Most people love sweets, and sometimes they cannot deny themselves the use of one or another candy, cake or piece of cake. And such a delicacy as bird's milk, for some of us, is a real delicacy, a favorite dish among all sweets. But have you ever wondered why bird's milk is called that? Let's look into this issue.
Start of production of cakes and sweets "Ptichye Moloko"
Few people know, but Ptichie Moloko cakes and sweets have been produced for more than 80 years, and for the first time the recipe for this delicacy was developed in Poland. Polish confectioners have given their new culinary masterpiece the name "Ptasie Mleczko", which literally translates into Russian as "Bird's Milk". After some time, the recipe also moved to the territory of the USSR, where the delicacy very quickly became a favorite for thousands of people and was produced in very impressive batches.
Over time, such sweets became known to almost everyone, but that's why sweets and cakes are called "Bird's Milk", we'll figure it out below.
Origin of the name "Bird's milk"
It must be emphasized that the name "Bird's milk" is not only a name for the most famous sweets, as well as cakes. This is an idiom, or a phraseological unit, that is, a concept that is in no way connected with its name, but carries a semantic load that is accessible to certain peoples or people in general.
Bird's milk has long been called something unknown, precious, incredible. Bird's milk, as such, does not exist, which is why such a phraseological unit began to be called something incredible and unthinkable, precious.
It was this name that guided Polish confectioners when they created a completely new recipe for a uniquely delicious dessert. Apparently, they already understood then that soon this recipe would spread not only throughout the Union, but throughout the world. And so it happened, and today the name of sweets and cakes "Bird's milk" is more famous than the once popular phraseological unit of the same name.
Interesting facts about the trademark "Bird's milk"
In addition to the origin of the name bird's milk sweets, another very interesting fact is associated with this delicacy. It concerns the modern production of both sweets and cakes. Today Ptichye Moloko is a trademark, which means that only those companies that are part of the United Confectioners holding can be engaged in its production and sale under the original name. Other enterprises may also produce sweets using open technology, but they do not have the legal right to give such a name to their products.
This dessert is surely adored by everyone who remembers the times of the Union. Fortunately, today's sweet tooth has the opportunity to taste "Bird's milk". Everything is perfect in this dessert: the most delicate soufflé, chocolate icing with an expressive taste, appetizing look, and in the case of a cake, also a soft biscuit. The name itself is associated not just with a treat, for many it is a symbol of the era.
But why is "Bird's milk" called "bird"? Surely this question at least once puzzled everyone.
The first swallows
Many people know that the Poles were the pioneers. It was in Poland, at the E. Wedel factory, back in 1936, that these sweets were first produced. The filling was similar in composition to marshmallows, but did not contain eggs.
Once the Minister of Light Industry of the USSR tried the Polish sweets "Ptichye Moloko". He liked them so much that the country's leadership set the task for confectioners to develop an analogue.
Origins of the name
When answering the question of why "Bird's milk" is called "bird's milk", it is worth looking even not at 1936, but at even earlier times. In medieval European folklore, a plot is very common in which an insidious beauty sends an unlucky boyfriend in search of bird's milk. Drawing analogies, we can mention the Slavic image of a fern flower and the fabulous “I don’t know what”. Of course, the cavalier had to either return with nothing, or disappear, because there is no bird's milk in nature. In any case, it definitely did not exist in medieval Europe.
But there are even more ancient references. They will also help us figure out why "Bird's milk" is called "bird's milk". The ancient Greeks believed that the birds of paradise nursed their babies with milk. If a person happens to try this delicacy, he will become invincible, strong and healthy, and will retain his youth for many years.
In Russia, there was a proverb saying that the rich man has everything except bird's milk. It was understood that some things (friendship, health, love) cannot be bought with money, no matter how rich a person is.
As you can see, in many cultures there were legends that birds can give milk. And everywhere it was associated with unearthly pleasure, blessings, treasure. No wonder Polish confectioners gave their creation this alluring name.
