Book of Tasty and Healthy Food: Iconic Cookbook of the Soviet Union

Commentary or historical notes would have been appreciated. Otherwise, good resource

I'm delighted to have access to this historical tome that was previously unavailable in English. It's 718 pages of Soviet goodness. Be warned that the recipes are very simple (to save time and resources for Soviet wives, I assume). So the book may be more of a historical curiosity rather than a daily use cookbook. There's lots of weird cultural nuggets in it, from how much a worker should eat compared to a child, how to set the table, etc etc. so it's a great read for those interested in the Soviet era, even if you aren't planning on cooking from it. The translation has dropped most of the articles which gives the book a very Russian feel and I admire the fellow who translated the thousands of recipes found within. If you've read Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking and was as taken with it as I was, you'll probably enjoy the Book of Tasty and Healthy Food (which was mentioned in the former several times).

The "Book of Tasty and Healthy Food" is an interesting mix of cold war Soviet propaganda that also serves up some decent recipes. Written at a time when the USSR was desperately trying to convince the world and it's own citizens that communist country's way of life was the best in world, the book is a cross between a study of good table manners, practical food preparation and meal planning guide, and cookbook. It had to also be very frustrating since, as noted in the "Introduction", many of the ingredients would not have been commonly available to the average Russian citizen at the time.The recipes are actually quite good and several have dated pictures to show how the dish should be served, which was actually very interesting to see.This is a very good cookbook for those looking for something a little different.Recommended!CFH

I got this for my fiance for Christmas--he enjoys historical cookbooks and is interested in Soviet-era history. He really enjoys it, and I was surprised that many of the recipes are actually pretty good (and very flexible!). Definitely more of a history book than a cookbook, though, unless you have an uncommon love for cabbage and soup.

Love it.. I make chicken pozarski kotleti every week now, better than fried chicken. . With some seasoning salt on top. . Food fit for kings, seriously

My parents had this original in Russian and it was amazing to remissness with them! Although the original had colorful depictions of the food, I cannot complain for such a low price!

I love this recipe book. They're look like tasty and reasonable cost.

Anastas Mikoyan seems to be a divisive figure in the former Soviet Union, especially in his native Armenia, but this curious bit of history is, more than anything else, a monument to one man's survival at the top echelons of Soviet power when many of his colleagues wound up dead on the whims of Stalin. It is to be presumed that Stalin really, really liked his ice cream.It's a fascinating read; the book combines traditional Russian cuisine with contemporary international influences and puts on paper the now-famous Russian kotlety, the breaded hamburger patty created in imitation of American food (supposedly by Mikoyan himself) that's still a staple in Russian kitchens. It is also, depending on your perspective, either unrealistically aspirational or deeply delusional, making it (in context) a darkly humorous mirror of, of all things, In Memory's Kitchen, the culinary memoirs of anonymous and doomed Jewish housewives in the Terezin concentration camp. Frankly, it's impossible to rate on its own terms; the people who bought it certainly knew it was little more than propaganda, but, hey, you're welcome to try the recipes.Four stars reflects its value as a historical document. It should be five, but unfortunately what you wind up getting is a translation of the book, a smattering of background, and little more; it lacks even an index, and doesn't really reach the standard of the Toomre translation of A Gift to Young Housewives, for which it's an otherwise ideal companion volume. (To create an even triad, throw in a copy of Please To The Kitchen by Anya von Bremzen to learn about what the (later) USSR *actually* ate.)

Great job, fast and reasonable.

I'm not sure who typeset this book, but they need to be fired. The pictures are literally all wrong. I have no idea how this passed the simplest inspection, I noticed when opening it on a random page and seeing live baby chickens titled 'boiled chicken'.Skip this book, it's not worth it.

A no frills very direct translation of the original. Every Soviet recipe you can think of is here and plenty more you’d probably rather not think of.

The pictures in that book are in black and white, and of a very bad quality looking like a run down library copy machine print. Not nice...

As other people have already pointed out, the book seriously lacks in formatting and its index, of a sort, is not all that usefull.That said, it is well built and it contains more than 700 thin pages of very simple but delicious recipes. The instructions can be scarce at times, but the diversity makes up for the little extra effort required.It came in really good condition and will probably last for long after we have tried every recipe.