The Museum of Pastilles in Kolomna: official site, photos and reviews

Returning the lost and forgotten is not so easy. But, of course, with great desire it is possible. So, in the suburbs, in the city of Kolomna, it was possible not only to revive the technology of making apple pasta, but also to create a unique museum of this famous sweets in the 18-19 centuries.

Pastilla for the marquise of Pompadour

Indeed, there is evidence that this favorite of Louis Fifteenth was very fond of apple lozenges and discharged them from Russia. However, in the 19th century this Russian sweet was well known in Western Europe.

However, the time for the invention of the pastille is hidden in an even farther past, some sources refer it to the 14th century. It was in Kolomna that the first pasta was prepared. Later, Belev and Rzhev were also famous for it.

Kolomna pastilla Even in those distant times was considered the most delicious, useful and even exquisite.

Former shop of sweets

The Museum of the Pastille in Kolomna (left photo) is located between the local Kremlin and the Church of St. Nicholas on Posad in an old building, built in the early 19th century. Once there was a shop of sweets of merchants Surganovs. This place was widely known throughout the district and enjoyed immense popularity. So much so that even the writers Gilyarovsky Vladimir and Lazhechnikov Ivan mentioned it in their works. And the literary poet Boris Pilnyak, who lived nearby, devoted his story "Kolomenskaya Pastila" to him.

The modern museum of pastilles in Kolomna is a very interesting place where you can plunge into the atmosphere of the 19th century, get acquainted with the life and exhibits devoted to the history of the famous apple pastila production.

What to see

The Museum of the Kolomna Pastila is a vast exposition devoted to traditions, history and technologies for the preparation of pastilles. Old recipes written by hand, "textbooks" for the production of pastilles for confectioners, as well as various advertising posters and packages of that time are displayed here.

Visitors are cordially greeted with madrasas in costumes of the 18th and 19th centuries, who perform the role of guides here. They will lead through the halls, they will tell you a lot of new and interesting things, which you just do not know yet. And at the end of the tour the guests will have a real pleasant surprise - tasting delicious pastille. So, for example, you can try the famous "Sobriety", which is offered only by the museum of pastilles in Kolomna. Reviews about this sweets are the most enthusiastic. After all, as the inscription on the package reads, it is "from drunkenness and binge drinking". This, perhaps, is more delicious than brine!

In addition, the museum presents many items of ancient life. For example, kitchen utensils, candy bars and vases for jam and sweets, irons, ironmongery, locks, bells and much more. The museum has a cozy and pleasant atmosphere - carved tables and cupboards covered with lace starched tablecloths, creaky stools of the time, windows with carved shutters, tiled stove, as well as chests of drawers and other antique handmade furniture.

Also the museum of pastilles in Kolomna offers visitors seasonal thematic excursions, which include tasting. One of such programs is spring "Cupids". During the tour, visitors will hear heart-rending stories of love and reinforce them with a "thematic" taste of Pompadour pastel from pink petals.

Factory

Kolomna Pastilla Factory is the first museum in Russia where theatrical excursions and open pastel production are held according to the technologies created in the 19th century. The factory is located in the ancient building of the once-sweet-pastel establishment owned by merchant Petr Chuprikov. This institution was founded in 1852 and was considered the best factory of sweets at Kolomensky Posad.

More than half a century, the "sweet" production in Kolomna flourished, and it was widely known even outside the Russian Empire. However, the revolutionary moods and changes in the state had a sad effect on all enterprises, and they also did not ignore the Kolomna factory of pastilles. The enterprise was closed down, the workers were dismissed, and the art of preparation itself was lost. The famous taste of the Kolomna pastilla has sunk into oblivion.

Pastil production was revived only a century later, in 2009. So the drawings and plans of the ancient technology were discovered, thanks to which they were able to recreate the whole interior of the factory in an exact manner. The ancient pastilles were restored. For example, the venerable cauldron of Tsemsha and the washing drum of Reis. From the archives raised old textbooks on the preparation of pastilles and hand-written recipes. And the sweet production after a century of oblivion was launched again. And in 2011, when it was already established, the museum factory of the pastille opened.

