Orthodox cuisine or kitchen Orthodoxy. religious food

If you want, we can say more clearly. What is national cuisine in general? Some will say: “Well, these are recipes, certain dishes characteristic of a given people, country, area, etc.” It's like that. But besides purely recipe details, there are several more important things: products, processing technologies, type and nature of food, norms and customs of serving dishes. And finally cultural practices around food intake. So the role of the church, in the vast majority, was reduced precisely to the latter.

Let's not talk about the Orthodox contribution to the cuisine in the form of dishes appropriate for certain religious events - kutya, Easter cake, painted eggs. Yes, and how many? As they say, on the fingers of one hand ... And then, you don’t think that porridge poured with honey from wheat grains would not have arisen without Christianity? To tell the truth, she did not have any special influence on Russian cuisine.

In general, there are many stereotypes regarding the role of the Christian Church in the development of world culture, science, and art. One of them - "if there was no church, there would be no all this." Yes, for many centuries civilization has developed within a religious context. Here, but where is Aristotle, Pliny, Omar Khayyam, and where is Christianity? Or is it not a culture? And Orthodoxy in this sense is completely late to the division of the cultural achievements of mankind.

“Name at least one pre-Christian scientist, artist or writer in Rus'?” - ask the supporters of the church version of the history of Russia with a smirk. Meanwhile, if you think about it, this is hardly a winning topic for them. Since Orthodox writers or scientists beforeXVI- XVIIpractically no one knows for centuries. Why did it happen? Is it not because it was precisely in this era that typography and at least some kind of educational fashion began to penetrate. So it is not at all a fact that the role of our church in this process was stimulating, not inhibitory.

And then, as you know, "Post hoc, ergo propter hoc". This latin expression, meaning "after this, therefore because of this," is very suitable for our case. Because it describes a typical logical fallacy. So, Russian culture, science and even cooking have been developing for centuries parallel to the existence of the church, in a church context. But not necessarily because of her.

Yes, of course, we know quite a few scientists who were thoroughly imbued with a religious feeling. That's just from the phrase "If there were no Orthodox Church, there would be no science, no art," Lomonosov would ironically raise his eyebrows, who did not hide his disgust for obscurantists in cassocks. And Leo Tolstoy, who deserved to be excommunicated from the church, arguing that the church teaching is "insidious and harmful lie, a collection of superstitions, various types of sorcery and wild customs. We are not talking about academician Basov and aircraft designer Tupolev.

So the contribution of the church to the national culture over the past 500 years is, at least, a very debatable issue. Why make an exception for Russian cuisine, which, again, according to church adherents, is unthinkable without Orthodoxy?

In fact, it's very conceivable. What it was before the baptism of Rus' inX century and many centuries after this event. You don’t think that before Prince Vladimir we didn’t bake bread, didn’t cook cabbage soup, or didn’t cook pies? Pancakes are another pagan dish. About beer and mead - the same Vladimir, deified today, says: “For joy is Rus' to drink. We can't live without it."

Someone will say that, they say, new products came to us from Byzantium along with Orthodoxy. Yes, indeed, buckwheat appears in the first monasteries, where Byzantine monks cultivate it. But what about religion? This is a common borrowing from neighboring peoples. It has always been in Rus': sour milk from nomads, rice from Asians, cabbage from southern Slavs, celery from Germans, pasta from Italians. What's Orthodox?

In fact, the adoption of Christianity did not become the cornerstone of the development of our early medieval cuisine. This process was long and ambiguous. And even today, after 1000 years, we follow pagan customs. Pancakes for Shrovetide are a vivid example of this, with which the Orthodox Church was forced to come to terms.

Yes, the Russian Lenten table is a separate phenomenon in the history of our cuisine. Its influence is twofold. On the one hand, a conscious restriction in the consumption of products. On the other hand… What do you think, that in the Middle Ages every family could afford meat even in a “meat-eater”? It's just food savings.

Fasting (as a restriction in food) is far from being an Orthodox invention. It is available in Germany and France. It is among the Buddhists, and the Manicheans, and the Zoroastrians. Vegetarians around the world generally eat lean food - is it really under the influence of the ROC? And, after all, they give quite spiritual justifications for this in the spirit of Leo Tolstoy's "First Step".

Well, what else of the Orthodox (or generally Christian) influence?

· You can not eat food offered to idols i.e. sacrificed to the gods of other religions (ICor:10-28).
· It is not just the meat of individual animals that is prohibited, but the methods of killing them for use as food. “For it is pleasing to the Holy Spirit and us not to place any more burden on you, except this necessary one: to abstain ... blood, and strangled.” (Acts 15:28-29).
· The Church takes care of the flock, recommending a restrained attitude to food, warning against eating foods that cause a feeling of laziness and other sinful conditions.
· An Orthodox meal should be accompanied by a prayer, during which believers ask to bless their food and thank God for their daily bread.
Isn't it true that nothing is related to cooking here at all?

And now let's think about what negative Orthodoxy has brought to Russian cuisine. Here, too, there is something to think about.

It turns out, for example, that eating veal was considered a great sin in the Muscovite state. Eerie evidence of this we find in the book of Yakov Reitenfels, written in the 70s of the 17th century: fortress in Vologda, because they, forced by hunger, bought and slaughtered a calf. Think veal and all? And here it is not.

Today, the famous revivalist of invented Russian cuisine Maxim Syrnikov, for example, argues that "hard cheeses, pressed and aged, were prepared in Russian antiquity." Why invented? Yes, because this comical "historian" does not understand that the rennet for such cheese is obtained from the stomach of a calf. Cutting which was considered a sin. So it turns out that “thanks” to the Orthodox Church we didn’t have normal cheeses untilXVIII- XIX centuries, when this stupid prohibition died of itself.

Or another example. Ancient soup yurma. This stew is mentioned in Domostroy in the 1550s. What was she? Boiled fish in the ear, next to it is chicken in broth. And then the chicken is cut into pieces and sent to the fish broth. And so it turns out chicken with the smell of sturgeon or sterlet. A dish that has practically disappeared today in Central Russia. From what? Yes, simply because yurma contradicts the church principle of dividing any food into fast and fast food. And eating fish food again after fasting is not for everyone.

To the one who says: “What kind of disgusting thing is this, chicken with fish?” We recommend going to Rostov and tasting the popular local dish "rooster's ear". Yes, yes, only on the outskirts of Russia, whereXV centuries, free people fled, among other things, from church and monastic oppression, only a semblance of this curious dish of Russian cuisine has been preserved.

And most importantly, let's not forget the main "staple" of our Orthodoxy. It is about the fact that “any power is from God” and the main thing for the church is to support this power in every possible way. For many centuries serfdom was the basis of Russian life, our church so dear.

That's the role of the cook and it is worth talking in this vein. "While the prestige of French chefs was constantly increasing, their social status until the very revolution (1793) remained the same - servants." This opinion of the American researcher Paul Metzner surprisingly accurately reflects the social and professional conflict that had matured by that time. The French culinary specialist Grimaud de la Renière says about him: “Happy is the one who has really good cook! He must treat him not as a servant, but as a friend.” Needless to say, the situation in Russia was even more difficult. After all, even in early XIX century, most cooks are serfs.

