What was the New Year’s table in the 90s and what has fundamentally changed since then

It's December 31st. Now is the time to agree on the festive menu and think over the style of the New Year's table. The difficulty lies in the fact that every year it is more difficult to cope with this task: it is difficult to surprise guests with something. Therefore, many housewives on the eve of the celebration scour the Internet and look for information to celebrate the New Year and please its symbol, which is determined by the Eastern calendar. The question is, why complicate everything? We have lived without Chinese horoscopes. Now you're thinking about how to please the Green Wooden Dragon.



Instagram Today editorial office "Site" I remember how the dinner table looked like before.

The style of the New Year’s table for our mothers in this regard was easier. The style of the New Year’s table was not much different from any festive feast, except that a bottle of champagne rose on a white tablecloth, and a vase with tangerines was put in the center. To serve the table, beautiful dishes were taken out of the sideboard, which was intended for special occasions. At the plates were placed crystal glasses and glasses. Paper napkins were placed near each device. It was fashionable to fold them in an ornate way or pack them in a special stand.



On New Year’s Eve, a tree was installed in the corner of the room. Then they preferred to decorate a live coniferous tree, because not everyone had an artificial spruce. She also looked unnatural and unattractive. They decorated barbed branches with glass toys of different shapes. There were astronauts, corn cobs, cones, icicles, snowmen and sparkling balls. There was a five-pointed star at the top. A mandatory attribute is a garland with multi-colored light bulbs. For children hung candy in a bright wrapper. I remember as a child we carefully extracted sweets and ate, and the wrappers continued to hang for beauty. When the rain came, it became very popular. There was a crowd behind him at the university.



Although queues then rarely anyone could be surprised, because quality things and products were in great shortage. To set a rich table, you had to “run” to the shops. Then, rolling up their sleeves, the hostess began to “witch” in the kitchen. Guests and households enjoyed the opportunity to eat tasty and hearty. Crowns could become familiar to us cold or hot snacks. Mashed potatoes remained indispensable, without which it was difficult to imagine even a festive lunch or dinner.



When imported ham appeared on the shelves, they immediately replenished the scant menu. Chicken legs were bought and baked piece by piece. For food to be in abundance, the hosts focused on the number of guests. Soon, inexpensive and tasty chicken became the basis for a wide variety of dishes.

We have already eaten chops with cutlets, and in the old days they appeared on the menu mainly on holidays. To impress the guests, the hostess added pineapples with cheese or mushrooms to the meat and poured mayonnaise. Cutlets have also become an everyday dish. If you want to stand out, you need to cook a cutlet in Kiev or wrap grated cheese inside.



The traditional feast was not complete without pigeons. Homegrown gourmets happily continue to weave them by both cheeks. This old dish confidently holds the primacy in the modern kitchen. The cooler is also in demand. There are options for its preparation and serving, but it remains a hearty and delicious dish. And from what to cook it, from a rooster, pork leg, beef tail or other “parts”, is a personal matter of each hostess. In parallel, there was a bay fish and boiled tongue, poured broth with the addition of gelatin.

To diversify the Christmas treat, women had to experiment and mix products that, at first glance, do not go together. They also learned to cook from what was in the store. They bought a melted cheese "Friendship" - made a salad "Snowball", "obtained" sprats - laid out on sandwiches, instant noodles appeared - useful for a salad. No wonder in the popular saying that the gulf on fiction is cunning!

Everything new is the well-forgotten old. This principle formed the basis of many dishes. So in the menu of our fellow citizens appeared Olivier salad. Of course, in the Soviet version of the old recipe, almost nothing remains, but everyone liked the dish and has not lost popularity to this day. Only it was served differently: in tartlets and waffle molds.



An exotic analogue of Olivier was a salad with crab sticks. Some cooks added boiled rice there, which only spoiled the delicate taste of the snack. He was replaced by a salad of chicken and pineapples. Even then, multi-layer salads “Herring under a fur coat” and “Mimosa” became fashionable. They began to lay out in transparent salad bowls, and now they are formed using sliding rings. Even today, these dishes are found at festive feasts.

If you think about it, the style of the New Year’s table does not play a big role when you gather for dinner in the company of loved ones. There is always an atmosphere of celebration that cannot be replaced. Keep this in mind as you prepare for the New Year.