Since 1967, the production of sweets began in the USSR. It was decided to keep the unusual name. By that time, it had already gained fame and popular love. Why "Bird's milk" is called "bird's", the Soviet people may have wondered, but they were definitely not surprised. Apparently, the memory of generations worked: the dessert evoked persistent associations with an outlandish delicacy, a fabulous pleasure, a feast of taste.
The Polish manufacturers kept the manufacturing technology and composition of "Bird's Milk" a secret. Therefore, their Soviet colleagues had to work hard to create something similar to taste. The most interesting thing about this story is that the name misled Soviet technologists: they were sure that it was due to the presence of eggs in the candy filling. In fact, eggs have nothing to do with the name. But if they were not in Polish sweets, today they are present in many desserts of the same name.
Unique Component
But the confectioners did not set the task of completely repeating the recipe. On the contrary, they went their own way. The specialists of the factory in Vladivostok used not only their professionalism, but also the wealth of their native land. Instead of gelatin, it was decided to use agar-agar, extracted from Far Eastern algae. It was this factory that first launched the production of new items. The recipe has been registered.
The second factory was Rot Front. And after some time, other confectionery enterprises in all parts of the country, including the famous Red October, joined the implementation of the plan.
Today Vladivostok sweets "Ptichye Moloko" are considered the best. In a 300-gram box, the buyer will find sweets with three different flavors (chocolate, lemon and cream), which can be stored for no more than 15 days. They still contain useful agar-agar.
Legendary cake from the restaurant "Prague"
The success of the sweets inspired culinary specialists as well. Vladimir Guralnik forever inscribed his name in the history of sweets, because it was he who developed the recipe for the Bird's Milk cake in the early 80s. Conjuring over the ingredients, the master initially decided that he would also use agar-agar. The composition also included egg whites, powdered sugar, water. And the basis was an air biscuit.
The number of orders grew exponentially. If at the very beginning only visitors to the Moscow restaurant "Prague" could taste the delicacy, then after a few months the shop also worked to take away.
It was difficult to scare a Soviet person with a queue, and therefore the workers calmly lined up behind a secret cake, taking their places before dark. Eyewitnesses of those times recall that the tail of the queue often turned to the neighboring Stary Arbat. The recipe for the "Bird's Milk" cake has been officially approved. Violation of the recommended norms was prosecuted by law.
"Bird's milk" today
Sweets "Bird's milk" are produced today. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, not all manufacturers adhere to the original Far Eastern recipe. Expensive agar-agar is often replaced with gelatin; preservatives are used to extend the shelf life. But there is a plus in this: the price of some types of "Bird's milk" is very low. You can find both loose sweets and packaged in beautiful boxes.
No less popular are cakes, pastries, soufflé "Bird's Milk", which today many hostesses have learned to cook on their own.
Sweets "Bird's milk"
Bird's milk- a confectionery product made from beaten eggs. Produced in the form of chocolate-glazed sweets - soufflé or cake, which has a more delicate texture.
Sweets with semi-airy marshmallow filling began to be produced in Poland in 1936, approximately according to the same recipe as marshmallows, only without the addition of eggs, by the Warsaw confectionery factory "E.Wedel" under the name ptasie mleczko .
"Bird's milk" is the first cake for which a patent was issued during the existence of the USSR. . Prior to that, there was no system for issuing patents for culinary recipes. The author of the recipe is a group of confectioners led by the head of the confectionery shop of the Moscow restaurant "Prague" Vladimir Guralnik - Margarita Golova and Nikolai Panfilov. The application for the invention was filed in September 1980, and in 1982 the developers of the recipe were issued a copyright certificate No. 925285, where the dessert production method was registered - but not its name.
“At first they made 30 pieces a day, then 60, then 600,” recalls Vladimir Guralnik. This was sorely lacking for Muscovites and guests of the capital: in the 80s, such queues lined up behind the cake that they had to be deployed so that people would not block traffic between Kalinin Avenue (now Novy Arbat) and Arbat. Buyers stood for hours by appointment; the smaller queue was made up of holders of coupons, which the restaurant sold to the “chosen ones” for 3 rubles. (The Bird's Milk cake itself cost 6 rubles 16 kopecks at the time). Guralnik laughingly recalls how, at the exit of the metro at the Arbatskaya station, he was offered to buy a coupon for his own product.