Technology of preparation

Famous in the pre-revolutionary period, the Kolomna pastille was made from apple puree, previously well beaten, with the addition of honey, sugar, nuts and various berries. The organizers of the museum encountered incredible difficulties when searching for ancient recipes for pastilles. For example, in the recipe of the 18th and 19th centuries, the main ingredient for pastilles was a kind of "green". Long could not understand what it is. But then it turned out that this is a kind of apples, which today is nowhere to be found. Therefore, the modern Kolomna pastilles are produced only from apples "Antonovka".

The technology of preparation of pastille consisted of the following stages:

1. Apples were washed and all unnecessary cores were withdrawn. This was done with the help of a special Flushing washer.

2. Apple pulp was rubbed in mashed potatoes.

3. The mashed potatoes were prepared in a special apparatus - the salty cauliflower of Tsemsha. This action served to increase the volume of the finished mass.

4. The mashed puree was beaten into a pastry dough and poured into molds.

5. The dough was dried in a Russian oven.

It is in this way that the sweet Kolomna pastilles were cooked for over two hundred years.

Life at the factory

Today life in the factory is in full swing. There is always a lot of visitors and a cheerful atmosphere reigns filled with apple smell of pastilles. The guests of the factory personally take part in the preparation of delicacies. So, under the supervision of the confectioner Zakhar Evgrafovich and his assistant Vanya, visitors are washed apples in the flight apparatus, they personally grind fruit in puree, boil it in a cauldron, beat it with special stirrers - whorls - and dry it in a real Russian oven.

And while the guests are busy cooking, the landlady Lyubov Chuprikova is laying a table in the crimson hall with a hot samovar and jam, so that later the guests enjoy a freshly baked pastille of their own preparation in the company of the owner of the establishment, Petra Chuprikova.

Museum garden

The pastilla factory has a whole farm. Right behind the building is a huge garden, where special apples of the cultivar "Antonovka" are grown. These fruits are sour and very hard, so much so that they can not even be bitten by March. But just these are needed for cooking pastilles. Further - a capacious storage tank. Behind the garden and the barn, the gardener of the Melenti factory, who will happily share with the visitors useful knowledge and skills in the field of growing and storing the crop, is courted.

For example, did you know that the best apples are stored in the hay? That's right, despite the fact that the fruits are in the air, they do not rot and remain dry. You will learn about this and many other things if you visit the factory with a wonderful garden.

What to take with you

The factory and museum of the pastille, as it is supposed, have their own stores with them. There you can buy a real Kolomna pastille. Everything is packed in beautiful old boxes - not ashamed to give or put on the table. Such a box of pastilles for take-away costs a lot - from 350 rubles. There are, of course, options and in packages simpler - from 150 rubles.

Tastes are very diverse: marshmallow, honey, cranberry and others. Famous "Sobriety" will cost 500 rubles, and a cake of pastille - 600 rubles.

For true lovers, the museum offers a "pasty order" service. You can choose any taste and volume you want. Pickup and delivery are possible.

In addition to sweets on the territory of the factory museum is a horticultural store. There you can buy a replica of an old garden shovel and other useful tools and trifles.

Today you can buy the famous pastille only in the Kolomna museum. But the founders of the factory hope that soon they will be able to expand their production. While in the plans Kolomna.

The Museum of the Pastille: how to get

There are three ways to get from Moscow to Kolomna.

1. The train.

From the Kazan Station of Moscow, you drive an electric train to the Kolomna station. The Express "Sputnik" will be faster - along the same route, or express "S. Esenin "to the stop" Golutvin ".

2. The bus.

The will of the exit from the metro station "Vykhino" is a stop, with which every half an hour bus number 460 (Moscow-Kolomna) runs.

3. The car.

Leave from Moscow to Novoryazanskoye highway and move along the M5 highway for about an hour (90 km). Focus on the index "Chelyabinsk, Ryazan", and so you will reach the city.

The Museum of Pastil in Kolomna is located on Posadskaya Street, 13. The factory is a little further (Polyanskaya, 4). It is more convenient to start the inspection from the museum, then move towards the factory located three hundred meters from there.

The museum has a reservation system. Be sure to use it.

Admission ticket for adults will cost 250 rubles, for children - 50 rubles cheaper.

All the necessary information about the factory, the museum and the famous pastille is on the official website (www. Kolomnapastila. Ru).