Celebrate Easter in different countries different, but always fun and interesting. Easter is a holiday especially revered by Christians. From the Greek πάσχα literally translates as "passing by" and symbolizes the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, according to the biblical scriptures, Jesus Christ was accused of violating the Jewish law and sentenced to death by crucifixion. However, the Son of God turned out to be above earthly death and resurrected three days after his burial. This significant event has grown into a worldwide Christian holiday because "Christ is Risen!"

Please note that in 2013 Catholic Easter will fall on March 31, and Orthodox Easter on May 5.

Traditional Easter food

Traditionally, Easter cakes, women, cottage cheese Easter and Easter eggs. These products are illuminated in the church, given to each other and used to break the fast.

Easter eggs are a sign of the Resurrection of the Lord. As a rule, eggs are hard-boiled and dyed red for Easter. it is the color of the divine victory of life over death. So according to holy scripture, Saint Mary Magdalene, a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, gave Emperor Tiberius an unexpected gift - a chicken egg as a sign of the resurrection of the Son of God. The emperor did not believe the myrrh-bearing woman, saying that just as this egg cannot turn red, so the dead cannot rise. At his words, the donated egg turned red, becoming an indisputable confirmation of the resurrection of Christ. Over time, Easter eggs began to be painted in other colors (usually bright), as well as painted with Christian symbols, patterns and drawings.

Curd Easter - this is a dish with cottage cheese, cooked in the form of a cone (for this, a special baking dish is used - a pasochnik). The conical shape of the dish represents the Holy Sepulcher. Often cottage cheese Easter is decorated with the letters "ХВ", meaning "ChristRisen”, as well as images of crosses, spears, germinated grains and flowers, emphasizing the suffering and resurrection of the Son of God.Cottage cheese Easter is prepared from dry homogeneous cottage cheese, butter, cream (sour cream), raisins. Almonds, candied fruits, nuts, etc. can also be used to give the dish a special taste.

kulich is a cylindrical bread made from yeast dough(eggs, sugar, butter, raisin). Powdered sugar or icing is often used to make Easter cake festive. You can also add vanilla, cardamom and nutmeg. Kulich is considered a "secular" likeness of church artos bread. Artos (prosphora) is a bread made from kvass and yeast, symbolizing the unity of all people on earth and is used during communion. On the artos, as a rule, a crown of thorns is depicted - a sign of the Resurrection of Christ. Artos at home can be stored for a year. It is believed that this church bread can help the believer in case of illness.

Woman - this is a pie shortcrust pastry, which is prepared for Easter by Catholics. The baba is shaped like a pot turned upside down with a hole in the center. It is assumed that the woman inherited this form from the pot in which she baked in the old days. The hole in the center was made so that the dough baked better. The main ingredients of baba are eggs, yeast, and raisins. On top of the baba is covered with a layer of vanilla, powdered sugar or chocolate icing. Unlike Easter, this cake has a very light texture. In order to get this consistency, you need to beat the eggs very well.

Easter meal

Different countries have their own culinary Easter traditions celebrations.

Easter in Russia

In Russia, Easter is celebrated with eggs, Easter cakes and Easter cakes. With the words "Christ is Risen - Risen in truth" they exchange traditional Easter dishes with each other.

Kulich is a symbol of Easter, so it is prepared following a special ritual. So at night from Thursday to Friday, dough is kneaded for Easter cake. On Friday, the cake is baked and stored until Saturday. On the night from Saturday to Sunday, Easter cake is lit in the church. And, starting from Sunday until Radunitsa, you can eat this sweet bread and treat your friends and acquaintances to it. Also, a special sign is associated with Easter cake. If the hostess's Easter cake turned out beautiful, lush, it means that the whole year the family will live in abundance.In Russia, they are especially suitable for the procedure for cutting Easter cake. Easter cake is not cut lengthwise, like ordinary bread, but across. This is done so that the “dome” of the cake can cover the remaining crumb.

Orthodox Christians also prepare Easter eggs in advance. Traditionally, eggs are dyed red. For painting eggs, as a rule, onion peel is used. The eggs are boiled in onion peel over low heat for about 20 minutes, due to which they acquire a rich bronze hue. In the old days, Easter eggs were laid out on a beautiful dish decorated with herbs, wheat germ and flowers.Easter eggs were the first dish that believers ate on Sunday morning. And this followed a special ritual. Before eating the eggs, they were broken against each other, as if emphasizing the beginning of a new life and resurrection.

In addition to the main Easter dishes, Russian families sometimes cook “lamb” from sweet dough with butter for Easter. The sand "lamb" seems to recall the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, brought by him for human sins.The main ingredients of "lamb" are flour, sugar, eggs, margarine, vanilla. To create a special taste, prunes, white chocolate, and coconut flakes are sometimes added.

