The gingerbread city of Tula

This city is famous for its weapons craft, painted samovars, and Russian harmonicas, but it is even more famous for its gingerbread! Maria Nikolaeva tells about the sights and gingerbread masters of Tula.

Пряничный город Тула

It so happened for centuries that at the mention of the word “carrot”, the inhabitants of our vast Homeland have a clear geographical direction ― Tula. This city, located almost two hundred kilometers away from Moscow, has its own special smell, the smell of honey and spices, jam and boiled condensed milk. The aroma of this Tula gingerbread is not to be confused with anything. Gingerbread makers keep the secrets of making gingerbread, passed down from generation to generation, and guests of the gingerbread city rarely go home empty-handed. 

Now it is difficult to say for sure when the first gingerbread appeared and who owns the authorship of the first recipes of this fragrant delicacy. It is only known that the gingerbread was a regular guest both on the festive and on the memorial table back in the seventeenth century. It was customary to give gingerbread to close people, for this there were many customs and rituals. For example, at a wedding, young people were given a large gingerbread, and when the festivities came to an end, the gingerbread was cut into small pieces ― this meant that it was time to go home.

In Tula, you can visit a museum dedicated to the city’s famous delicacy. It opened in 1996, but in such a short time has become one of the most visited places in the city. In the “sweet” museum, you will find a long history of the development of the gingerbread business. Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine that the gingerbread had bad times, times of oblivion. Visitors to the museum will be shown the smallest gingerbread, which weighs fifty grams, and the largest, which weighs up to sixteen kilograms, and will also be offered to compare the modern method of making gingerbread and the traditional preparation of them in ancient forms.

Today we have the opportunity to enjoy many varieties of gingerbread – a variety of shapes and fillings will satisfy the tastes of the most demanding sweet lovers. The dough for the famous Tula gingerbread is of two types: raw and custard. The difference is that the gingerbread from the raw dough hardens faster, while the custard remains soft for a long time. Ready-made gingerbread is covered with a glaze based on sugar syrup to preserve their flavor and freshness longer. And no matter what kind of gingerbread you bring home, it is this sweet smell that will remind you of your trip to the glorious gingerbread city for a long time!

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