pastila

{{Short description|Russian fruit confectionary}}

{{about|Russian fruit confectionery|the Arabo-Andalusian meat pie|Pastilla|the Philippine milk-based confectionery|pastillas}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Pastila

| image =Kolomna Pastila.jpg

| image_size =220px

| caption = Pastila from Kolomna

| alternate_name =

| country = Russia

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| course = Confectionery

| type =

| served =

| main_ingredient = fruit purée, egg whites, sugar or honey

| variations = Food coloring

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Pastila ({{langx|ru|пастила́}} {{IPA|ru|pəsʲtʲɪˈɫa|}}) is a traditional Russian fruit confectionery (pâte de fruits). It has been described as "small squares of pressed fruit paste"Vera Broido. Daughter of Revolution: A Russian Girlhood Remembered. Constable, 1998. Page 122. and "light, airy puffs with a delicate apple flavor".Darra Goldstein. A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality. Russian Information Services, 1999. {{ISBN|1880100428}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aKEICug2T-EC&pg=PA209 Page 209]. In Imperial Russia, the "small jellied sweetmeats" were served for tea "with a white foamy top, a bit like marshmallow, but tasting of pure fruit".Christmas Around the World. Sutton Publishing, 1998. {{ISBN|9780750917247}}. Page 31.

The first mentions of pastila in Russian written sources date back to the 16th century.М. Р. Фасмер. Этимологический словарь русского языка. Прогресс, 1964—1973. [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=config&morpho=0&basename=%5Cdata%5Cie%5Cvasmer&first=1&off=&text_word=Пастила&method_word=substring&ic_word=on&text_general=&method_general=substring&ic_general=on&text_origin=&method_origin=substring&ic_origin=on&text_trubachev=&method_trubachev=substring&ic_trubachev=on&text_editorial=&method_editorial=substring&ic_editorial=on&text_pages=&method_pages=substring&ic_pages=on&text_any=&method_any=substring&sort=word&ic_any=on Пастила] (Max Vasmer, Etymological dictionary of the Russian language).[http://www.ido.rudn.ru/ffec/hist/chrest%5CX_10.html Послание Ивана Грозного в Кириллов монастырь] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819063913/http://ido.rudn.ru/ffec/hist/chrest/X_10.html |date=2007-08-19 }}, 1573 (The epistle of Ivan the Terrible to the abbot of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, 1573).Домострой. [http://www.wco.ru/biblio/books/domostroy/main.htm глава 66] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412033245/http://wco.ru/biblio/books/domostroy/Main.htm |date=2019-04-12 }} (Domostroy, a 16th-century Russian set of household rules. Section 66). The name is probably a loanword from {{langx|it|pastello}} or pastiglia, or from the cognate {{langx|fr|pastille}} which in turn comes from {{langx|la|pastillus}} (a loaf or pie, cf. pastilla).А. Н. Чудинов. Словарь иностранных слов, вошедших в состав русского языка. 1910. [http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/dic_fwords/26328/ПАСТИЛА Пастила] (A. N. Tchudinov. Dictionary of foreign words adopted to the Russian language. 1910).

In the 19th century, pastila was made from sourish Russian apples such as Antonovka or mashed Northern berries (lingonberry, rowan, currants) sweetened with honey or sugar and lightened with egg whites. The paste was baked in the Russian oven for many hours, then arranged in several layers inside an alder box and then left to dry in the same oven.В. В. Похлёбкин. [http://kulinarnayakniga.ru/tesaurus/207/177707/ Кулинарный словарь] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402182424/http://kulinarnayakniga.ru/tesaurus/207/177707/ |date=2019-04-02 }}. Центрполиграф, 2002 (William Pokhlyobkin. Culinary Dictionary. Centrpoligraf, 2002).

In Imperial Russia, pastila was considered an expensive treat. Priced at one rouble and a half, it was produced at noblemen's manors by serf labor. The cheapest pastila was made with honey instead of sugar. The Russian stove afforded two days of steadily diminishing heat to bake the fruit paste. A Tatar variety was strained through a fine sieve, which helped keep apple seeds intact.Леонид Васильевич Беловинский.

Энциклопедический словарь российской жизни и истории: XVIII-начало XX в. ОЛМА-ПРЕСС, 2003. {{ISBN|5-224-04008-6}}.

[https://books.google.com/books?id=4W5sUATx57MC&pg=PA721 Сласти] (Leonid Belovinsky, Encyclopaedic dictionary of Russian life and history: From the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century. OLMA-PRESS, 2003).

In the Soviet period, pastila was produced using an industrially optimised technology.[http://docs.cntd.ru/document/1200022417 ГОСТ-6441-96, Изделия кондитерские пастильные, общие технические условия] (Interstate Standard 6441-96, former Soviet state technical standard, Pastila type confectionery. General specifications). According to William Pokhlyobkin, this Soviet-style pastila does not depend on the unique properties of the peasant stove and is markedly inferior to its homemade predecessors. It was ultimately eclipsed in popularity by zefir, which is made from similar ingredients but with whipped egg whites and gelling agents.

In the 2010s, traditional pastila is regaining its popularity, with the Kolomna and especially Belyov versions widely available commercially.{{Cite web|url=http://www.forbes.ru/svoi-biznes/istorii-uspekha/310831-sladkoe-mesto-kak-proizvodstvo-pastily-iz-promysla-prevratilos-v|title=Сладкое место: как производство пастилы из промысла превратилось в бизнес|date=25 January 2016 }}