The Bird's Milk cake has a special technology. A layer of dough is placed down, but not biscuit and not shortbread. It tastes like a cake. Then comes a layer of soufflé - it's not made on gelatin, but on agar-agar. It took the authors more than six months to find this ingredient in Bird's Milk. But it is this “exotic” additive (in those Soviet times in the USSR, much was exotic and scarce) that makes the cake so tender and melts in your mouth. Agar-agar does not curdle at 117 degrees, which is ideal for making tender "Bird's Milk". From above, this whole work is doused with chocolate and decorated with cream.
A popular cake of the 60-80s, made mainly in Moscow and Leningrad, but not by state-owned confectionery factories, but by separate canteens and other small catering establishments, and therefore dispersed in small batches within two to three hours. This created additional popularity for this type of cake and caused it to be considered "rare", which gave rise to its name - "Bird's milk", although at first it was called "souffle cake". "Bird's milk" belongs to the type of prefabricated cakes; in addition, it does not withstand storage for more than a day, and requires rapid implementation. It is these qualities that served as the basis for its production in small batches. The ease and speed of making Ptichye Moloko, which does not require special confectionery skills, its mechanical compound design, as well as its taste that satisfies a wide consumer, all made "Ptichie Moloko" an ideal cake for home cooking. However, his recipes were not published, and often arbitrarily changed (varied) by individual canteen manufacturers.
In previous decades (60-80s) "Bird's milk" was a very cheap product in its composition, and in the 90s it became expensive (eggs, sugar, butter, flour). However, even now it can compete with factory-made cakes and pastries and is convenient for making and consuming on the spot, at home.
Story
After the trip of the Minister of the Food Industry to Czechoslovakia in 1967, where he was "smitten" with very tasty locally produced whipped sweets, representatives of all the country's confectionery factories were gathered at the Moscow "Rot-Front", and the confectioners were given the task of making the same sweets - according to the model, but no prescription. In 1967, the Vladivostok confectionery factory (technologist - Anna Chulkova) developed and began to produce Ptichye Moloko sweets. The Vladivostok factory was the only one in the USSR that fulfilled the plan for the production of these sweets - 12 tons were produced, while all confectionery enterprises were instructed to produce 6 tons. In the future, thanks to the mechanization of the process of manual labor and a change in production technology, the output already reached 35 tons per month. The recipe and technology for making sweets was recognized as the best in the USSR. .
A distinctive feature of the Vladivostok confectionery factory is that since 1932 Primorsky agar-agar (an extract from Anfelcia seaweed) has been used in the recipe.
At the same time, it was obligatory to share our experience with all the factories, and not to assign the recipe individually. The Vladivostok confectionery factory sent its craftsmen to teach the manufacturing techniques of "Bird's Milk" throughout the Far East. Many factories produce "Ptichye Moloko" sweets, and each enterprise seeks to increase its sales. At the same time, manufacturers often “improve” the recipe by adding substitutes and preservatives to it. The shelf life of "classic" sweets is 15 days. Currently, only enterprises that are part of the United Confectioners holding (Rot Front, Krasny Oktyabr, Babaevsky) can produce sweets under the Ptichye Moloko brand. At the stage of formation of the institution of intellectual property in the country, they registered for themselves the right to use as trademarks most of the so-called "Soviet brands", which were produced by almost all factories of the Soviet Union.
The first experimental batches of Bird's Milk have been produced since 1968 at the Rot Front factory. But due to the complex technology, the batches were small, the recipe documentation was not approved by the Ministry of the Food Industry of the USSR.
The traditional packaging of "Ptich'e Moloko" contains three types of sweets: cream (vanilla flavor), chocolate (rum-almond flavor) and lemon. Each type should be equally divided and only in standard packaging - 300 gr.