Is it not an illusion to demand the development of culinary arts from slaves? Life confirmed this when cooking in Russia abruptly "revealed" by the middleXIXcentury. And the profession "cook" became not a serf, but a free one.

Another confirmation is Soviet cuisine. Consigned to oblivion many traditions of Russian cuisine. But, after all, the Soviet government was so loved by the Russian Orthodox Church? The hierarchs of which did not hesitate to receive orders and dachas from her? So is there really an intrigue here, and the Russian Orthodox Church passionately loved the Soviet government, secretly eating anti-Soviet sturgeon like a monastery?

As with any complex cultural phenomenon, it is impossible to give a clear "black and white" answer. It is clear that the role of monasteries in the preservation of Russian traditional cuisine is great. For historical science very important are church sources that have preserved the memory of the festive table centuries ago. But no less than that, we must take into account the role of the Orthodox Church, which supports the most backward views on culture and science. Including the fact that Russian cuisine remains at the level of the house-building orders that are so dear to her. Fortunately, the progress of society has left her little opportunity to do so.

There is no doubt that sensible nutrition plays a big role in human life. According to the Bible, initially only vegetable food was intended for human nutrition. However, even in the Garden of Eden, the first people were commanded not to eat the fruits of certain trees, and the violation of this commandment, as the Bible says, led to the expulsion of people from paradise.
In further biblical history after the Flood, God allowed Noah and his descendants to eat animal products. But at the same time, it was forbidden to eat a living creature, blood and, accordingly, meat with unbleeded blood (in particular, "strangled").

On the feast of unleavened bread, it was not allowed to eat bread made with yeast and leaven (leavened bread) (Ex. 12:20). All animals were divided into clean and unclean, only the meat of the first could be eaten (Lev. 11).
These restrictions were general idea about the fact that a person chosen to serve the One Holy God must himself be holy and pure in all respects, and only “clean” food should correspond to him. Undoubtedly, these instructions also had a hygienic significance, for example, the prohibition to eat the meat of an animal torn to pieces by a wild beast or use dishes defiled by mice and insects.

Over time, these prohibitions were overgrown with "traditions of the elders", petty details, sometimes insignificant, but elevated to the rank of indisputable. By the first century, a religious party of the Pharisees had formed in Judea, which saw the main goal of man in the strict observance of countless prescriptions.

One of the components of moral purity, according to the teachings of Christ, is right attitude to food. Concerns about daily bread should not obscure spiritual quests, become the goal of life.

Satisfying the natural human need for food should not turn into serving one's womb, food should not enslave a person, become his idol, give rise to passion. Thus, from the external, purely formal fulfillment of the Law, the emphasis was shifted to internal abstinence, spiritual sobriety.

Over time, dishes that have a symbolic meaning have entered Christian everyday life. For the first Christians, it was a fish, symbolizing Jesus Christ. Subsequently, the tradition became entrenched Easter cakes, Easter, painted eggs, funeral kutia, etc.
By the 4th century, when Christianity became the state religion, Christian society had lost high level morality inherent in the first communities. Few ascetics tried to withdraw from the world, despising all its blessings, in order to preserve spiritual purity. From the joint settlements of the monks, monasteries arose.

Life in the first monasteries was very difficult. The simplest food was allowed: bread, water, dishes made from greens and beans ("brew with a potion" and "sochivo", according to the terminology of the Slavic charters), sometimes cheese. Seasoning was salt and olive ("wooden") oil. They ate once a day, only on Saturday and Sunday they relied on another second - an evening meal. No one had anything of their own, but everything was common property. The monks spent their time in prayer and labor. But despite this, the desire for monastic life was so great that the number of monks in the first monasteries reached fifty thousand. This is explained by the fact that in the monastery a person ceased to be a toy in the hands of temporary workers, a serf of the princes of this age.

The monasteries of the 4th-5th centuries accepted the succession of moral loftiness, brotherly love, and Christian unity that reigned in the early Christian communities.
In cenobitic monasteries, food was common to all. It was customary not to put away all the bread that remained on the fraternal table after the meal, but to distribute it to the hungry, asking for alms. Many monasteries hosted daily free meals for the needy. In the hard times of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, Russian monasteries in lean years became the last hope for the hungry and destitute people flowing to them. In one of these years, the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery fed 600 people, and Pafnutyevo-Borovskoy - 1000 people daily

The monasteries developed a special food culture, corresponding to the ascetic ideal. Its basis was the idea of ​​subordinating the flesh to the spirit, the idea of ​​the spiritual transformation of a person's entire life. The consumption of meat was completely excluded. During the meal, idle conversations were forbidden, soul-beneficial teachings were read. And even the church itself often served as a premise for it. Thus, the meal, as it were, became part of the divine service, and from the purely physiological process of eating it rose to the rite of eating it, imbued with the light of the Transfiguration.

For centuries, monasteries have been creators and keepers of the secrets of cooking. Solitude from the world in the silence of forests and on the shores of lakes contributed to the use of rich gifts of nature - fish, mushrooms, berries, nuts, honey. Tireless farmers through selfless labor in the monastic gardens and orchards grew a variety of very rare and valuable vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries.

The monks gave many recipes that later became common. These are the well-known Borodinsky bread, monastery-style rice and fish, monastery honey, various wines and much, much more.

The spread of the ascetic ideal in society led to the fact that fasting became the norm of Christian life. In subsequent times, the special attention of the Church to fasting was caused by the appearance of heresies, of which some put fasting on an equal footing with the highest moral duties of a Christian (Montanists, Manicheans), while others denied any significance of fasting (Aertius, Jovinian and others). The teaching of the Church on fasting was summed up by the Gangra Council, which forbade the violation of established fasts, but at the same time forbade condemning a brother who, with a blessing, eats meat at a permitted time. Final deadlines Orthodox posts were installed only at the Council of Constantinople in 1166.

Peering into history, it is easy to see that with all the differences in epochs, the main idea remains unchanged in Christianity - the idea of ​​a sober, moral attitude to food, moderation in meeting needs. The current Orthodox tradition is an implementation of this idea, tested on the experience of generations.

Since ancient times, a peculiar food culture has developed in Russia, corresponding to its geographical and national characteristics. It is reflected in such a substitute written monument of the 16th century as "Domostroy", compiled by the monk Sylvester. The strict regulation of the Russian table and the secrets of preparing dishes corresponding to the Orthodox calendar were passed down from generation to generation.

In the 19th century, Elena Molokhovets' book "A Gift to Young Housewives" was very popular. A remarkable work was the "Encyclopedia of Nutrition" by D. V. Kanshin.

The seventy-year period of domination of the atheistic worldview has not been in vain for this area. The tradition and culture of food were forgotten, and in many ways irretrievably lost. Life itself, living conditions, and the range of foodstuffs consumed have also changed.

