Solyanka
{{Short description|Thick and sour soup of Russian origin}}
{{Other uses|Solyanka (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox prepared food
|name = Solyanka
|image = Soljanka food 05.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|caption = Solyanka
|alternate_name = Selyanka
|country = Russia
|national_cuisine = Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian,{{cite book |title=From Peasant to Pleasant. The Cuisine of Latvia |year=2014 |url=http://www.li.lv/upload/files/10022015/dbbbf2ef5fd4807f3391b62be7fdb6d7.pdf#page=9 |publisher=The Latvian Institute |isbn=978-9-98-473651-8 |access-date=12 December 2017 |page=9}} Georgian,{{cite book |last=Goldstein |first=Darra |authorlink=Darra Goldstein |title=The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia |year=2013 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-52-027591-1 |page=80 |quote=Solyanka is another piquant beef stew. Russians consider it Georgian because it has a bite, but actually solyanka is a Georgian adaptation of an originally Russian stew (the dill pickles give it away).}} East German{{cite book |last=Heinzelmann |first=Ursula |title=Beyond Bratwurst: A History of Food in Germany |year=2014 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78-023302-4 |page=321 |quote=In many personal recollections East German gastronomy is described as limited and unpredictable, with only Soljanka and Letscho available with some reliability. Soljanka originated as a Russian or Ukrainian soup made with pickled mushrooms, cucumbers or vegetables, tomato, lemon and sour cream.}}
|region =
|creator =
|type = Soup
|served = Hot
|main_ingredient = Meat, fish, or mushrooms, pickled cucumbers, cabbage, onions, often potatoes, smetana, dill
|variations =
}}
Solyanka ({{langx|ru|соля́нка}}, initially селя́нка; {{IPA|ru|sɐˈlʲankə|}}) is a thick and sour soup of Russian{{cite book|last1=Похлёбкин|first1=Вильям|title=Национальные кухни наших народов|date=1983|pages=9}}{{cite book|last1=Георгієвський|first1=Микола|title=Українська кухня|date=1967|pages=6}} origin. It is a common dish in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states,{{cite book |last=Zak |first=Zuza |title=Amber & Rye: A Baltic Food Journey |year=2021 |publisher=Interlink Books |isbn=978-1-62-371900-5 |page=94 |quote=Originating in Russia, solyanka gets its name from its saltiness. With the Baltic States having been part of the Soviet Union for so long, there is a clear overlap in terms of cuisine and culture.}} and other post-Soviet states and other parts of the former Eastern Bloc. It was one of the most reliably available dishes in the former East Germany ({{langx|de|Soljanka}}).
Name
The original name "selyanka" can be translated to "settler's soup" in English. There are many theories about the origin of the name, but a common one is that the soup was often eaten after the wedding before the newlyweds "settled down" and started their new life together.{{cite book |last=Grierson |first=Ian |title=World Foods with Strange Names |year=2022 |publisher=AuthorHouse UK |isbn=978-1-78-023302-4 |page=50}} Other translations of "selyanka" include "food of the villager" or "villager’s stew". Later the name transformed to "solyanka" using the word "sol" (salt) as a reference to the soup's saltiness.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/330366-how-to-cook-solyanka-soup |title=How to cook solyanka: A villager’s soup, and cure for a hangover |last=Malinka |first=Vasilisa |date=17 May 2019 |website=Russia Beyond The Headlines |access-date=7 December 2019}}
Due to its astringent sour taste that is believed to relieve a hangover, solyanka has also earned the nickname "hangover soup."{{cite book |last=Grierson |first=Ian |title=World Foods with Strange Names |year=2022 |publisher=AuthorHouse UK |isbn=978-1-78-023302-4 |page=59}}
History
The first written mention of solyanka or selyanka dates back to the 17th century, where is it described as a hot dish with cabbage, salted cucumbers, meat, poultry, fish, mushrooms or other products. One of the first recipes of selyanka in Russian culinary literature comes from Nikolai Osipov's 1794 book "Ancient Russian Housewives, Housekeepers and Troublemakers". In the 1822 Dictionary of the Russian Academy solyanka is still described as a main course, rather than a soup.{{cite news |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/09/24/how-russian-solyanka-was-born-from-polish-bigos-a78881 |title=How Russian Solyanka Was Born From Polish Bigos |date=24 September 2022 |author-last1=Syutkin |author-first1=Pavel |author-last2=Syutkina |author-first2=Olga |newspaper=The Moscow Times |access-date=9 December 2023}}
A soup version of solyanka emerged in the 1830s. It was mentioned by Russian chef Gerasim Stepanov in 1834 under the section on "Miscellaneous Shti" (shchi) alongside nettle soups and Ukrainian borshch. Since the 1840s, solyanka soup has been increasingly mentioned as a separate dish. Yekaterina Avdeyeva's 1842 book "The Handbook of an Experienced Russian Hostess" (1842) gives a version of solyanka soup made with mushrooms. In the second half of the 19th century, solyanka gets its modern form.
