Белёвская пастила
Marshmallow from Beliov City Tula Region is prepared only from three components – puree from antonovka apples (grown in Beliovo), eggs whites and sugar. Puree is mixed with sugar and egg whites. The mixture is rolled into layers, thickness of a baby finger, and is baked in a stove. The layers are connected with each other with white egg, the marshmallow is formed in loaves and is rubbed with sugar powder. After that marshmallow is put in a stove for about 8 hours for drying by low temperature.
Apple marshmallow was made in Beliov in XVII century, though this product became famous in XIX century, when an industrialist and a merchant Amvrosiy Pavlovich Prokhorov founded on the benches of the Oka river garden with antonovka apple trees, and in 1888 he founded the "factory of vegetable & fruit preserves", where apples were dried. "Four ditches ended in a huge stove. Ditches were filled with entire birch tree branches, the ends of the branches were burning in the stove. the temperature was kept at +90°С, otherwise the marshmallow was becoming black". Mostyl women were working in the factory, and all the works were performed manually. Marshmallow was produced exclusively from high quality fruit picked from the tree. The marshmallow from Beliov won the first award at the exhibition of gardening products that took place in Saint Petersburg in 1890, and it became famous in Russia and abroad.
After the revolution in 1917 the marshmallow production was temporarily stopped. During the times of the Soviet Union it was produced at the state drying factory. in the 90-ies the factory was closed and the marshmallow has been produced at homes. In 2000 -ies though the classic receipt started being recovered in small local factories.
Яблочную пастилу делали в Белёве еще в XVII веке, а свою известность она приобрела в XIX веке, когда промышленник и купец Амвросий Павлович Прохоров заложил по берегам реки Оки сад яблоней сорта Антоновка, a в 1888 году открыл «Завод растительных консервов», на котором сушили яблоки. «Четыре траншеи заканчивались огромной печью. В траншеи целиком закладывались березовые деревья, и концы их горели в печи. Жар от топки сушил яблоки. Температуру держали строго +90°С, иначе пастила чернела.» На заводе трудились в основном женщины, а работы выполнялись вручную. Пастила производилась только из съемных фруктов высокого качества. В 1890 году белёвская пастила завоевала первый приз на выставке садоводства в Санкт-Петербурге и обрела известность в России и за рубежом.
После революции 1917 года производство пастилы временно прекратилось. В советские годы ее продолжали производить на государственном сушильном заводе. В 90-е годы завод закрылся, и пастилу стали изготавливать кустарно в домашних условиях. В 2000-е годы классический рецепт начали также возрождать на небольших местных производствах.