Easter in Italy

The egg is the symbol of Italian Easter. On a holiday, believers with the words "Urbi et Orbi" give each other eggs, and not necessarily real ones. Would make a great Easter gift chocolate egg with a surprise inside.

Traditional for the Easter table in Italy is a dish of lamb ("pascalina") with fried artichokes. . It is sometimes served alongside a salad of lettuce, bell peppers, olives, and artichokes. And for lovers of spicy, they offer a salad of tomato, garlic and parsley.

Exists in Italy and a large number of Easter baking.

Colomba (Colomba Pasquale) - Italian Easter cake, baked in the shape of a dove or a cross. To prepare a colomba, you need flour, sugar, butter, eggs, yeast. Additionally, orange peel, dried apricots, raisins, candied fruits can be used. Colomba is a popular Italian delicacy that everyone should try.

Torta Pasculina (Torta P asqualina) It's an Easter spinach pie. Among the main ingredients are flour, eggs, milk, butter, spinach, garlic clove, ricotta, parmesan, olive oil. Torta Pasculina has a special spicy taste, which is what lovers of hearty muffins will love.

Casatiello ( Casatiello) or Tortano (Tortano) - This is a Neapolitan cheese pie. Distinctive feature This pie is that, in addition to traditional products, smoked meat (usually salami or pecorino romano) and cheese are used for its preparation. The top of the pie is decorated with a dough cross.

Pastiera Napoletano ( Pastiera N apoletana) - this is another rich Neapolitan Easter miracle, but unlike the previous version, it belongs to the category of sweet dishes. The filling of this pie is interesting. The Italians suggest using wheat grains, low-fat milk, ricotta cheese, eggs, lemon zest, sugar, orange liqueur, candied fruits, raisins, cinnamon for the filling. Judging by the ingredients, the pie is unforgettable.

Casata Sichilianna ( Cassata Siciliana) - it's sicilian biscuit cake having an unusual texture. As part of ricotta, candied fruits, chocolate or vanilla filler. The whole thing is soaked in fruit juice or liquor and garnished with marzipans, hard candies, candied fruit, and other "little joys".

Easter in Germany

They also like to celebrate Easter in Germany. Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny are symbols of Easter for the Germans.

For Catholics, the egg is a symbol of rebirth. Therefore, it is believed that whoever eats an Easter egg gains strength and is charged with healthy energy. There is a whole legend associated with Easter eggs. According to legend, the Easter Bunny hides Easter eggs in secluded places on the holiday. Find the same hare treasure is a good sign. Therefore, small children love to have fun looking for hidden colorful eggs.

Among the Easter pastries in Germany, the kugelhopf (kugelhopf) or, in Russian, “rum woman” is especially famous. Unlike the usual sand woman, rum is added to this cake. This gives Kugelhopf an amazing and unique taste.

Pretzels are also popular. - small but insanely delicious pretzels. The composition of the dish is quite simple, which allows you to cook it at home. This is flour, water, yeast, protein, cumin, vegetable oil, salt, soda.

Bon appetit and Happy Easter to you!

Publications in the Traditions section

Traditional Easter dishes

We recall recipes from pre-revolutionary cookbooks.

Photo: Nikolai Okhitin / photo bank "Lori"

Preparing for a festive meal for Easter always began in advance. Many products were stored in advance: in pre-revolutionary cookbooks, it was advised to leave “the most beautiful head of a wild boar” for Easter when cutting livestock. Advertisements were printed in newspapers and books - where you can buy paint and special paper to color eggs. On Easter Day, the table was covered with a white tablecloth, decorated with a dish of germinated wheat, fresh or paper flowers, and willow branches. Traditional Easter dishes were placed in the center - curd Easter, Easter cakes, colored eggs. It was with them that the breaking of the fast after the night service began.

Yasnaya Polyana cottage cheese Easter

Ingredients:
* cottage cheese - 3 kg 200 g
* cream - 1 bottle
* sour cream - 1 kg 200 g
* butter - 400 g
* raisins (kishmish) - 400 g
* cinnamon - 400 g
* vanilla - 1 pod
* sugar
* salt
Recipe:
Mix cottage cheese, cream, sour cream and butter. Add raisins, cinnamon (raisin variety. - Approx. ed.), vanilla, sugar and salt to taste. Received to mix, put in a bee-keeper and put oppression.

