Tula Gingerbread Day

The UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage includes the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho, oral folk art and the life of the Semeis This is the name given to the Old Believers living beyond Baikal since the reign of Catherine, who have preserved the way of life of the pre-Petrine era Tula gingerbread is one of the candidates for inclusion in the list of unique phenomena protected by UNEXO In Rus', this type of sweet flour products coated with glaze has been known for a very long time To prepare gingerbread dough, housewives took rye flour, diluted it with honey, added berry and fruit juices, and then sent the tightly kneaded dough into the oven With the appearance in the 12th century With spices brought from the Middle East and India, cinnamon, anise, pepper, cloves and nutmeg began to be added to baked goods For a long time, spices were a curiosity and were expensive, so sugar cookies were considered a dessert for wealthy people In the 18th century Gingerbread making became a widespread craft, and baking became a popular Russian delicacy Figures (for example, Pomeranian and Arkhangelsk roe deer) were made from dough with the addition of honey and spices; the flatbreads were decorated with ornaments, pressed into a board with a pattern and inscriptions Stencils in the shape of animals and birds were used for carved (cut-out) gingerbread cookies, which were made by Rostov craftsmen Culinary products became decorations for the festive table and a favorite delicacy for children; they were given to lovers and ceremoniously presented to newlyweds The most famous type of gingerbread, Tula, was named after the city where they have been made since the 17th century The first mention of a culinary product is found in a scribe book of 1685 Rostov gingerbreads were prepared from wheat and potato flour, honey and spices, Pskov gingerbreads were made without eggs, and Tula gingerbreads were made with a sweet raspberry or plum layer Today, like hundreds of years ago, the delicacy in the city of gunsmiths is baked in the form of glazed tiles or figures, adding a filling of condensed milk and jam Every year on September 28, a holiday dedicated to the traditional dessert is celebrated - Tula Gingerbread Day The Grechikhina brothers are considered the most famous masters of preparing this delicacy The confectionery products of these Tula chefs were awarded the “Grand Prix” and gold medals in 1889 and 1900 at the World Exhibitions in Paris The confectionery shop of Vasily Evlampievich Serikov was also famous for its high quality of baked goods and exquisite design His trading house produced nut, apricot, orange, almond, melon and chocolate gingerbread After the revolution of 1917, Tula gingerbread factories were nationalized, and dessert recipes were partially lost The production of traditional sweets was revived in 1954 due to the participation of food industry enterprises located in Tula in the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow In order to organize the production of gingerbread, they found craftsmen who had been baking them before the October Revolution The arms factory ordered wooden molds for the dough, which was prepared according to ancient recipes After six months of trial and error, Tula gingerbreads filled with cherry, blackcurrant, plum and raspberry jam began to come out of the factory assembly line The culinary products were approved at the highest government level and went into mass production In the Tula region, by Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the required amount of butter and premium flour was allocated from the state reserve Gingerbread has become the calling card of the city and a symbol of truly Russian hospitality Today, confectionery products are made in factories and in the workshops of private bakeries, sold within the country and sent abroad A museum opened in 1996 and a holiday celebrated on September 28 are dedicated to the Tula gingerbread