to Chapter 2, Lenin's Cake. I do not see myself making Koulibieck with the strange sturgeon parts -- maybe the Julia Child Frenchified version that Anya and her mother scoff at. Very enjoyable and atmospheric and I am pleased with all of the literary references.

I’m in the beginning of the 1950s chapter and there hasn’t been much cooking since the 1920s, which makes sense, given what was going on historically. Maybe there'll be more eating now since the chapter is entitled “Tasty and Healthy.” The last few sections haven’t riveted me like the Prologue and 1910s. Let’s see how I get on with the next few...

Finished it and overall it was an okay read for me. From the rest of the book, the 1970s with the author and her mother moving to the U.S. and the 1980s with the changes in the Soviet Union and the visit back home were the better chapters. Got the book, which has been the oldest on my TBR list, off!

I think I enjoyed it more than you did Lilisa, perhaps because I had more to learn from it! I haven't rated or reviewed yet though. One thing that frustrated me a little towards the end was the gap during the noughties. Granted, the author didn't visit during that period, so it was probably reasonable to make the omission (although she didn't for any of the other decades). But it has left me with one big question - where did all the money come from???? Russia's wealth, I mean. In the 90s there was still a huge divide between the poor masses and the elite few, with astonishing levels of food scarcity continuing, and then a relatively short time later everything had changed. It's on my mind a lot today, with Putin back in the news as he tries to secure his future.

Here's something interesting:-

Last week I was listening to an episode of one of my favourite podcasts. It was an interview with a Russian journalist/food writer, who now lives in Australia. As her story unfolded, I had a strong feeling of déjà vu. Her story was kind of the opposite of Anya von Bremzen's, while being remarkably similar. Several years ago, while still living in Moscow, she was commissioned to launch into a project to cook from The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food, which she did, mentored by her grandmother, who had owned a copy of the book and cooked from it (and finessed the recipes) over the decades. Anna Kharzeeva's book (compiled from her blog posts, I think) is called The Soviet Diet Cookbook: Exploring life, culture and history - one recipe at a time. I read the Kindle sample and found it quite engaging. Reference points would be our Group Read book, Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing and Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.

If you are interested in listening to the interview (recommended), the details can be found at https://www.abc.net.au/listen/program...