Clay Krynka - what is it?

It is difficult to imagine a typical landscape of a Ukrainian or Russian village of the XIX century without clay pots and jugs, which were hung for drying on the fence of the fence. In Russian villages, clay bowls, bowls, mugs used for milk, were often called one word "krynka". What is it and what was the technology of production of such dishes? We will describe all this and the scope of application of the lids in our article.

Krynka - what is it?

In Russia, pottery has long been considered a symbol of village life. The dishes were mostly cooked in the oven, and the clay pots were the best for this. This same dish was also used for storing milk, sour cream and other natural products. They were called such pots and jars made of clay very simply - a krynka.

What is it, today few people will understand, hearing this outdated name. In fact, the lid is a clay vessel with a wide edge, a narrower throat, which has a spherical shape in the lower part. The krynka was designed in such a way that it could easily be wrapped around a hand in a narrow part. Outwardly, such dishes are more like an ordinary jug, but without a handle and without a lid. The height of the wing is about 20 cm, the diameter in the widest part does not exceed 13 cm. The volume of dishes is 1-2 liters.

Production technology

Two hundred years ago, pottery was made on a potter's wheel. To level the walls of the finished vessel, a wooden knife and a wet rag were used. The dishes were dried at room temperature for 24 hours and then dried for 3-4 days in the oven to achieve the desired shade of dishes. This was how the krynka was made.

What this is, you can understand by the characteristic design of the dishes. Although at that time there were several of its forms. Some of the wings were more like pots of a softly curved shape and with a wide, open edge. The other kryts were more like jugs, which were used to store milk and get cream.

Clay cover: application

The main purpose of the krynka was to store milk: paired and cold. Due to the porous structure of the pottery, the products seem to "breathe" in it, and because of this they stay fresh for a longer time. The pitcher was put on the table and it was used to make melted milk in the oven.

The special design of the lid helped to uphold the cream in the narrow part of the jug. Here they could easily be collected for the subsequent preparation of sour cream and butter. The lid was made without a lid, since it was customary to cover dishes only with gauze or cotton cloth.