Variations
There are three basic types of solyanka, with the main ingredient being either meat, fish, or mushrooms. Meat solyanka is the most popular. All three types of solyanka contain pickled mushrooms or cucumbers, cabbage, smetana and dill.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rbth.com//multimedia/video/2014/02/19/delicious_russia_solyanka_thick_and_spicy_soup_for_the_cold_34343 |title=Delicious Russia: Solyanka, thick and spicy soup for the cold winter |last1=Stefanov |first1=Yury |last2=Daria |first2=Donina |date=19 February 2014 |website=Russia Beyond The Headlines |access-date=7 December 2019}}
- For meat solyanka, ingredients like beef, veal, ham, sausages, liver, chicken breast together with pickled mushrooms or cucumbers, onions, potatoes, tomato paste, pitted olives, allspice, cardamom, bay leaf, parsley, and fresh dill are all cut fine and mixed in a pot of broth.
- Fish solyanka is prepared similarly, but salt-cured and smoked fish, such as salmon or trout, is used instead of meat.
- For mushroom solyanka, cut cabbage is heated in butter together with vinegar, tomatoes, cucumber pickles, and a little brine. Separately, mushrooms and onions are heated, and grated lemon zest is added. Cabbage and mushrooms are added in layers, breadcrumbs and butter are added, and the soup is briefly baked.[https://www.russianfood.com/recipes/recipe.php?rid=122128 Грибная солянка с капустой/ Mushroom solyanka with cabbage](rus.)
Non-soup variants of solyanka also exist {{Cite web |title=Солянка с куриными бедрышками и адыгейским сыром. Рецепт с фотоинструкцией |url=https://eda.ru/recepty/osnovnye-blyuda/solyanka-s-kurinymi-bedryshkami-i-adygeyskim-syrom-175466 |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=Еда.ру |language=ru}}
Distribution
File:Soljanka Waldhaus Köhlerhütte.jpg at the Waldhaus Köhlerhütte in Waltershausen]]
Solyanka is also popular in East Germany, the former Soviet occupation zone (the current German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, along with the eastern half of Berlin), where it is commonly found in restaurants and available in canned form in grocery stores. (The German transliteration is {{Lang|de|Soljanka}}.) This practice stems from the era when the Soviet Army was stationed in the GDR, and {{Lang|de|Soljanka}} was found on the menu at many East German restaurants. The former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was raised in East Germany, is fond of solyanka.{{Citation |title=Angela Merkel reveals her East German food stockpiling habit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/28/angela-merkel-stockpiling-food-east-germany |first=Kate |last=Connolly |place=Berlin |journal=The Guardian |date=28 September 2010 |access-date=17 July 2014 |quote=I'm particularly fond of solyanka (a meat and pickled vegetable soup), letcho (a Hungarian vegetable stew) and shashlik (a spicy kebab)}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Soups}}
{{Russian soups}}