at Thu, 06 Nov 2003 20:49:17 GMT in <3f673d6c.0311061249.724a0553
@posting.google.com>, (Rory) wrote :

>I want to purchase a book in English on Russian cuisine, and am
>wondering whether anyone has experience with one or more of the
>following books:
>
>Molokhovets: A Gift to Young Housewives
>Bremzen: Please to the Table
>Volokh: The Art of Russian Cuisine
>
>I've seen suggestions that Molokhovets is sometimes imprecise and
>calls for ingredients that are not readily available in North America,
>but I'm neither surprised nor concerned about that, and the historical
>perspective interests me. However, if one of the other books is just
>plain better, I'd like to know it.
>

Volokh is pretty definitive, as far as being as authentic as realistically
possible, comprehensive in recipe selection, and written with sufficient
consideration to what's feasible in terms of ingredients and equipment in
the USA. Bremzen IMHO is a close second, another good reference but if I
could have only one I'd choose Volokh.

Molokhovets certainly has the most uncompromisingly Russian outlook, which
gives it the feel of authenticity. The imprecision and bizarre ingredients
go with the territory, and if you're a good cook, you probably will have
minimal difficulty in adapting the recipes. On imprecision, it's usually a
bad idea anyway to follow proportions and temperatures to the letter,
unless it's a pastry-baking recipe. If you're looking for a purely
utilitarian, everyday-practical book, I'd probably lean towards Volokh. But
if not, then Molokhvets will be equally good.

--
Alex Rast

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