The special status of Russian salad, as a festive dish, is perceived by us as such from early childhood. And it seems as if it has always been so. Where did this dish come from and what is the history of Russian salad?
The history of the salad’s origin
The Frenchman Lucien Olivier, the manager of the Hermitage restaurant, made it into the history of world cuisine thanks to the salad he invented in the 60s of the 19th century for visitors to the expensive restaurant. The cuisine of that time – hearty, rich, but quite simple – was gradually changing under the pressure of fashion for everything French. Olivier guessed the moment: his signature appetizer under a special Provencal sauce, almost immediately became popular. Culinary historians agree that the point was in the sauce: Lucien, himself a native of Provence, was well versed in local oils and used only a certain variety. But was he a cook and could the restaurant manager personally undertake the preparation of dishes? Hypothetically, such a possibility exists, but we have no evidence of this fact, except for the existence of a beautiful legend about the hereditary chef Lucien Olivier.
In the next decade, the salad becomes so popular that its recipes begin to be placed in culinary books for a wealthy audience.
Starting in 1884, recipes began to appear in various culinary publications, which supposedly are the very recipe of the famous Russian salad, popular among the nobility of Moscow and city guests. But these recipes changed from publication to publication. The authors of each subsequent recipe made changes to the “original”, but the Provencal sauce remained an unchanged attribute of each variation.
Russian Salad in the Soviet Period
The salad experienced a new birth under Soviet rule. As often happens with gourmet dishes that fall into the masses, expensive, rare or seasonal products were gradually replaced with cheaper and widely available ones. Today’s version of the salad is only slightly reminiscent of the real creation of Lucien Olivier. In the post-revolutionary times, the bourgeois hazel grouse was replaced by chicken or sausage of the “Doctor’s” type, crayfish – by carrots (similar to them in color), olives and capers were excluded from the recipe, and green peas were added. Ordinary mayonnaise is used as a dressing. By the way, the standards for modern mayonnaise (the usual recipe for Provencal sauce for us) were developed already in the Soviet Union. There were no preservatives in it, except for spirit vinegar.
The recipe for “Russian Salad” according to the restaurants of the mid-20s of the 20th century was as follows:
Ingredients: 6 potatoes, 2 onions, 3 medium-sized carrots, 2 pickled cucumbers, 1 apple, 200 g of boiled poultry meat, 1 glass of green peas, 3 boiled eggs, half a glass of olive mayonnaise, salt, pepper to taste.
The main principle – to chop all the ingredients and season with mayonnaise – has become widespread in the vastness of the Soviet and post-Soviet space. Therefore, there were many variations on the theme of the famous salad. The modern version of Russian salad is called “Russian salad” all over the world. But the most correct thing is to call the modern version of the dish “Soviet Russian salad”.
The history of the origin of Russian salad has many mysteries, but every housewife and cook prepares this salad according to their own original recipe. Therefore, it has its own unique taste in different establishments and at every family festive table.