Every year the Soviet Union, which has become history, goes further and further. Many people today believe that at that time food was of the highest quality and was offered to the population in abundance. Naturally, everything was far from being as fabulous as we imagine it, but there were also such catering goods to which, in any case, the first part of the statement really applies. In the USSR, sausage was in the highest consumer demand. It is this product that today remains a pretext for nostalgia for times long gone.
Sausage as a symbol of Soviet times
Perhaps today it will seem strange, but the sausages that were made in the USSR were perceived by many generations as a symbol of satiety and a guarantee of the constancy of the Soviet system. They bought it with great desire, just as they ate it. The paradox was also observed here:
- high quality indicators at a low price;
- affordability and limited ability to purchase (often it was necessary to stand in a huge queue or go to a neighboring city).
In a country not spoiled by an abundance of food, sausage was such an important cheap offer. The author of the idea to provide Soviet people with meat products (to feed them) is Anastas Mikoyan, People's Commissar of the food industry. In the thirties of the last century, he traveled to Chicago to learn from its production. New sausage recipes were approved in the 36th year, in the spring (April). Among them were old ones, which were actively used during the time of tsarist Russia. For decades, such sorts of sausages as "Krakovskaya", "Velyachya", "Doktorskaya", "Lyubitelskaya", "Tea" and not only came to store shelves.
People whose childhood, youth and youth were spent in the Soviet Union often recall with quiet sadness a great time, where a loaf of bread cost only 16 kopecks, and the usual boiled sausage was insane delicious. What are the differences between Soviet sausage and the one that is full of it today? Most importantly, meat was its main ingredient.
It is interesting! The old recipe (1936) of the Doktorskaya sausage has survived to this day. According to him, one hundred kilograms of the finished product contained:
- bold pork - 70 kg;
- beef (premium) - 25 kg;
- seasonings - salts and spices, milk (2 liters), egg mixture (3 kilograms).
The most interesting thing is that the recipe for "Doctor's" sausage, and all the others, did not change at all until almost the sixties of the twentieth century. Realities of life simply could not help but correct the old recipe.
Problems in agriculture and changes in the quality of sausage products
First of all, the Great Patriotic War played a significant role in reducing the production of meat products. During the war, the change in recipes and, accordingly, the lower quality of the product was forced. The production of such a sausage was launched, which was stored for a long time. In some cases, the composition included animal bones, peas, skins that had undergone special preliminary processing, ground to a powder state. There were other types of fillers as well. But after the end of the war, they quickly restored the national economy and solved the existing problem.
The agricultural reforms of the sixties, which were not well thought out, caused a large reduction in arable area and a decrease in the number of various livestock. Naturally, there was not enough meat, which was the reason for the decline in the quality of sausages.
In the early seventies, the decline in animal husbandry continued, and the volume of sausage production needed to be increased. To meet the needs of consumers, it was officially allowed to add about two percent starch or flour to minced meat. Only technologists knew about the substitution. Consumers did not notice anything, as these additives did not affect the taste in any way. But the economy of raw meat in the huge state was significant.
Of course, we didn't stop there. Other additives began to be used - milk and soy proteins, other substitutes for animal protein (caseinates). In the 79th year, a new GOST was adopted, according to which it was allowed to use not only pork and beef, but also the meat of sheep, buffaloes, goats, frozen meat raw materials. The "seasonings" section included egg melange, flour or starch, offal, dry cream, fat, pork trimmings. This approach made it possible to reduce the cost of production, but its taste deteriorated significantly.
Was GOST - became TU
All GOSTs in force in the Soviet Union were canceled during the Perestroika period. Replaced them with technical specifications (TU). These documents are developed independently by each of the meat processing plants. There are many modern sausages with no meat at all. All kinds of fillers act as its substitute. It is possible to get the taste of natural meat with the help of emulsifiers and flavorings. At the same time, the taste of the products absolutely does not correspond to the clearly inflated cost.
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The sausage in the USSR is the best!
The quality of Soviet sausage did not always suit consumers. Very often, such complaints were fair. But basically, sausage products made in the Soviet Union were in demand not only among our compatriots, but also among representatives of other countries. Foreign tourists bought it with pleasure, rejoiced when our sausage was presented as a gift.
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Foreigners gave preference to our sausage, and there is a reasonable explanation for this. In those years, high technologies were already actively used abroad, which made it possible to process second-class raw materials. And this often negatively affected the quality of the finished product.
In the Soviet Union, not only sausages were delicious, but also sweets that are hard to resist.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/080320/53711/