Orthodox Christianity. Food prescriptions and fasts

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY

Christianity arose in the 1st century. n. e. in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. According to Christian doctrine, the founder of Christianity was the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Initially, Christianity was formed in Palestine from the currents and sects of Judaism, then there was a disengagement from Judaism, which had ethnic limitations. Religion prevailed, which appealed to the suffering of all nationalities and proclaimed the equality of all people before God. The crisis that engulfed the Roman Empire created the conditions for the spread of Christianity. In the IV century. Emperor Constantine recognized Christianity and contributed to its transformation into the dominant religion. The persecution of Christians ended, and Christianity became one of the world's religions.

Christianity is not a single religion. Orthodoxy is one of its three main directions along with Catholicism and Protestantism. After the division of the Roman Empire, Orthodoxy becomes the religion of the Eastern Empire - Byzantium. The official split of Christianity into the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches took shape in 1054. In the 16th century. in Europe, an anti-Catholic movement began and Protestantism arose. At present, Catholics are the most numerous of Christians, followed by Protestants, and then Orthodox.

The most important rites of Christianity include the sacraments, which are the fundamental basis of the entire cult. According to the teachings of the church, during the performance of the sacraments, divine grace descends on the believers. The Orthodox and Catholic churches recognize the seven sacraments, but perform them in their own way. Sacraments in Orthodoxy:

1. Baptism, in which a person is washed from sins and becomes a member of the church. The ritual includes immersing the baby in the font, anointing and putting on the cross. Adults are also allowed to be baptized.
2. Confirmation, through which the believer is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The ritual consists in anointing various parts of the body with consecrated myrrh (Greek myron - fragrant oil) made from olive oil, white grape wine and aromatic substances.
3. Repentance. The believer confesses (orally reveals) his sins to God in the presence of a priest who forgives them in the name of Jesus Christ.
4. Communion. The believer, under the guise of bread and wine, accepts the body and blood of Jesus Christ, through this he is united with Christ and becomes a partaker eternal life. The communion ritual is discussed at the end of this chapter.
5. Marriage is a sacrament performed in a church during a wedding ceremony. The family is considered the foundation of the Christian church, although marriage is not compulsory for everyone.
6. The priesthood is a sacrament performed at the elevation to the rank of a priest.
7. Unction (unction) - lubrication of parts of the patient's body with consecrated oil (olive oil), accompanied by the reading of certain prayers. It is believed that this sacrament has healing power and cleanses from sins.

In addition to the sacraments, the Orthodox cult includes divine services, worship of the cross, veneration of icons, saints and their relics, prayers, including before and after meals, etc. An important part cult - fasts and holidays. They regulate the everyday way of life and in them a significant place is given to ritual nutrition.

The food prescriptions of many religions include the division of foods into "clean" and "unclean", prohibitions on the use of certain foods, rules for culinary processing of food, ritual cleanliness of dishes, and other regulations related to nutrition. In relation to Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and some Christian movements and sects, these issues are considered in subsequent chapters of the book.

A different situation in Orthodox Christianity, as, by the way, in Catholicism and the main Protestant churches. There are no absolute prohibitions on the use of certain products and their constant division into approved or condemned in nutrition. Only during the period of fasting are there indications for the permissibility of certain foods and for abstaining from certain types of food up to starvation. Consequently, food prescriptions are associated specifically with fasting and are temporary.

Ancient chronicles brought to us the appeals of the authorities of the Orthodox Church - the Church Fathers (Holy Fathers) and holy ascetics - to observe moderation in nutrition: “consume food and drink that do not cause revolt of the body and spiritual”, “hot wine (strong alcoholic on-drinks) do not hold and do not drink", "gluttony with drunkenness is the worst (greatest) sin." St. Maxim the Preserve emphasized: "It is not food that is evil, but gluttony." Under these statements, a modern nutritionist can subscribe, promoting rational nutrition and healthy lifestyle life.

According to food prescriptions, Orthodox fasts can be divided into five categories:

1. The strictest post - any food is forbidden, only water is allowed. In medicine, this corresponds to the concept of complete starvation. The Orthodox church charter does not provide for absolute fasting without the use of water, which is typical for daytime fasts in Islam.
2. Fasting with "dry eating" - uncooked vegetable food is allowed. In medicine, this is close to the concept of a strictly vegetarian diet in the form of a raw food diet, but not the same as the latter, since bread is also eaten on the days of this fast.
   1. Fasting with "eating of cooking" - the use of vegetable food subjected to thermal cooking is allowed, but without lean (vegetable) oil. This type of diet is almost entirely consistent with strict vegetarianism.
   2. The fast with the "eating of cooking with oil" corresponds to the previous one, but it is permissible to use vegetable oil in its natural form and for cooking from vegetable products. The nature of the food corresponds to the usual strict vegetarianism. Oil is olive oil used in church rituals, and in the broad sense of the word

- any vegetable oil.

1. Fasting with "eating fish", when vegetable food in any culinary treatment is supplemented with fish and fish products, as well as vegetable oil.

In addition to these prescriptions, the church charter on fasting stipulates the days of a single meal.

The considered food prescriptions allow us to outline the range of products included in lean food. These are cereals (bread, cereals, etc.), legumes, vegetables, fruits, berries, mushrooms, edible wild plants, nuts, spices, honey, vegetable oils, fish and fish products. The concept of "fast food" includes meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, animal fats (lard, etc.), eggs, as well as products containing them, for example, confectionery products with the inclusion of milk or eggs. The use of these products during fasting meant "to be offended." Over time, this word has acquired a broader and figurative sound. A conspiracy is the last day on the eve of a multi-day fast, when you can eat fast, breaking the fast - the transition from lean food to fast food. Let us also pay attention to the fact that the products obtained from animals and birds, that is, warm-blooded, are fast.

After the adoption of Orthodoxy by Kievan Rus, the diet of the Eastern Slavs was marked by a sharp division of their table into lean and modest. This had a great influence on the further development of Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. The formation of a border between the Lenten and Skoromy table, the isolation of some products from others and the prevention of their mixing on fasting days ultimately led to both the creation of a number of original dishes and some simplification of the entire menu.

In the Orthodox calendar, about 200 days are occupied by fasts, and in the past, the majority of the population observed the food prescriptions of fasts. Therefore, in folk cooking, the Lenten table was more fortunate due to the natural desire to expand the range of Lenten dishes. Hence the abundance of mushroom and fish dishes in the old Russian cuisine, the tendency to use various vegetable raw materials: grains (porridge), legumes, vegetables (cabbage, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, etc.), herbs (nettle, gout, quinoa). etc.), wild berries. For example, many now forgotten dishes were made from peas: broken peas, grated peas, pea cheese (hardly beaten soft peas with vegetable oil), pea flour noodles, pea pies, etc. Hemp, nut, poppy, olive (imported) and only in the middle of the XIX century. sunflower oil appeared. The taste variety of lean food was achieved by the use of spicy vegetables, spices, and vinegar. Onion, garlic, horseradish, dill, parsley were eaten in large quantities. Already from X-XI ev. anise, bay leaf, black pepper, cloves were used in Rus', and from the 16th century. they were supplemented with ginger, saffron, cardamom and other spices. Rich people used spices in the process of cooking, in particular, ginger and saffron, which were considered healing, were popular. Due to the high cost, many spices were not used by the people in cooking, but together with vinegar and salt they were put on the table and added to dishes during meals. This custom gave rise to subsequently assert that Russian cuisine supposedly did not use spices.