The Vladivostok factory is far from being the only one in the country that produces Ptichye Moloko sweets. The Sakhalin Confectionery and Pasta Plant has existed since 1967 and produces Ptichye Moloko sweets using natural agar-agar. The name is trademarked. Since the middle of 2011, the right to produce these sweets has been reserved only for enterprises that have existed since the times of the USSR. New manufacturers continue to produce this product, but under other names.
Notes
Links
- Cake "Bird's milk" according to GOST - A recipe with photographs in the magazine of Irina Chadeeva using agar-agar, not gelatin - the one used in the Prague restaurant.
If you are from the USSR, you remember the incomparable taste of "bird's milk" in the form of sweets or cake. The airy white mass melts in the mouth, the chocolate brings additional sweetness with a slight bitterness. It was magical. You are lucky if you find the same product made according to a complex recipe in compliance with all state standards. So where did this name come from, because it is known that birds do not have milk. To answer this question, you need to delve into the history of the product.
For the first time, sweets with such a filling appeared in Poland in 1936, and they were produced at the E. Wedel factory. They were made almost according to the same recipe as marshmallows, only without eggs. In 1960, similar sweets began to be produced at domestic factories. They made a splash, so the delicacy turned out to be unusual.
In 1978, the following significant tasty event took place - the confectioners of the Moscow restaurant "Prague", headed by Vladimir Guralnik, created the "Bird's Milk" cake according to a similar recipe. Of course, it was different from the candies of the same name, but it was just as good. It took more than 6 months to create the cake. Experimented with ingredients, volumes and temperatures. For example, gelatin was lured to agar-agar, a jelly-like product derived from red and brown algae. It is this exotic substance that makes the cake so lush and airy. By the way, the Bird's Milk cake is the only one for which, during the existence of the USSR, a patent was issued.
The name "Bird's milk" was invented in Poland, where the philosophers of ancient Greece were revered, in particular Aristophanes and his comedy "Birds", where happiness is promised in the form of milk "and not heifers, but birds."
There are also ancient legends where the birds of paradise fed their chicks with milk, and if a person is lucky enough to taste this milk, he will become invulnerable to any weapon and ailments. Perhaps it was this legend that formed the basis of the Russian proverb, which says: "The rich have everything, besides bird's milk."
And in European fairy tales, evil beauties sent their potential suitors for this same bird's milk. Naturally, the poor fellows had no chance to find this treasure, and they died in deserts or impenetrable forests.
The citizens of the Soviet Union had their own explanation, they believed that the cake or sweets were called “bird's milk” for their delicate taste, price and scarcity, because milk from birds is a rarity.
Bird's milk is considered to be the world's dessert. The airy delicacy has gained wide popularity in many countries, the cake recipe has spread around almost the whole world. Many housewives comprehend the culinary niche, so they are interested in the question: “How to make a dessert on your own?”. Experienced craftsmen have developed several basic recipes that are at the same time the most delicious. Consider them in order, highlight the main aspects.
Bird's milk according to GOST
The main feature of this recipe is considered to be that the cake is prepared on the basis of agar-agar. The component is an extract from algae, it is widely used in medicine. As a rule, you won’t be able to buy agar-agar in ordinary stores, so you should contact a pharmacy.
Many try to replace this ingredient with edible gelatin, but then the mark “according to GOST” disappears. The taste and consistency of the finished product is lost, the cake freezes in the refrigerator longer than the due date. Do not save energy, it is better to immediately purchase agar-agar. Consider a step by step recipe.
Required Ingredients
- wheat flour - 155 gr.
- vanilla sugar - 20 gr.
- agar-agar (algae extract) - 20 gr.
- powdered sugar - 55 gr.
- butter - 315 gr.
- condensed milk - 110 gr.
- granulated sugar - 445 gr.
- chicken protein - 2 pcs.
- chicken egg (whole) - 1 pc.
- citric acid - 5 gr.
- chocolate (preferably black) - 110 gr.
- Prepare a deep container, pour agar-agar into it, pour 145 ml of algae. filtered water at room temperature. Remove the butter from the refrigerator, let it soften naturally, cut off 55 gr.
