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| It seems to many that there is nothing simpler and more primitive. So where is there to refine, mixed the syrup with water, added starch ... Meanwhile, berry jelly on potato starch is a relatively recent invention. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, they were a fashionable novelty in wealthy houses. |
 The first written mention of kissel is found in the Laurentian manuscript of the end of the 10th century. And this word meant what Vladimir Dal would write in his dictionary eight centuries later: |
| KISSEL m. (sour) mealy jelly; oatmeal, rye, wheat is put on dough and sourdough; pea, fresh. |
So it turns out that jelly in its current form is very doubtful in terms of authenticity. But at first he looked very different. Like this, for example. This is the famous pea jelly. According to Gilyarovsky, the favorite food of Moscow coachmen. It was sold right on the streets, by peddlers-jellymen - "columns" or "soaps". A prerequisite for a delicious pea jelly is the addition of oil to it: in fasting - vegetable, and at other times - melted butter. Pea jelly, of course, is not sweet. Preparing it is easy. Shake pea flour in cold boiled water and pour it into boiling water with oil on the stove, stirring well. Salt to taste. As it begins to thicken, pour into a glass or plate, greased with oil, and take out to the cold. The frozen jelly calmly comes out of the container, keeping its shape perfectly. |
| ABOUT KISSEL ON STARCH |
The 1790 edition of The Newest Cookbook contains a detailed description of obtaining "starch" from potatoes, which is also called potato flour on the same page. These two names have miraculously gone hand in hand to the present day. Potato flour is made quite simply: chopped potatoes are diluted in cold water, which is filtered, settled and drained from the sediment.This sediment after drying is what can be called pure starch. How firmly its preparation entered Russian life by the beginning of the 19th century can be judged by the wide distribution of special crushers for raw tubers in the form of a lever and two cylinders, the outer of which has holes at the bottom. In the "Newest Cookbook" edition of 1790, in addition to recipes for jelly on potato starch, there is also berry millet jelly, as well as "kissel from Sorochinsky cereals", which is unusual for us, that is, rice. If you spell any of those recipes, you get a jelly of such density and consistency that it cannot be called a drink. It seems that it will cook a little more - and you will get Turkish delight, which, by the way, is prepared in a similar way, only drying after cooking on stone boards with sugar sprinkling. It is interesting that even in the book published in 1927, “Kitchen on the Stove and Primus” (a desktop cookbook for quick preparation of simple and cheap meals), the proportions of liquid and starch are 6: 1. This is also such a thick jelly that after cooling it is difficult to scoop with a spoon.  In order to feel the difference, look at the amount of starch recommended in the "Book of Tasty and Healthy Food" of the latest perestroika edition. For 4 cups of liquid - only 2 tablespoons. And then it is stipulated that for lovers of a very thick jelly, you can increase the dose of starch up to 3 tablespoons. Another difference that immediately catches your eye when comparing recipes is the presence of berries or fruits in the jelly.Old recipes unequivocally insist that berries are filtered only if they contain inedible parts - seeds, skins, etc. But strawberries, for example, go into jelly as a whole. The current kissels are made from juices, syrups or fruit puree, and if from live berries or jam, then for some reason they consider it necessary to filter the liquid. For those who do not know, here are some tips for making starch jelly. Starch is diluted only in cold water, for this half of the prepared liquid is taken. And only immediately before cooking, otherwise it instantly settles. Spin the boiling liquid part a little and pour all the diluted starch into it at once, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon. Boil no more than 2-3 minutes and cool as quickly as possible. If you do not want a dense film on top of the jelly, sprinkle it with powdered sugar. |
| OAT KISSEL |
 Ingredients1 cup oatmeal 2 cups water 0.5 cup shelled, unroasted almonds 0.3 cup granulated sugar |
| Cooking steps Brew oatmeal (you can use crushed flakes or oatmeal, although it does not turn out so tasty with it), a little bread sourdough is added to it. After a few hours, when it begins to bubble a little (do not overdo it!), strain and boil slowly, stirring. Salt or sugar - to taste. Cool down and eat. Either directly, or with cream, you can with milk or honey. You can oatmeal jelly and not ferment. It's right there. Wheat or rye jelly is prepared in the same way. |
| From the book: Maxim Syrnikov. Real Russian food. Moscow: Eksmo, 2011. |