National nutritional characteristics were reflected in the nature of the Lenten table. For example, Ukrainian cuisine abounded with meatless dishes that could not only satisfy, but also satisfy a variety of tastes: borscht with beans, soups with dumplings, dumplings with meatless fillings, pies with pumpkin and dried fruits, salted watermelons , sauerkraut - what the inventive housewives did not regale during fasting! And this is even without fish dishes, which from time immemorial have occupied a significant place in the diet of Ukrainians. A typical lenten meal for the villagers was taratuta made from boiled and chopped beets, pickles, horseradish, onions, cucumber pickle, beetroot broth and vegetable oil, as well as khomy - large donuts made from boiled and grated peas with crushed hemp seeds. Thus, fasting did not give much cause for discouragement to those who abstained from meat, dairy and eggs.

An illustration of the above food prescriptions for different categories of fasting is the “Dining Book of Patriarch Filaret Nikitich”, written in 1623. The book tells in detail, day by day, about the nutrition of the patriarch. A typical example of a weekly meal menu during Lent is given.

On Monday, “the Great Sovereign, His Holiness Philaret, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' had no food and no food.” Consequently, the patriarch did not eat anything. This corresponds to the concept of the strictest fast, when only water is allowed.

On Tuesday, the patriarch was served with "chopped cold cabbage" as a table meal, which characterizes fasting with a dry diet - uncooked vegetable food is allowed.

On Wednesday, on the table of the patriarch were: a broth with Sorochinsky millet, saffron and pepper, cabbage, zobanets peas, almond kernels, walnuts, wine berries, horseradish, toast, a “pot of porridge” with ginger.

On Thursday, as on Monday, "there was no food and no food was kept" - the strictest post.

On Friday, the patriarch was served sauerkraut soup with onions and peppers, mushrooms, zobanets peas, pea noodles, almond kernels, walnuts, honey kvass boiled with Sorochinskiy millet, raisins, saffron and pepper, “a mountain of porridge” with ginger, croutons , steamed turnips, cut into slices with vinegar and horseradish, wine berries, apples. This fast day, like Wednesday, is characterized by the "eating of cooking" - the use of boiled food, but without vegetable oil.

On Saturday and Sunday the patriarch had two meals. For lunch, caviar was served, beluga and sturgeon dry and freshly salted, sterlet porridge, fish soup from carp, fish soup from caviar, caviar boiled with hemp oil, sturgeon body, elm boiled with vinegar and horseradish, pies with fish and other fish food , as well as cabbage heated with nut oil, radish, horseradish, mushrooms, pea noodles with oil, peas, almond kernels, walnuts, croutons. Dinner on these days was similar, but less diverse in terms of the set of products and dishes, corresponding to the concept of fasting with “eating fish”, when fish, fish products and vegetable oil are added to plant foods. The possibility of eating fish in great post could be related to the fact that these days coincided with the feast of the Annunciation, when the Lenten ban on fish is cancelled.

Thus, the patriarch's weekly meals characterize all categories of Orthodox fasts. Of course, many products and dishes served at the table of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' were available only to rich people.

Typical of the 17th century the names of a number of the mentioned products and dishes require modern man explanation. So, “Sorochinsky millet” meant rice, and the word “Sorochinsky” itself was distorted from “Saracenic”. In medieval Europe, Arabs and some other peoples of the Middle East, where rice was grown, were called Saracens. Wine berries are figs; zobanets peas - peeled peas; body - boiled or fried flesh (fillet) of fish, vyaziga - veins from the sturgeon ridge, which, being well boiled, turn into jelly.

Note also the words "pot of porridge." The main kitchen and serving vessel in Russia for a long time was a ceramic pot - the forerunner of modern pots, tureens, jars for food storage. Soups and cereals were cooked in pots, meat, fish, vegetables were stewed, various foods were baked, and then served on the table. Due to this versatility, the sizes and capacity of the pots were varied - from huge to a "pot" for 200-300 g. And in the old days in Russia, not only cereal dishes were called porridge, but in general everything that was cooked from crushed products. Hence the “fish porridge”, which was served to the patriarch. The fish was finely chopped and possibly mixed with boiled grits.

In the most fast food, Christians had to observe moderation. The Church Fathers denounced those who try to unnecessarily diversify and season fasting foods. Judging by the dishes of the Saturday and Sunday table of Patriarch Philaret, these recommendations were of a relative nature. True, the days of relief from many days of fasting - Saturdays and Sundays, one of the church fathers John Chrysostom compared with places of rest for travelers: the spirit cheered up, and after these two days they continued their wonderful journey with renewed vigor.

The mitigation of food prescriptions for fasting is allowed if a person is sick, busy with a difficult physical labor or is away from home, on the road. This is especially true for strict fasts - without food or only with uncooked food. However, a complete violation of the fast - the use of fast food - is rejected by the church charter. Fasting does not apply to infants - their mother takes on their sin.

Priest Aleksey Chulei (1993) notes: “The Church has never extended the strict rules of fasting to the weak. A woman in labor, for example, is not forbidden to use oil, even on the days of the Holy Week of Great Lent. But I will say this: illness is higher than physical (i.e., food) fasting, but spiritual fasting also applies to the sick.”

Those who cannot observe the prescriptions of strict fasting must aggravate other deeds of Christian piety. John Chrysostom taught: “Whoever takes food and cannot fast, let him give plentiful alms, let him show unceasing prayer, let him have a great readiness to serve the word of God. The infirmity of the body cannot prevent him from doing this. Yes, reconcile with your enemies; May all evil-remembrance be driven away from his soul. The words “infirmity of the body” refer not only to sick people, but also to healthy people who are “bodily” unable to withstand a strict fast. In addition, the number of days of strict fasting is relatively small.

Consider the duration of the fasts, the dates of their observance in the Orthodox calendar, and the corresponding food prescriptions. By duration, fasts are divided into one-day and multi-day.

The weekly fast days are Wednesday and Friday. On Wednesday, fasting is set in mournful remembrance of the betrayal of Jesus Christ to suffering, on Friday - in memory of the very suffering and death of Christ. These days, the Orthodox Church does not allow the use of meat, dairy and egg foods. In addition, in the period from the week of All Saints (following the feast of the Trinity) until the Nativity of Christ, one should also abstain from fish and vegetable oil. Only when Wednesday and Friday are the days of the celebrated saints (those who are celebrated with a festive service in the temples), vegetable oil is allowed, and on the biggest holidays - fish and fish products.

