Finding free museums these days is not an easy task. It is not surprising that almost the entire population of Yekaterinburg gathered to look at a three-meter heart weighing 50 kilograms last year. This exposition was available for a day, after which the delicacies from European and domestic producers were sold to the townspeople.
Would you like to know what kind of sweets the people in Russia indulged in on holidays? What were Russian gingerbread made from? What tea drinking traditions did the Slavic tribes have? The answers to these and other questions can be found in the city of Zvenigorod. It is in this town near Moscow that the most delicious, cozy and fascinating museum is located.
It appeared only 2 years ago thanks to the artist Tatyana Feina and her talented team. The author's handwriting of the founder is visible in every millimeter: from paintings with mouth-watering subjects to original lamps and antique kitchen utensils.
Museum of Russian Dessert in Zvenigorod
It is located in the mansion,built at the end of the 19th century, which is included in the list of cultural heritage sites. Once the building belonged to the merchant Fokina, who sold goods for petty shops: tea, flour, sugar. Maybe that's why the tea and dessert exposition looks very organic in the museum.
First Hall
To date, the museum collection is in two rooms. Antique cupboards line the walls. The decorated shelves are filled with antique saucepans, replicas of desserts, sweets, dried herbs, cooking recipes and explanations.
In total, the Museum of Russian Dessert has three dozen buffets, so the walls are almost invisible here. The ceilings are decorated with cozy and colorful lampshades. And on the walls free from sideboards, paintings painted by the founder of the museum flaunt.
In the same hall there are amazing and unique devices, by their appearance it is difficult to guess their real purpose. For example, there is a wooden guillotine in front of you, but in fact it is a copy of the juicer of those times.
Second Hall
Here, most of the space is occupied by a Russian oven. In fact, it has 2 purposes: heating the room and baking at master classes.
From furniture only painted chairs with tables. Special attention should be paid to the cheerful slogans of the museum. For example: "The best bees work for us."
Future plans
According to the founder, will open soon3 more interesting songs:
- "About the Russian stove".
- "On how to set up a sweets trade".
- "About treats".
The construction of a two-tiered oven is already nearing completion, in which desserts and sweets will be baked for sale in the museum shop. Now there is a trade in products from friendly manufacturers.
Authenticity of recipes
There is no doubt about this topic: once a week, according to the schedule, employees spend the whole day in the Lenin Library, where they study the culinary archives. But for the preparation of old Russian sweets, the presence of a stove is not at all necessary. Many free museums of desserts, including Zvenigorod, not only offer recipes, but also adapt them to modern conditions, that is, using a gas stove.
As it turned out, the leadership has a scientific approach, but the presentation is democratic. For comparison: in the Museum of Kolomna Marshmallow, excursions are more like a theatrical performance, and in Zvenigorod you will not meet anyone in crinolines.
Local Features
Despite its young age, the Russian Dessert Museum is quite popular. Therefore, it is advisable to book master classes and excursions in advance.
At the museum shop, anyone can buy herbal tea, coffee and, of course, sweets prepared according to traditional recipes and without the addition of artificial colors and preservatives. For example, Russian gingerbread is supplied by production fromTula region. Also here you can find sweets from the Smolensk region and a small Moscow food enterprise.
Each excursion ends with a fragrant cup of tea and gingerbread.
As for master classes, they are arranged for both adults and children. Here you will be taught how to make dough for sourdough pies, bake bagels, reveal the secrets of making sugar-free desserts, and explain the meaning and history of many old Russian expressions, such as "reach the handle".
Recipe brochures can be purchased as a souvenir for friends or for yourself. Isn't it fun to make historical sweets and desserts in your own kitchen?
Price and opening hours
Entrance is free, but the museum tour is for a fee. On weekdays, the cost of an adult ticket is 300 rubles, for children (under 12 years old) - 200 rubles. On weekends, you will have to buy a ticket for 100 rubles more.
The Museum of Russian Dessert is open daily from 10 am to 8 pm without days off and holidays.
Reviving traditions: old Russian dessert recipes
As you know, Russian merchants had close ties with Arab countries. It is no coincidence that the most popular sweet pastila is still compared with oriental Turkish delight. True, the main ingredients of the Russian dessert were apples and honey. In the 15th century, protein began to be added to give the sweetness of a white hue. The secret of Kolomna marshmallow (by the way, the most delicious) until a certain timewas kept in the strictest confidence until the French confectioners thought of adding applesauce to it. The result was a well-known and beloved delicacy - marshmallows.
In the same period, Russian confectioners decide to replace honey with sugar, and this is exactly the recipe that is followed in the production of marshmallow to this day.
For cooking you will need:
- 0.5 kg applesauce;
- 170 gr. granulated sugar;
- 1 protein;
- powdered sugar.
Cooking technology:
- Mix the finished puree with sugar.
- Add egg white and start beating. It will take 5-7 minutes to get the required volume and white tint.
- Spread the resulting mass 3 cm thick on a baking sheet pre-lined with parchment.
- Turn on the oven and set the mode to 70o S.
- Place the tray in the oven and dry the sweet for at least 5 hours. Sometimes it takes about 8.
Separate the finished marshmallow from paper, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve sliced with tea.
Russian gingerbread. They were prepared from a mixture of flour and honey with the addition of berry juice. But they got the name "gingerbread" a little later. After spices from India appeared in the recipe. The most famous gingerbread is Tula. It looks like a rectangular tile with filling.
"Bird's milk" - perhaps the best Russian delicacy and the first cake to receive a patent during the socialist era. It was invented by several confectioners under the guidance of a talentedhead of one of the Moscow restaurants - Vladimir Gulnik.
Baked apple. Russia is a northern country, so the amount of fruit grown here is minimal. Therefore, apples often became the basis for desserts. Sour varieties were considered originally Russian, but talented chefs have found a way to turn them into a sweet treat. At first, apples were soaked in syrups and berry decoctions. Then the core was cut out from the fruits, they were filled with a sweet filling and baked. The result was not only sweet, but also a he althy dish. Baked apples are high in potassium and iron, so they were recommended for weight loss and various diets.
Few people know, but the famous "Prague" cake can also be attributed to the category of "Russian sweets". According to the recipe, it resembles "Sacher". The author of the dessert was the Russian confectioner Vladimir Guralnik, who studied at the beginning of his career with Czechoslovak colleagues. To make his cake, he used 4 types of cream, which included cognac and liqueurs, and soaked the cakes with rum. By the way, the Austrian prototype has no cream at all. But unfortunately, the "Prague" cake was not patented at one time, and now any factory has the right to prepare it.
Another representative of primordially Russian sweets is cheesecake. Perhaps this is the most primitive dessert that appeared in the days of the ancient Slavic tribes. For the preparation of cheesecakes, yeast dough was required, from whichsmall cakes. The center of the product was slightly pressed down and filled with cottage cheese, marmalade or jam.
Conclusion
Despite the simplicity of the presented recipes, these Russian sweets are still in great demand and often appear on store shelves. If pastille and Prague cake can be found in the confectionery department, then cheesecakes are sold exclusively in bakery shops.
