ABOUT BEEF STROGANOFF

"Despite the allusion of the name "stroganoff" to Count Paul Stroganoff, a 19th century Russian diplomat, the origins of the dish have never been confirmed. Larousse Gastronomique notes that similar dishes were known since the 18th century but insists the dish by this specific name was the creation of chef Charles Briere who was working in St. Petersburg when he submitted the recipe to L 'Art Culinaire in 1891, but the dish seems much older. It did not appear in English cookbooks until 1932, and it was not until the 1940s that beef stroganoff became popular for elegant dinner parties in America."

Restaurant Hospitality [magazine], January 1999 (p. 76), John Mariani, article author.

"Count Pavel Stroganov, a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, was a noted gourmet as well as a friend of Alexander III. He is frequently credited with creating Beef Stroganoff or having a chef who did so, but in fact a recipe by that name appears in a cookbook published in 1871, well ahead of the heyday of the genial count. In all probability the dish had been in the family for some years and came to more general notice throughout Pavel's love of entertaining."

Rare Bits: Unusual Origins of Popular Recipes, Patricia Bunning Stevens (p.103).

"Beef Stroganov with mustard
(Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju)

Two hours before service, cut a tender piece of raw beef into small cubes and sprinkle with salt and some allspice. Before dinner, mix together 1/16 lb (polos mushka) butter and 1 spoon flour, fry lightly, and dilute with 2 glasses bouillon, 1 teaspoon of prepared Sareptskaja mustard, and a little pepper. Mix, bring to a boil, and strain. Add 2 tablespoons very fresh sour cream befoe servicng. Then fry the beef in butter, add it to the sauce, bring once to boil, and serve.
Ingredients:
2 lbs tender beef
10-15 allspice
1/4 lb butter
salt
2 spoons flour
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon Sareptskaja mustard"
---A Gift to Young Housewives, Elena Molokhovets, [Moscow, 1861], recipe #635 translated and introduced by Joyce Thomas [1992], Indiana Press (p.211-212).

 Ms. Thomas adds this note:

"Molokhovets' simple recipe did not endure. Already by 1912, Aleksandrrova-Ignat'eva was teaching the students in her cooking classes to add finely chopped sauteed onions and tomato paste to the sauce, a practice which still turns up in modern Soviet and American recipes, with or without the addition of mushrooms. It is worth noting that Aleksandrova-Ignat'eva served this dish with potato straws, which have become the standard modern garnish for Beef Stroganov."

"Although considered a 50s dish, Beef Stroganoff began appearing in American cookbooks at least two decades earlier. The first recipe I find for it is in John MacPherson's Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, (1939)...The second from the Russian Tea Room...Both recipes seen to me Americanized: both contain Worcestershire sauce, both are made with sweet cream rather than sour, and both contain mushrooms, which a Russian friend told me is not authentic. Indeed, they do not appear in Alexander Kropotkin's recipe in The Best of Russian Cooking, (1964)...Beef Stroganoff--with mushrooms and sour cream--shows up in The Joy of Cooking, (1943 edition). Unfortunately, America was then immersed in World War II, red meat was strictly rationed, and few cooks could afford the luxury of Beef Stroganoff. Once the war was over...Beef Stroganoff became the signature dish of gourmet' cooks across the country."

The American Century Cookbook, Jean Anderson (p. 125).

            In:  http://www.foodtimeline.org/

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