- Then beat it with a mixer while adding vanilla and powdered sugar. Add a whole chicken egg to the resulting mass, beat again. The mixture should rise to 2 times.
- Sift the flour to loosen the composition a little. Start slowly adding it to the cream mixture, while stirring with a fork. If there are lumps, knead them on the edge of the dish. As a result, you should get a thick dough that lends itself well to kneading.
- Prepare a baking dish, you can use a baking sheet. Line it with paper or grease with vegetable oil (not recommended). Roll out the resulting dough in a thin layer, turn on the oven and heat it to a temperature of 200 degrees.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven, bake at the indicated temperature for 10 minutes. After baking, cut the cake with a knife, giving it smooth edges. Pour the condensed milk into a bowl, melt 210 gr. butter at room temperature. Mix the ingredients, beat them with a mixer.
- Pour the mixture of water and agar-agar into an enamel pan, place on the stove and turn on the minimum fire. Stir the composition until the first bubbles appear, add granulated sugar and bring it to complete dissolution of the granules (about 5 minutes). Make sure that the mass does not stick to the edges of the dishes.
- To check the readiness of sugar and agar-agar, after the appearance of foam, dip the spoon into the mixture, then remove it. You will see that the composition stretches after the cutlery. It is at this moment that the mass can be removed from the fire.
- In a separate deep bowl, beat the egg whites until you get a dense, thick foam. Add citric acid and repeat the manipulations. Start pouring in the agar-agar syrup in a thin stream, beat the mass with a mixer. It will greatly increase in size.
- Now add the cream made from butter and condensed milk, mix. The contents of the bowl will take on a yellowish tint and a liquid consistency. Immediately pour the finished mixture onto the cake, send it to the freezer for a quarter of an hour.
- Melt the remaining butter in a water bath, add pre-grated chocolate. Stir the mixture until smooth to form a thick cream. Remove the cake from the freezer, fill it with chocolate icing. Again send to freeze for a quarter of an hour.
- After the specified time, cut the dessert into triangular or square pieces. Serve with tea or coffee. If desired, on the surface of the glaze, you can draw a pattern with the remains of the cream.
Bird's milk: a classic recipe
The classic cooking technology is loved by many housewives for its low calorie content. For 100 gr. the product accounts for about 93 kcal., this fact cannot but rejoice.
Korzh:
- egg - 3 pcs.
- baking powder for dough - 10 gr.
- vanilla sugar - 14 gr.
- sugar or substitute - to taste
- corn starch - 35 gr.
Souffle:
- chicken protein - 4 pcs.
- gelatin - 10 gr.
- milk (fat content 3.2%) - 310 ml.
- granulated sugar - to taste
- citric acid - 3 gr.
Glaze:
- cocoa powder - 30 gr.
- drinking water - 65 gr.
- sour cream (fat content 15%) - 55 gr.
- gelatin - 5 gr.
- sweetener - to taste
- The preparation of bird's milk begins with the cake. First, separate the proteins, put them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Then beat the components with a mixer to get a dense thick foam. Add salt to the tip of a knife.
- Egg yolks do not need to be refrigerated, mix them with cornstarch, baking powder (can be replaced with slaked soda), sugar substitute and vanilla. Combine this mixture with the previous one.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, pour the cake mix into it. Preheat the oven to 180-190 degrees, send the baking sheet inside, bake the dough for about a quarter of an hour.
- Start making soufflé. Pour milk into a deep container, add gelatin, put the pan on the stove. Set the average power, wait for the first bubbles to appear. Stir constantly so that it does not burn.
- After boiling, simmer the mixture for another 1 minute, then turn off the burner. Beat the chicken proteins, pre-mixing them with salt. Pour in citric acid, bring to a thick foam.
- Cool the milk mixture to 65 degrees. Start pouring it in a thin stream into whipped proteins, at the same time stir. Put the prepared mass on the cooled cake, level and send in the cold until completely hardened.