Easter recipe taken from Sophia Tolstoy's 1889 "Cookbook"

Photo: Syda Productions / Lori photo bank

Easter eggs are dyed in different manners:

a) They are dyed in shreds of silk different colors. These shreds should be plucked, mixed, the eggs should be washed thoroughly, wiped clean, then moistened again, wrapped in silk, and cut out pieces of blue sugar paper should be applied to the eggs with patterns. Cover all this with a rag, tie it with threads, lower the eggs into a saucepan with cold water. From the minute they boil, cook for 10 minutes, remove, cool, then remove the rag and silk.
b) Wash the eggs clean, wipe them, wrap them in a rag, tie them with threads and drip some ink on top with a wooden stick; lower into water and, when they boil, cook for 10 minutes, remove, cool, then remove the rag.
c) Painted in red paint, namely: in a pot medium size pour 100 g of sandalwood, pour cold water, leave until the next day, then put on the stove. When it boils, add alum, stir, lower the eggs, hold on the edge of the stove until the eggs are colored, then put on a large fire, boil them for 10 minutes, then cool, remove from the coloring, wipe with cotton wool soaked in Provence oil (olive oil. - Approx. ed.), Then wipe dry with a towel, put on a dish, on a napkin. In the same paint, you can paint eggs two or three changes.
d) They paint it in the same way in yellow paint, and eggs are boiled in the husks from the bulbs or in the leaves of a young birch.

Recipe from the book by Elena Molokhovets “A gift to young housewives, or a means to reduce costs in household» 1897

After breaking the fast, they ate porridge and snacks from vegetables and mushrooms. Also on the Easter table were served traditional sauces - horseradish and mustard, greens and a lot of meat dishes. Among them could be pate, cold veal, stuffed poultry, aspic, boiled pig's head, and even boiled or baked piglet whole. At the same time, it was not customary to serve hot dishes on the Easter table.

Hare pate

For the pâté, take the back of the hare, fry it a little in cow's butter, and then separate the meat from the bones. Bones are poured meat broth and put to boil, adding 1 onion, ¼ celery root, 1 parsley root, 2 bay leaves, and, if available, you can put a veal leg or even a veal bone here so that the broth gets some stickiness. Pass the meat, together with fresh lard, through a meat grinder (for 2 pounds of meat, 1 pound is enough lard), sprinkle with salt, simple and English pepper, add the broth in which the bones were boiled so that the mixture turns into a thick puree and, after mixing well, put in a pan lined with dough, cover with the same cake and bake in the oven until cooked, so that the dough is well browned . The pate is taken out of the pan the next day to cool completely, and therefore it should not be baked in a copper pan.

Recipe from The Mistress's Companion, 1908. Compiled by E. Petrozhitskaya (née Von-Brummer)

completed Easter meal sweets. Not only Easter cake and cottage cheese Easter were served on the table, but also other desserts. Their assortment depended on the wealth of the family. On the tables of the aristocrats there were many sweet dishes: first of all, women and mazurkas (varieties of sweet pies), cakes and gingerbread, jellies and mousses, compotes and kissels.

“The woman is very tall and light for the Easter table”

When preparing this baba, one must be very careful, because from any carelessness and a strong push, it easily falls off. Stir as best as possible ½ garnets of flour (1 garnets - 3.2 kg. - Approx. Ed.), ¼ garnets of milk, pour in ¾ cup of strained yeast, stir, cover and put in warm place; when the yeast begins to rise, beat the dough with a spatula, add salt, pour in ¼ of the egg yolks, beat with a spatula until smooth, put 1 ½ cups of melted butter, stir the other ½ cup of flour again, add, finally, 2 cups of sugar, raisins from ½ cup, chopped sweet almonds with ½ cup bitter - 15 pieces, mix all this well and put in a warm place; when the dough arrives in half, knock it out with a spatula, pour it into a buttered mold, which must be filled into ¼ parts; when the dough has risen to a third of the mold, insert it carefully into the oven for 1 ¼ hours.

Recipe from the "Cookbook of the famous culinary specialist D.I. Bobrinsky" in 1913

Photo: Marina Slavina / photo bank "Lori"

Mazurka from the book "Easter Recipes"

Prepare crumbly dough like this: put on the table 1 ½ pounds of flour, ½ pound of fine sugar, 2 whole eggs, grate the zest from one lemon, 1 pound of Chukhon butter (butter from fermented cream. - Approx. ed.), washed in cold water, knead everything well, that is, knead with your hand, roll out a not very thin square or oval strip on flour, fold it on an iron sheet, put it in the oven to brown a little, then remove it from the oven and leave to cool; meanwhile, scald ¾ pound of sweet almonds, peel them, rinse in cold water, chop not very finely, place in a light oven heat to dry a little, but do not let them overcook, take out, let the almonds cool completely, put them in a saucepan, add 1 pound of granulated sugar, 6 pieces of protein, mix well, put on the stove, heat well as hot as possible, but do not let it boil. Then remove from the stove and put immediately hot on a baked cake, smooth with a knife and put in a hot oven; as it turns red, take it out and remove it until it has cooled down, from the sheet to a shallow and even dish. So that the mazurka does not break, this mazurka is removed from above with various fruits and jam, but it is best to fill it with apricot marmalade, that is, mashed apricots with sugar; for 1 glass of mashed potatoes 1 glass of sugar, cook, stirring, on the stove for ½ hour and pour the mazurka hot.