Fasting on Wednesdays is observed for almost the entire year, with the exception of continuous weeks (weeks), namely: 1) Easter (Bright) week; 2) two-week Christmas time - from the Nativity of Christ to the Baptism of the Lord; 3) Trinity week - from the feast of the Holy Trinity to the beginning of Peter's fast; 4) me-come on the week of the publican and the Pharisee before Great Lent; 5) the week before the Great Lent, which is popularly called Maslenitsa, and in the church - meat-fat, or cheese, week. Meat food is already prohibited, and dairy products and eggs are eaten on Wednesday and Friday. This week is called “cheese week”, because for a long time in Rus' cottage cheese was called cheese, and dishes made from it were called cheese. Let's remember the familiar cheesecakes. And now in the Ukrainian language cottage cheese is designated as "cheese".

In addition to those indicated, the following one-day fasts have been established: 1) on Christmas Eve before Christmas - December 24 (January 6). Strict post - you can eat only with the appearance of the first star, that is, in the evening; 2) on Christmas Eve before the Baptism of the Lord - January 6 (19); 3) on the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist - August 29 (September 11); 4) on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - September 14 (27). In the last two one-day fasts, vegetable food with vegetable oil is allowed, but not fish.

There are four multi-day fasts in the Orthodox calendar: Great, Assumption, Holy Apostles (Petrov) and Christmas.

Lent is the most important and strict in terms of food prescriptions. It continues for 7 weeks before Easter. The church name for the first 6 weeks of Lent is “Holy Fourteenth Day,” since 40 days pass from its beginning to Friday of the sixth week. Seventh, last before Easter,

- Holy Week. All the days of this week in the liturgical books are called Great according to the greatness of the remembered events. IN folk tradition the whole post is called Great. The first part of the fast - “Holy Forty Days” - was established in memory of those important events about which we are talking in the Old and New Testaments. The second part - Holy Week - is set in memory of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, called the "Passion of the Lord." The dates of Great Lent are not fixed and depend on the date of Easter, which changes every year. Read more about Great Lent and its food prescriptions below.

The fast of the Holy Apostles (Peter's fast) begins a week after the day of the Holy Trinity and continues until the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul - June 29 (July 12). Fasting is established in memory of the apostles, who fasted before going out into the world to preach Christianity. The church charter on nutrition in this fast is the same as in the Advent fast. If the day of the holiday after fasting falls on Wednesday or Friday, then breaking the fast (the beginning of eating fast food) is transferred to the next day, and on this day it is allowed to eat fish. In the past, the people called this post “Petrovka-Hunger Strike”, as there was still little food from the new harvest. Date and duration of Petrov fast in different years are different (from 8 days to 6 weeks), which underlies the unequal total number of fasting days in the annual Orthodox calendar. These differences are connected with the transitional date of Easter, hence with the inconstant date of the day of the Holy Trinity (celebrated on the 50th day after Easter) and, therefore, the fast of the Holy Apostles that goes a week after the Trinity.

The Dormition fast lasts 2 weeks - from August 1 (14) to August 14 (27). With this post, the Orthodox Church venerates the Most Holy Theotokos. The Assumption (Death) of the Mother of God is celebrated on August 15 (28). During Dormition Lent, you should eat the same way you eat during Great Lent. According to the church charter, the use of fish is allowed only on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord - August 6 (19). If the feast of the Assumption coincides with Wednesday or Friday, then these days it is allowed to eat fish, and breaking the fast is transferred to the next day. In contrast to the Petrov Fast, the Assumption Fast is popularly called the “gourmet”, since during this period of summer there are many fruits of the new harvest.

The Advent (Philippov) fast lasts 40 days before Christmas: from November 15 (28) to December 24 (January 6). The Nativity Fast is also called "Philippov" because it begins on the feast day of the Apostle Philipp. During this fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, fish and vegetable oil should not be consumed. After the feast of St. Nicholas - December 6 (19) - fish is allowed only on Saturday and Sunday. Advent is not considered strict, except last days- from December 20 (January 2) - before Christmas. These days they eat once, in the evening, and the simplest food from plant foods. According to the church charter, a strict fast is obligatory on the eve of Christmas, when only in the evening, when the first star rises, announcing the hour of the Nativity of Christ, juicy is allowed - dry grains (usually wheat) soaked in water. A combination of cereal grains with honey is acceptable. Sochiv is also called grains of wheat or vegetables boiled with honey. From the word "sochivo" the day before the Christmas holiday is called Christmas Eve.

Let us pay attention to the fact that the Nativity Fast and the first part (Holy Forty Days) of Great Lent last 40 days. This number has a special meaning in the Bible. The Great Flood lasted 40 days. After slavery in Egypt, for 40 years the Jews wandered through the deserts together with Moses, until a new free generation appeared, which entered the promised land - Canaan (Palestine). Moses fasted for 40 days without any food before he received from God the tablets (stone boards) with the commandments of God. After baptism, Jesus Christ withdrew into the wilderness in order to prepare by prayer and fasting for the fulfillment of his destiny, for 40 days Christ did not eat any food.

To alleviate the fate of the soul of the deceased, the church prescribes to pray intensely for the deceased for 40 days (Sorokousty), after which the soul appears before God to determine the posthumous fate.

in the mystical and magical meaning the number 40 means absolute completeness. Hence the ancient belief that a normal pregnancy should last 280 days (40 x 7). A figurative measure common in the past in Russia is “forty forty”, for example, the bell ringing of “forty forty churches”.

Great Lent is preparation for the main Orthodox holiday, Easter. Through abstinence, repentance and deepening into the spiritual life, Great Lent should purify and prepare the believer for participation in the joyful, solemn feast of the Resurrection of Christ. The traditions of Great Lent have been preserved mainly in Orthodoxy.

The dietary prescriptions of Great Lent are based on ancient church practice, and the Great Lent rule in force in the Russian Orthodox Church dates back to the 14th century. This charter extended to monks as well. Since there was no separate charter for the laity - ordinary believers who were not related to the clergy, the latter in Rus' fasted according to rules close to the common monastic ones. Therefore, let us first consider the prescriptions of Great Lent on the basis of the general monastic rules of fasting.

The Great Lent Charter prescribed the use of vegetable oils on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on the days of memory of the most revered saints. The inclusion of fish and fish products in the diet was allowed only on the holidays of the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday).

Complete abstinence from food (the strictest fast) is actually required for the three days of Great Lent: on Monday and Tuesday of the first week and on Good Friday in Holy Week. On the remaining days of the first week, until Friday inclusive, as well as from Monday to Friday of the second to sixth weeks, it was supposed to eat bread and vegetables, including boiled ones, once a day - in the evening. They also fast on the first 4 days of Holy Week and on Great Saturday (only without vegetables). On Saturdays and Sundays, boiled vegetable food with vegetable oil is allowed, as well as wine. The latter is also allowed on those days on which solemn memories fall.

The charters of some monasteries had even stricter rules: complete fasting for five, and not two days of the first week, or dry eating (bread, raw vegetables, water) after two days of strict fasting in the following days, except for Saturdays and Sundays of the first to sixth weeks Great post.