- When the base is ready, you can start making the glaze. Dissolve gelatin in water according to the instructions, heat on the stove until the granules dissolve. Add sour cream (can be replaced with cream), cocoa powder and sugar substitute.
- Stir the icing until smooth, set aside. Take the cake out of the fridge and fill it with frosting. Put the dessert back in the refrigerator, wait for it to harden (3 hours). Cut into pieces, drink with tea or coffee.
Bird's milk with cocoa
- gelatin - 55 gr.
- cottage cheese (fat content from 15%) - 325 gr.
- whole milk - 270 ml.
- cocoa powder - 80 gr.
- sour cream with a fat content of 20% - 440 gr.
- cream - 50 gr.
- granulated sugar - 325 gr.
- Bird's milk with cocoa is formed from two parts - a black and white base. First, prepare the chocolate layer. To do this, pour cocoa powder according to the instructions, leave until completely swollen.
- Add 20 gr. gelatin, mix, pour into an enamel pan. Put the dishes on the fire, stir, bring the granules to complete dissolution. When the mixture becomes homogeneous, pour it into a mold, leave for half an hour to infuse.
- Proceed to the formation of the white layer. Pour the rest of the gelatin with milk, leave for a quarter of an hour until completely dissolved. At this time, prepare a kitchen sieve, wipe the cottage cheese through it.
- Mix cottage cheese with sour cream, pour in heavy cream, add granulated sugar. Pound the mass to a paste-like consistency, beat with a mixer until a decent density (about 5 minutes).
- Put the dissolved gelatin on the stove, bring to the appearance of the first bubbles. Mix with milk mixture, beat again with a mixer. Leave at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Pour the finished white mass over the chocolate layer, send to harden in the refrigerator for 3 hours. After the expiration date, cut the cake into portions, serve with tea or coffee.
Korzh:
- margarine - 245 gr.
- vanilla sugar - 12 gr.
- chicken egg - 6 pcs.
- baking powder - 10 gr.
- granulated sugar - 410 gr.
- wheat flour - 410 gr.
Cream:
- milk - 425 ml.
- butter - 310 gr.
- sugar - 310 gr.
- semolina - 40 gr.
- lemon - 2 pcs.
Glaze:
- sour cream or cream (fat content from 20%) - 60 ml.
- granulated sugar - 85 gr.
- vegetable oil - 30 ml.
- cocoa powder - 25 gr.
- Place margarine in an enamel pan, melt in a water bath, cool. Pour in sugar and mix, beat with a mixer until the crystals are completely dissolved.
- Beat eggs, add flour, baking powder, knead the mass until elastic. Divide the dough into 2 parts to bake cakes from them later.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Take 2 baking sheets, cover them with paper or grease with sunflower oil. Roll out both sections of the dough, send to bake for a quarter of an hour.
- Grind semolina in a coffee grinder or blender to a powder. Pour the milk into an enamel saucepan, bring to a boil, slowly pour in the semolina and stir.
- Boil the cereal for about 5 minutes, collect the composition from the walls. After the specified period, turn off the burner, let the porridge brew for about 10 minutes.
- Wash the lemons, cut into pieces and remove the pits. Grind with a blender to a mushy state. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a water bath, grind with sugar, mix with cooled semolina and chopped lemons.
- Beat the resulting mass with a mixer to eliminate lumps. Put in the refrigerator for 40 minutes, start preparing the glaze. Pour granulated sugar, sour cream and cocoa powder into the pan, heat until thick.
- Add butter to the mixture, mix thoroughly. Take the first cake, grease it with a large amount of cream, cover with the second cake. Pour frosting over cake and refrigerate until firm. If possible, leave the dessert overnight to soak.
Bird's milk is one of the types of desserts that can be easily prepared at home. By and large, the delicacy is made by freezing, only the cake is cooked in the oven. Consider a recipe according to GOST or classic technology. Make a cake based on cottage cheese, semolina or cocoa. Observe the proportions, do not start cutting the dessert until it has completely hardened.
Video: bird's milk cake
