Solyanka (, initially селя́нка; ) is a thick and sour soup of Russian origin. It is a common dish in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, and other post-Soviet states and other parts of the former Eastern Bloc. It was one of the most reliably available dishes in the former East Germany.

Name

The original name "selyanka" can be translated to "settler's soup" in English. There are many theories about the origin of the name, but a common one is that the soup was often eaten after the wedding before the newlyweds "settled down" and started their new life together. Other translations of "selyanka" include "food of the villager" or "villager’s stew". Later the name transformed to "solyanka" using the word "sol" (salt) as a reference to the soup's saltiness. Due to its astringent sour taste that is believed to relieve a hangover solyanka has also earned the nickname "hangover soup".

History

The first written mention of solyanka or selyanka dates back to the 17th century, where is it described as a hot dish with cabbage, salted cucumbers, meat, poultry, fish, mushrooms or other products. One of the first recipes of selyanka in Russian culinary literature comes from Nikolai Osipov's 1794 book "Ancient Russian Housewives, Housekeepers and Troublemakers". In the 1822 Dictionary of the Russian Academy solyanka is still described as a main course, rather than a soup. A soup version of solyanka emerged in the 1830s. It was mentioned by Russian chef Gerasim Stepanov in 1834 under the section on "Miscellaneous Shti" (shchi) alongside nettle soups and Ukrainian borshch. Since the 1840s, solyanka soup has been increasingly mentioned as a separate dish. Yekaterina Avdeyeva's 1842 book "The Handbook of an Experienced Russian Hostess" (1842) gives a version of solyanka soup made with mushrooms. In the second half of the 19th century, solyanka gets its modern form.

Variations

There are three basic types of solyanka, with the main ingredient being either meat, fish, or mushrooms. Meat solyanka is the most popular. All three types of solyanka contain pickled mushrooms or cucumbers, cabbage, smetana and dill.

Distribution

Solyanka is also popular in the former East Germany (the current German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, along with the eastern half of Berlin), where it is commonly found in restaurants and available in canned form in grocery stores. (The German transliteration is Soljanka.) This practice stems from the era when the Soviet Army was stationed in the GDR, and Soljanka was found on the menu at many East German restaurants. The former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was raised in East Germany, is fond of solyanka.