However, many lay people fasted according to rules that were milder than the general monastic ones, although even with a variety of plant foods, not every person could withstand a seven-week fast. Therefore, later the rules of fasting for the laity became less strict and more individual. For example, it was forbidden to eat fish only on the first, fourth and seventh weeks of Lent. In some cases, the unconditional prohibition extended only to fast food. Believers coordinated the rules of fasting with their spiritual leaders - clergymen or monks. This approach corresponds to the words of the most ancient Christian work “The Teaching of the 12 Apostles”: “If you really can bear the whole yoke of the Lord, then you will be perfect, and if you cannot, then do what you can.” At the same time, this approach once again shows that certain food prescriptions in fasting are very important, but in themselves do not represent the essence of fasting.

Lent includes days with their own food rituals and traditions - religious and folk, including purely national ones. For example, in Ukraine, the first day of Great Lent was called not only “clean”, but also “striped tooth” and “veiny”. The Monday after Maslenitsa was called “striptooth” because on this day the villagers gathered in the tavern to “wash out the traces” of fast food from their teeth. On the one hand, on Monday they didn’t cook food and tried not to eat at all, which made the veins “pull”. Hence the name "veiny". On the other hand, on this day, cakes were often baked from unleavened dough - “zhilyaniki”. They were eaten, as a rule, cold, hardened. Finally, in connection with the first day of fasting, there was an expression "to get rid of horseradish." Horseradish was rubbed with salt and vegetable oil, diluted with beet kvass and eaten with bread. Consequently, when refusing fast food, deviations from the strict church charter of Great Lent were possible.

On Friday of the first week of Great Lent, churches consecrate koliva (boiled wheat with honey) in memory of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron. He helped Christians to keep the prescriptions of fasting. In 362, the Byzantine emperor Julian the Apostate, during a fast, ordered food supplies to be secretly sprinkled with the blood of idolaters in the city of Antioch. Tiron, previously burned for the Christian faith, appeared in a dream to the bishop of this city, revealed to him Julian's order and ordered him not to buy anything in the market for a week, but to eat koliva. Now the center of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Syria, and kolivo has become a ritual dish, very close, but not equivalent to kutya. Kutya as a ritual dish is described in subsequent chapters of the book.

On the eve of the third Sunday of Great Lent in churches for worship, believers are taken out " honest cross Mr. day. The fourth week begins - the Adoration of the Cross. This week is a turning point. Passed half way to Easter. The time when half the Lent passed was popularly called middle fast or middle cross. It came on the night from Wednesday to Thursday. According to an ancient tradition that existed among the Eastern Slavs before the adoption of Christianity, ritual bread was baked at this time of the year. They, according to belief, contributed to the successful sowing. In the future, this custom acquired Christian symbolism. In the middle peasantry, they began to bake cookies in the form of crosses from wheat flour - sacrals, into which zeon of various cereals and small coins were baked. Whoever got the coin had to start sowing. The rest of the sacrums were eaten. In Ukraine, when poppies were sown, and then wheat, they had wheat crosses (“chresch”) with them, some of them were eaten, and some were kept as a healing agent.

On one of the most significant Orthodox holidays - the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin on March 25 (April 7), the strict prescriptions of Great Lent are interrupted: you can eat fish food. On this day, fish pies were baked, and wealthy people in Russia ate the “Annunciation” kulebyaka (from the Finnish “kala” - fish) with elm (veins from the sturgeon ridge) “at four corners”, for example, with salmon, with burbot caviar, with pike-perch caviar and mushrooms. Vyaziga, when boiled, turned into a gelatinous mass and made the kulebyaka juicy. Most of us have forgotten about kulebyaks. But cooking recipes remained and, hopefully, with time we will use them.

On Maundy Thursday of Holy Week, “Thursday salt” was prepared. Salt was burned in a furnace or oven and put on the table along with bread on Thursday night. This salt was served at the table on Easter. Part of the salt was stored before sowing, and also given to livestock before pasture for the first grazing. This rite, which was incorporated into Lent, has deep ancient Slavic roots and is associated with seasonal peasant work. According to legend, salt protected from misfortunes, the evil eye and evil spirits. Since Maundy Thursday, the Orthodox have been preparing for the Easter holiday: on Thursday they painted eggs, on Friday they baked Easter cakes and made Easter.

IN tsarist Russia observance of the fasts was the duty of the Orthodox. Peter I and Catherine II issued decrees that the clergy should keep records of people who observe fasts and go to confession. Violators were punished. The decrees themselves testify to the facts of evasion from posts. Fasting, being a matter of personal piety, also reflected the public attitude to fasting, which at different times and among different social class groups of the population was not the same. Let us give examples illustrating this position.

In Rus', monasteries - communities of monks (Greek monachos - lonely, living in solitude) - appeared in the 10th-11th centuries. A monk, or a monk (that is, different, not like everyone else), voluntarily takes vows for the sake of saving his soul and lives according to the charter of the monastery. The statutes of different monasteries differed, including food prescriptions. In general, Orthodox monasticism believed that the salvation of the soul is achieved by ascetic renunciation of the "carnal", by limiting needs, and by frequent fasting. Monastic statutes provide for moderately meager meals, not only in Lent. But the usual statutory food is sufficient for the body, and the monastic instruction "to eat almost satiety" empirically anticipated the modern recommendations of dietitians.

One of the church fathers, the Greek theologian of the 4th century, Basil the Great, supported the asceticism of monasticism, but at the same time taught: “A monk has come to the monastery - let him know his own food. Was he tired on the road? Offer him as much as he needs to replenish his strength. Has anyone come from worldly life? May he receive a model and an example of moderation in food.

Without requiring self-torture, determining the right amount of food by the natural need of the body, Basil the Great sought to "not go beyond this need." He saw the danger of excessively strict and lengthy fasts, since "the weakened flesh becomes more pliable to the devil..." However, this issue was not resolved unambiguously. Despite the great authority of Basil the Great, many church leaders argued that the stricter the fast, the more it humbles sinful thoughts. In monasticism, the concept of “fasting” arose, that is, to bring oneself to death by too strict fasting. Of course, not only monks could "post". There is evidence that the early death of N.V. Gogol is to some extent connected with his strict posts.

Saint Cyril, who founded in the XIV century. Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (now in Vologda region), the young monk was entrusted to the elder, who forbade Cyril to fast beyond his strength. The elder forced him to eat food not every 2-3 days, as Kirill wanted, but every day, but not to satiety. Nevertheless, Cyril often ate only bread and drank water. Already in his monastery, Cyril strictly monitored the observance of the fasts and reproached the monks who had ruddy faces for their "non-fasting worldly face." However, he took care of the nutrition of the monks, at whose meals there were "three meals." The consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited.

