Cherry paste: the recipe of our great-grandmothers
Of modern children, few know what ispastila, from which it is, and how it is made, not even all adults know. It's a shame that such a wonderful dessert is forgotten by descendants, despite its simplicity of preparation from different berries, for example from cherries.
What is a pastille?
Original Russian sweetness, sweet mass fromberry or fruit puree, dried to the state of dried fruit, is made mainly only from whipped cream and sugar, although until the XIX century, pastilles were cooked with honey, they rarely added whipped protein to lighten the product, which made such kind of dainties more like dried marshmallows. Then they began to distinguish this product by the areas where the first type of pastille was made:
- Kolomenskaya (from the city of Kolomna) was thinner,more dried and did not have a protein in its composition. The color of this pasta was from rusty-orange to maroon, depending on the fruits from which it was made. It is closer to the real pastil of the Middle Ages.
- Belevsky (Belev): it is this variety that is prepared on whipped proteins, with a smaller content of fruit and berry puree, so its color is pale: from pale to pale cherry. Looks like a pastry on a biscuit, but to taste like a berry marshmallow.
Ingredients and Recipe
At home cherry pasteare made from fresh berries, which are left from blanks of a different kind: jam, juices and so on. Berries can be torn, spoiled slices are cut off - only without rot and pests. Of course, you can do it from any, even the most beautiful and whole berries, but do not throw it away. For a pastille of cherries, usually take a proportion of 2: 1 - cherry-sugar, but here the taste preference plays a more important role. Someone likes very sweet, and others prefer a natural taste with sourness.
How to make pastilles from cherries without sugar? It can be replaced with honey, the product will be more healthy, most importantly, choose the right honey: buckwheat is definitely not worth taking - its smell will break the main smell of cherries, and the dessert will not be very tasty. Honey from acacia also does not fit - it is too liquid and crystallizes poorly: the pastille does not dry up and becomes a sticky jam. It is necessary to take honey without a pronounced smell, but with a good ability to sugar.
The first thing that is done is that the bone is removed from thecherries, berries are poured in a pan with water so that they are hardly covered, and put on fire. Berry mass should be boiled over medium heat for 40 minutes, after which the juice is drained and used for making syrups, jellies, compotes and other delicious things, and the boiled cherry berries are crushed with a blender in puree, to which sugar or honey is added.
How and how much to cook?
Cooked mashed potatoes again sent to the stove,boil on minimal fire to the maximum possible density: the groove, spooned along the bottom, slides slowly, and the entire mass easily lags behind the walls of the pan. It is very important in the process of evaporation of liquid as often as possible to stir mashed potatoes, otherwise it will burn down and all the labors will go to rubble.
On a foil lined with foil or anya flat form to pour another warm mashed potatoes from the cherry: the pastille is ready for drying. In the old days, our great-great-grandmothers dried it on a stove bench: it was warm and dry, because there was always something prepared in the stove.
How to dry: in the oven or dryer?
Pastilla from cherry should have such a condition,at which it can be cut into strips and rolled into rolls, while it should not stick too much to your hands, but rather be dry to the touch. Before lovers of home preparations, the question arises: how better and faster is this to be achieved?
In total, three methods are used:
- In the oven: the temperature is set at 50-65 degrees, and the pastry from the cherry is dried to the required state.
- In the dryer: to dry the pastille with it, you need to make a tray of foil, to pour on them puree from cherry. On average, the drying process takes from 12 to 16 hours.
- In the open air: this grandfather method can be very convenient and, most importantly, economical. You just need to find a place, well blown drafts, but without direct sunlight and gas contamination.
Readiness of the pastille is determined by touch: it should be dense, but not rock hard and easy to curl up in a roll (foil before this remove). Can they compare tasteless marshmallows and marmalade from a supermarket with a fragrant, prepared with their own hands, a cherry pastry?
How to store dessert?
At home, storage ismaintaining the dry state of the pastille: this can be achieved by placing the finished product in glass jars, lightly sprinkling with powdered sugar (optional, if you do not consume sugar at all). Twisted strips of pastilles are cut into pieces from three to five centimeters and placed in a jar under the lid. Also can be stored in plastic containers or in the refrigerator in the department for fruits and vegetables, pre-wrapped in foil, so that the pastille does not absorb foreign odors.
