KOLOMNA, A CONTEMPORARY of Moscow, is one of the most picturesque cities in the Moscow region. Located just 110 kilometers from the capital at the junction of the Moskva and Oka rivers, the city features a blend of many Russian architectural styles, as if it were like a textbook illustration. What is more, the historical city center has been excellently preserved and features one of Russia’s most ancient kremlins, the largest tent-roofed belfry in Russia (dating to the seventeenth century — see front cover and above), and several churches. It is famous for the Novo-Golutvin Holy Trinity Convent, where they raise a rare dog breed (the Buryat-Mongolian Wolfhound) and Vyatka horses.
Kolomna is also famous for its apple orchards, which have graced the landscape here since the fifteenth century. So it is perhaps not surprising that, in 2008, the city added a new tourist attraction: the Pastille Museum, or, as the plaque on the building reads: “The Museum of a Disappearing Flavor.”
The museum is located on the country estate of the Suranovs, once a prominent local merchant family. It stands amid eighteenth to twentieth century homes that descend down to the river. The museum’s curators claim that this is where pastilles were invented as a means of preserving fruit, in the form of a delicious, healthy delicacy.
For a long time, apples were preserved by preparing an apple paste: baked apples were strained through a sieve, placed on a baking sheet, and dried. Then the dried sheet of paste was rolled up and stored away in a cool place. Throughout the year, cooks would soak some of the dehydrated mass in hot water and add it to sauces, baked goods and jellies.
Some Kolomna Pastilles
The next development — the pastille — came when cooks made a creamed puree of apples, combined it with whipped egg whites and added berries and nuts for different flavors. For pastilles, only sour apples will work, as they are richer in pectin, a natural gelling agent that delivers the needed viscosity. A pastille is made from boiled apple juice and fruit pulp, giving a consistency not unlike marshmallows, only without the agar and gelatin. The first pastille factory was built in Kolomna in the eighteenth century. Boxes of pastilles were shipped to the capital and exported to Europe, and they came to be regarded as an original Russian treat.
At the Pastille Museum, an hour-long tour feels like a trip back in time. Perhaps inspired by Proust’s hero, who remembers his past after tasting a Madeleine cookie, the curators strive to recreate the atmosphere of Russian antiquity — bringing it back via the flavor of a pastille. Your hosts, who are dressed like merchants’ wives in Kustodiev paintings, seat you at the table and serve you tea. The tour guides wear crinolines and period hairstyles, and exude period manners and conversation style. The rooms are reconstructed true to the era, and the house is redolent with the scent of apples, with undertones of raspberry, strawberry and chocolate.
The museum was the brainchild of Elena Dmitrieva and Natalia Nikitina. Elena, an entrepreneur, has a small construction contracting business; Natalia is an art historian. Elena and Natalia discovered Kolomna pastilles accidentally in 2007, while working on a project called “Ice House: Russian Merrymaking as Portrayed by Ivan Lazhechnikov.” The writer Ivan Lazhechnikov, a paterfamilias of the Russian historical novel, was born in Kolomna. He left behind vivid descriptions of the town and its customs in the first half of the nineteenth century. Among these was a bright description of a Pastillenitsa — a plump pastille saleswoman dressed in a bright pinafore, with blue wool stockings and high heels. Her face is abundantly rouged, her eyebrows arched, and her giant kokoshnik is embroidered with pearls, emeralds and rubies. Elena and Natalia designed a costume based on the description, and found a colorful woman to fit the image. The Pastillenitsa from Kolomna was resurrected.
Then they thought: What were pastilles like back then? Agar, which is used to make meringues and pastilles today, was not around a hundred years ago. They began searching for old recipes. They visited well-known Russian candy factories, trying to interest them in producing the candies. Sadly, none showed any interest. So, the two women did everything themselves, in their own kitchens. They developed every step: the ingredients, how to cast molds, how to dry and slice the final confections. They were able to get all the necessary certificates for production, and they even managed to find fresh apples in January — they had to be raw to make the pastilles — from riverside orchards in Kolomna. Finally, they tracked down an old label, similar to the Chupikov Pastille Factory, and copied the packaging of some pre-1917 boxes they found at flea markets. They found a box maker in nearby Lubertsy staffed by people with disabilities. Today, the museum offers 15 types of pastilles.
In the museum’s tasting hall, visitors can sample pastilles (with tea, of course) prepared according to historic Kolomna recipes. The candies are crunchy, shaped like multicolored cubes, flatbreads, diamonds or bars. And best of all, they are 100 percent natural, without any chemical additives. There are several flavors: mixed berries, strawberry, nut, chocolate, raspberry (Dostoyevsky’s favorite) and even malt (originally used as a hangover remedy). The partners plan to enlarge their offerings next year, including a fig pastille. They have also recreated the flavorful rose petal pastilles of Marquise de Pompadour, and a very unusual poppy seed pastille. A signature box of handmade goodies costs R350 ($12). It is certainly not cheap by Russian standards, yet the pastilles are nonetheless snapped up quickly... for they are a truly unique souvenir.
KOLOMNA'S PASTILLE MUSEUM represents a new type of Russian museum: preserving and presenting the country’s “intangible” heritage, things that are ephemeral and fleeting: flavors, scents, a different way of life, a different manner of speech... This spring, the museum will woo visitors with its “Cupids” program, celebrating the role of pastilles in sensuality and love.
The museum was made possible through a grant from the charitable fund of Vladimir Potanin, a Russian billionaire, industrialist and patron of the arts, who recently announced that he was going to give away all his fortune to charity. The fund supports numerous cultural and educational projects; one of them is called “A Changing Museum in a Changing World,” which seeks to facilitate development and reform in Russian museums, a sector long in need of change.
The present system (exemplified by the Pushkin Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery or the Hermitage) dates back to the 1920s, and was modeled on the nineteenth century Prussian “Temple of Art” (Temple der Kunst) system, where museums are seen as a places to revere and worship beauty. In temple-museums, art historians are high priests, and visitors are treated like students, there to be taught.
From this perspective, the Kolomna Pastille Museum, small and cozy, is completely revolutionary. They do educate you, but in a very friendly way, winning over visitor’s hearts through their stomachs. One experiences history in its “natural habitat.” And you don’t just look at exhibits, you also see the actual production process, how pastilles were made in the nineteenth century. You can even participate in the cooking process.
Natalia Nikitina and Elena Dmitrieva have a lot of plans. They want to open an historic pastille factory in town (reconstruction of an abandoned nineteenth century factory building is already underway), to showcase the pastille-making process and how it evolved from an artisanal craft to mass production. They also plan to resurrect Gorskaya Zelenka, a local apple previously believed to be extinct, from which pastilles were made, and they want to plant an historical garden.
Their dream is nothing short of creating a unique museum zone in the historic Kolomensky Posad neighborhood, in order to preserve old Kolomna as an example of a provincial old Russian town for future generations. In fact, Natalia and Elena would like to convert the entire city to a history museum of Russian antiquity. They have managed to get artists, authorities, scientists and the business community interested in their projects, and they are actively seeking project support from Russian and European philanthropic organizations.
They know how to articulate an idea and organize a process. Their enthusiasm and energy is astonishing. And their pastilles are fantastic. RL
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