Saint Nile of Sorsk was considered in the 15th century. a pillar of the northern hermitage (the desert is originally a secluded monastery in a remote area) and at the same time a representative of the Greek school of spiritual life. He was not a hermit, but his path lay through asceticism (Greek askesis - rejection of life's blessings, pleasures, etc.). As a teacher of bodily asceticism, Nil Sorsky retained his law of measures: “Each one feeds according to the strength of his body, but more than his soul ... All the diversity of people cannot be embraced by a single rule, since the difference is also observed in the strength of bodies, how different are copper and iron from wax. These words of Neil Sorsky can be fully transferred to a modern book on food hygiene.

Neil Sorsky advised to take “little by little” during meals, but from all meals, so as not to show neglect of food – God’s creation and to avoid Pharisees’ self-exaltation. These recommendations differ from the refectory charter with the gradation of dishes of St. Joseph of Volotsk, which in the 15th century. founded a monastery near Volokolamsk on the principles of kinovia - a cenobitic form of monasticism, when everyone is equal in rights and duties and does not have personal property. In striving for a perfect community, repeating many times that “food and drink are equal to everyone”, Joseph Volotsky created in his monastery three categories of monks (“three dispensations”) according to the degrees of voluntary asceticism. These categories differed at meals in the quantity and nature of the dishes.

The monk sought complete withdrawal from the world in hermitage. Such an opportunity was given by staying in a skete - a secluded dwelling independently or structurally allocated in a monastery. Skitniks ate only lenten food. In a strict skete, meals were taken once a day, and on Saturdays, Sundays and church holidays - twice. Bread was eaten without restrictions. Tea was excluded as a “stimulant” and hot water with sugar or honey was consumed instead, although this was considered a relief. It was recommended to drink plain water. Skitniks took additional vows, especially regarding strict fasts. In the monastery, which was reopened in the 90s, as well as in sketes on the islands of the Valaam archipelago, according to the monastic charter, eating meat is prohibited and dairy products are allowed only on major holidays.

Thus, the observance of fasts in monasteries was given a very great importance, and according to the monastic charters, the food prescriptions of the Orthodox Church were often tightened, although there is also some evidence of gluttony and drunkenness of the monks.

Fasting is part of fasting, that is, the preparation of the believer for one of the most important rites in Christianity

- communion. Fasting lasts several days, includes fasting, prayers, attendance at services and confession. Communion should be done at least once a year, but communion four times a year or more is recommended. The ceremony itself is carried out before eating: you can not eat and drink.

Communion (Greek eucharistia - Eucharist) is a sacrament in which believers partake of bread and wine, incarnating the body and blood of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel, this sacrament was established by Jesus himself at the last meal with the apostles: “And when they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and broke it, and, distributing it to the disciples, said: take, eat - this is My Body. And he took the cup, gave it to them, and said, Drink all of you out of it, for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”

Blood in the Bible was considered a symbol of life, over which only God has power. Therefore, blood was forbidden to be eaten. But now Jesus Christ himself gave his life, his blood to people. Since ancient times, the conclusion of the Covenant - an agreement between God and people was accompanied by the ritual of sprinkling believers with the blood of an animal dedicated to God. Jesus Christ replaced the blood of the sacrifice with the juice of the vine, the wine of the meal, which signifies the divine-human sacrifice.

Communion is performed during the liturgy - the main divine service. Part of the liturgy is called proskomidia (Greek - offering) from the custom of early Christians to bring bread and wine to the temple for a joint meal. Therefore, the bread for communion is called prosphora, or prosvira (Greek.

- offering). Prosphora is a round bun baked from leavened wheat bread. It consists of two parts, reflecting the image of Jesus Christ - God and man. On its upper part are depicted a cross, the initials of Jesus Christ the Savior and Greek word"Nika" - "Winner". They drink grape wine (usually Cahors in Orthodoxy), red, reminiscent of the color of blood. Wine is mixed with water as a symbol of the fact that blood and a watery liquid flowed from the wounds of Jesus Christ. In proskomidia, 5 pros-phoras are used in memory of Jesus feeding more than 5,000 people with five loaves. But actually for communion they use one prosphora, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: “One bread, and we are many - one body; for we all partake of the same bread.” By its size, this prosphora should correspond to the number of communicants.

During communion, the priest from the Holy Chalice gives the communicant the Holy Gifts - bread and wine, over which a blessing is made. After the ceremony of the rite, the one who took communion goes to the table, where parts of the prosphora and warm water with the addition of wine (warmth) are prepared to drink it down and there are no pieces of bread left in the mouth. Sick people are confessed and communed by the priest in their homes.

J.I. Panteleev in his autobiographical book "I Believe" (1989) tells about his childhood impressions of the first communion. In Great Lent, he prepared for confession and fasted. The mother, who did not eat meat during the whole Great Lent, allowed the children to fast only for a week of fasting. But the fast was not exhausting: instead of meat, the children ate fish. The author writes: “Having returned home after the first confession in my life, I went to bed without having supper. And in the morning, before mass, before communion, you also do not eat or drink anything. With what ease in soul and body you go with your mother to church. And here it is - the main minute. Even from a distance you see the Holy Chalice and the red cloth in the hand of the deacon. It's your turn. "Name?" the deacon asks. Hands folded in a cross on the chest. You open your mouth. And you see how carefully the priest brings a silver flat spoon to your mouth, while saying something, calling your name. It's done! They entered you, illuminated you with bliss - the body and blood of Christ. This is wine and bread, but it does not look like wine, bread, or any other human food and drink... You go down from the pulpit to a table on which is a dish with white cubes of prosphora, and next to it on a tray are flat silver cups, a transparent liquid glows in them - heat. You put 2-3 pieces of prosphora in your mouth, washing it down with warmth. Ah, how good! This joy is not gastronomic, not sensual. This is the conclusion of what just happened on the pulpit.

In the Catholic Church, during communion, symbolic bread is used in the form of wafers - thin circles of unleavened dough, and until recently, only the clergy communed with bread and dry red wine, and for the laity there was only bread. In some Christian sects that reject alcoholic drinks, wine is replaced with grape or other, red fruit juice. However, in the food prescriptions of Christianity there is no prohibition on the use of alcoholic beverages. With a sharp condemnation of drunkenness Christian church did not reject wine. Let us remember the first miracle of Jesus Christ, performed at the request of the Mother of God at the wedding feast, where they were guests: the transformation of water into the best wine.

Note that the rites associated with the use of bread and wine took place in ancient Greece and ancient Rome, they were characteristic of Mithraism, an ancient Iranian religion that competed with Christianity in the first centuries of our era. Of course, in the Christian cult, bread and wine acquired a completely different spiritual and symbolic meaning. The very sacrament of communion in Christianity was officially accepted only in the 7th-8th centuries.

... let's talk about how the process of cooking affects the human mind.

A woman does not just prepare food, she prepares her future for herself.

And the more delicious she cooks, the happier the future awaits her.

Dough kneading

Dough kneading has a deep inner meaning. Flour, water, salt and spices are the various relationships of spouses, relatives and their children. The longer and better to knead them, the stronger the family will be and the closer the relationship. If kneading is of poor quality, then there will be no deep connection, and family members will leave on their own path of development.

