History. Russian spice-cakes

The transition from a ritual biscuit to the pryanik took place over a few centuries. In Russia, the first pryaniks, called "honey bread", appeared already about in the IX century. They represented a mixture of rye-flour with honey and berry-juice, the honey in them constituting almost half of all the other ingredients. Later they started adding forest herbs and roots to the honey bread, and in XII - XIII centuries, when exotic spices brought from India and the Middle East began appearing in Russia, the pryanik got its name and practically definitively took shape of the dainty which we know now. In the XVII - XIX centuries pryanik-making was a widespread popular trade. In each region one's own pryaniks were baked by traditional recipes and the cooking secrets were passed from generation to generation. By the end of XIX century about twenty sorts of pryaniks were baked in Russia. There were the so-called "Torunskiye", from the Polish city Torun, among them. They were made from rye-flour, with addition of spices, washed with bread and decorated with candied fruits. In Poland knights, kings, historical and everyday scenes were pictured on them.

In Russia the pryaniks from rye, sifted flour were made with honey, cloves, ginger, bitter orange rind, spirit and water. The readymade figures were placed in a warm stove for the night after taking the bread out of it, and in the morning the baking trays with pryaniks were put again into the easily fluxed stove two-three times to make them dry. Yolks were added to the pryanik-dough from rye-flour, and quite often color dye, in order to obtain non white dough. These pryaniks were powdered with ground almonds, candied fruits, and then held in the stove after the breads. Chocolate pryaniks were watered from top to bottom with a paste from ground chocolate and sugar. In Siberia pryaniks from pink dough are well-known - small pryaniks made on dry raspberries and so on. Also there were pryaniks which the modern researchers call combined.

They combined a flat silhouette from dark dough and the figure from color sugar molded on it. These pryaniks were generally baked near Moscow; they were small in size and were meant to decorate the New Year's tree. They pictured tigers, camels, horse, parrots and clowns. Pryaniks were made for the poor and the rich, for presents and name days. They were presented to the relatives and beloved ones, baked for a complicated wedding ceremony, for festive meals, for giving to the poor, for requiems. Healing qualities were even attached to them, and this is why the pryaniks meant for the ill people were made and decorated with particular thoroughness, and letters corresponding to the initials of a guardian angel were carved on the back. Also the pryaniks of small size were used for games. The winner of a competition was not only the one whose pryanik flew farther than the others', but also the one whose pryanik remained unharmed having fallen on the ground.

Russian pryaniks - is a national phenomenon, scarcely anywhere else connected to the people's way of life to such an extent. They were spread everywhere. In Nizhniy Novgorod, for instance, there were 6 pryanik establishments, which baked 7550 poods of this produce per year, in Vyazma also 6 bakeries produced 3170 poods, in Yaroslavl 2 pryanik factories produced 4850 poods of pryaniks. The quality of this produce was excellent, or else why would a Tverian pryanik-maker Ivan Baranov open his shops in Berlin, Paris, London and Vienna? Everyone liked the Russian pryaniks in the distant America, where in 1876 on the exposition taking place in Philadelphia, the hereditary pryanik-maker Utkin, Ivan Baranov's compatriot, received a bronze medal "for the diversity of sorts of pryanik and originality of its style". We also have talented bakers deserving international awards.

In Tashkent wide popularity is enjoyed by "Slavyanckie" pryaniks - aromatic with cinnamon, chocolate, nuts, honey, candied fruits, as well as shortcakes of various kinds (with milk, cacao, nuts, mint). They are produced by an Uzbek entrepreneur Fayzullaev Shukurullo who in year 2003 won in the EBRD competition in the "Best Business Project" nomination. This year the production assortment widened significantly - "Sabo" pryaniks appeared, sooshka-vertushka, oat biscuits and many other pastries. All this is already available in supermarkets and small shops in a good polyethylene pack. As it should be, the expiry date is indicated on the pack - "Best before…" and thenthe date and month. However believe our word, these pryaniks are consumed in minutes. You can find the details on the following website: www.nonasch.sk.uz

The next year will be momentous for the entrepreneur. A joint venture will be created on the basis of his enterprise. Our magazine wishes to our favorite "Slavyanskiy" pryaniks to realize all plans in the year 2005!