"Flour horoscope"

A woman should put all her efforts and all her love into the process of kneading the dough. So she forms her horoscope. Flour represents the stars, spices represent the auspicious qualities of the planets, and the finished dish represents the woman's astrological chart. Therefore, by the finished dish, you can understand her karma.

fire of fate

Fire represents fate, and when it touches food, the fate of a woman is finally decided. Care must be taken not to burn the food. If this did happen, then the fire wants the woman to repeat this meditative process of preparation.

It is very auspicious when a wife calls her husband to the kitchen to light a fire. This brings a sacred atmosphere to the cooking process. The fire lit by the husband will help the woman in cooking and protect her from mistakes. A self-lit fire will interfere with cooking, like another woman in the kitchen.

Cooking time

If a woman cooks food slowly, then men will want a long-term relationship with her. But if she is in a hurry, or even neglects this duty, then men will not have permanent feelings either. Women, remember, if there is no food in the kitchen, then the man will soon stop thinking about you, and your relationship will turn into hasty relationships.

Variety of food

If the food is not varied, then the relationship becomes dry and boring. Each additional dish is a gift for the husband. So you will cause in his mind a reciprocal desire to give you gifts. How tasty the additional dish will be, how rich a gift your spouse will want to give you.

The balance of efforts is as follows: 7 times a well-prepared dinner for the husband causes in his mind the desire to give one gift. Therefore, a woman should not rush with her requests, but it is better for her to wait for the accumulation of a positive mood in the mind of a man. Haste in this matter only causes reciprocal irritation.

Dinner table

Your life will look like your dining table. Decorate it as long as possible and better, and your life will also become tasty and beautiful.

The less empty space on your desk, the less emptiness awaits you in life. An empty seat indicates that you are not ready to give all your heart to your family. Fill the table completely so that in your heart there is no void and no place for strong thoughts and desires.

Inner beauty

In addition, the real beauty of a woman is expressed in the beauty of her culinary arts. This is its inner essence, and thus one can easily understand its nature. You can’t easily determine the future by the shape of the body, but by a simple dinner in the house of your future wife, you can easily guess what “threatens” you for the rest of your life.

Stirring magic

A woman needs to remember that while mixing food, she should wish happiness to all family members and meditate on strong relationships. It is dangerous to interfere with writing counterclockwise, as in esoteric practices this is used in order to cause a break in relationships. But if it is for the benefit of your own husband (and this happens not infrequently), then you can try, but do not get carried away with it, it is better to sit down and talk with your husband about the existing problems.

Magic Hunger

Food becomes very tasty for one who is very hungry. Therefore, a woman should not enter into the habit of frequent snacking. Small, but full-fledged meals will be kept by family members taste sensations for the rest of my life. Otherwise, the taste of your food will gradually depreciate, and your relationship will gradually break down as a result. Everyone will be looking new taste on the side.

Psychologists say that the food that the poor eat is always tastier. for hunger breeds taste, but this is seldom the case among the rich. Wealthy people usually have weak digestion, while the poor can digest even rusty nails in the stomach.

Buddhist scriptures say that eating three times a day corresponds to animals, twice a day to people, once a day to saints. With two meals a day, consciousness does not concentrate on food, and with three meals a day it concentrates.

Not just tasty but healthy

The taste of food is not in the food itself. but in our attitude towards it. Only the most delicious food can be eaten, but if our mind is irritated and disturbed, then it will seem tasteless. Moreover, such food will become poison for us.

Therefore, you can eat only in a calm state of consciousness. This is what a woman should take care of. All active activities can be canceled at lunchtime. TVs, computers, phones are turned off. Newspapers are put aside, books are closed, cases are stopped at an acceptable stage, so that for an hour they do not need to be remembered.

Such concentration on food intake will lead to the improvement of the physical and mental state of all family members. In this case, the wife acts as a doctor, and the health of her loved ones will depend on her determination. If she does not take care of this, chronic diseases will gradually appear in the family, and she herself will constantly feel unwell.

Everything is food

Food refers to all sense pleasures. Form is food for the eyes, smell is food for the nose, touch is food for the skin. An experienced dena makes sure that all these kinds of food are delicious and fill the house in the right amount.

Therefore, for a woman, cooking does not stop for a minute. She constantly makes sure that the feelings of all family members are satisfied and reassured. Maternal care can fill a person's feelings with sublime satisfaction.

Modern psychologists have proven that delicious food, pleasant music and love relationship affect the same areas of the brain. Do you want love in the house? - Let pleasant music always play in it and fragrant and attractive food be prepared.

Moreover, psychologists argue that beautiful woman associated with the center in the brain that is responsible for the desire to earn money. Therefore, a woman should always look beautiful. This is her weapon, and this is her protection from ruin. Nothing can cope with male laziness, except for the natural beauty of a woman.

If you follow these rules, the feelings of relatives and friends will be filled with loving and friendly emotions.

About dishes

Clean dishes speak of a woman's pure consciousness. When a woman washes household dishes, she washes her heart of selfish desires. This is the surest way to achieve happiness in family life. IN modern family no one wants to wash the dishes. This means that self-interest prevails. One can hardly count on happiness in such an atmosphere.

Dishes not washed at night are equivalent to the front door not closed at night. Happiness and wealth will leave this family. A good housewife will not tolerate hot dishes even during cooking. This is her way of taking care of the welfare of her family.

Dishes have a special attraction. Clean dishes attract good guests to the house, and dirty dishes attract bad ones. So you can easily determine whether it is worth staying in this house for a long time. If the dishes are not washed, it is better to leave this house before sunset.

About purchase

When a woman buys groceries. she buys future days of happiness for her family. Each fresh, beautiful, ripe and pleasantly smelling vegetable or fruit is a day of happy and peaceful life in this family. The man, for his part, must provide the woman with money so that she can choose the highest quality products on the market.

The product is selected first by eye, then by smell, then by hand. In a word, he must first be liked by the look, then he must be smelled to like his smell, and then touched to understand whether he is sluggish or dense.

A family that saves on food becomes poor and unhappy, because saving on food is saving on the happiness of one's own relatives.

However, large unjustified expenses can also ruin the whole thing. Overspending leads to laziness. Children and husband will not want to work actively for the good of the family. So in this case, stick to the golden seridine.

Consecration of food

If the food is not sanctified, it will be dark. Dark food leads to a clouding of the mind of family members. As in the dark, a person will stumble and fall, so family members, having eaten unsanctified food, will constantly commit stupidity and make wrong decisions.

The husband will confuse other women with his wife and give money to rash projects. Children will choose the wrong spouses. And animals can even bite the owner himself.

Sanctify the path for your family by consecrating your food on your home altar.

leftover food

A good hostess has no food left. If the food remains, then it is tasteless.

Whoever throws away leftover food is throwing away his luck. It is necessary to eat so that the food does not go to waste. Don't eat everything at once. save some for later. There are two eyes and one stomach, so put in as much as your eyes like and separate exactly half. It's just the right amount for your stomach. And if you still couldn’t eat, feed any person or, in extreme cases, an animal.