Recipe from the book "Easter table. Easter cakes, Easters, books and mazurkas, 1905. Compiled by A. Rumyantsev, teacher at the St. Petersburg Culinary School

Like other major holidays of the Christian calendar, Easter is a solemn holiday, associated with its own rites and rituals, many of which originate in antiquity. Special place among the Easter rites are those associated with food.

In fact, for the vast majority of Russian families, in general, the traditions and rituals of Easter are associated exclusively with food - in recent decades, the rest simply have not been passed down from generation to generation and are often forgotten, and then not reintroduced in new families. But in order to get real pleasure from the holiday, you need to understand what is happening, why and in what sequence. And traditional holiday food is no exception.

Easter cakes

Traditionally baked on Good Thursday, the day when, according to Biblical tradition, Christ broke (that is, divided) with his disciples last time bread and said that “this is my body, which is broken for you”, after which he was soon betrayed by Judas.

However, bread, as a symbol of the body, was such long before Christ, and some researchers argue that Christ used an ancient respected tradition in order to emphasize the importance of the current moment and symbolically show the disciples what will happen to Him in the near future.

Easter cakes are both an image of the body of Christ and, at the same time, a symbol of mother earth, which gives us all physical life. Thus, Easter cake is, as it were, a union of both the spiritual and physical components of our life and an annual reminder of this.

In order for Easter cake to be not an ordinary, but a significant traditional Easter dish, you need to remember the rules for making it - kneading dough, kneading dough, baking, and the rules for eating it. So, the dough was certainly mixed with prayer and in a special state of peace, silence and lack of fuss. The subsequent parting of the dough is also important - after all, in a certain sense, this is already a symbol of health and longevity. In addition, during the entire cooking of Easter cakes in the house, special atmosphere sacraments and sacraments: windows do not open, if possible, do not open Entrance door, silence and good mood are observed.

There are also traditions for how to eat Easter cake. Baked Easter cakes will be eaten for at least a week after Easter (up to and including Radonitsa), so they should be stored especially carefully. And the first meal after Lent will begin with Easter cake. Easter cake is also cut in a special way: if possible, by the head of the family, after returning from church, the consecration of the cake and eggs. Easter cake is often cut into ringlets, and the cake cap is eaten last, because if the cake was not eaten in one sitting, it acts as a lid, helping to keep the cake fresh and not dried out.

This dish has many variations: krashenki, and kapanki, and pysanky, and just eggs boiled in onion skins. The symbol of the egg is simple and uncomplicated, on the one hand, and powerful and unknowable, on the other. The egg is the symbol of life. new life.

"And, since Easter is the feast of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, that is, the restoration of life after death, the egg, known since ancient times as a symbol of life, was used by Mary Magdalene as a gift that symbolized the resurrection of Christ.

For dyeing, fresh chicken eggs. Preferably small ones, because earlier, before the existence of incubators and hormonal feeding for birds, chickens began to lay again just shortly before Easter, and the first eggs after the winter “hibernation” were small. Now small eggs are laid by those hens who lay for the first time and have not yet set the goal of their life to lay without interruption.

Eggs are painted more often at the same time when Easter cakes are baked - on Good Thursday. As well as for the preparation of a full-fledged ritual Easter cake, eggs are made only in a special, almost prayerful state. It is up to the hostess to decide at what time to cook the eggs: the main thing is that this happens without anguish and not under the yoke of obligations.

Easter is the central event in the spiritual life of every Christian. That is why this holiday should be celebrated with special reverence, identity and joy.

On Easter day to festive table traditionally they cooked a lot of food, baked lamb, fried veal, cooked ham. In accordance with the tradition, hot dishes were not served at the Easter table. It was not customary to serve fish to the Easter table on this holiday.

The Easter table was notable for its festive splendor, it was especially beautiful, tasty and plentiful. Easter and Easter cakes were always decorated with flowers. These flowers were made from colored paper and decorated with them the dining room and walls of the house, icons and the festive table.

Colored eggs were laid out on fresh greens of sprouted wheat, oats or on young and pale green leaves of watercress. Greens were specially germinated for Easter.

Easter has always been a family holiday.

In the old good times The obligatory symbol of the Easter table was a lamb, as a symbol of the sacrificial death of Christ. Lamb was cooked from sugar or butter. Previously, there were special forms for baking lamb or for making lamb from butter. Ready-made lambs made from butter and sugar were sold in stores.

In our troubled times, the main Easter decorations are painted eggs, curd Easter and, most importantly, Easter cake.

Easter is not just cottage cheese with raisins, but an important Christian dish. Traditionally, Easter was cottage cheese with sour cream and cream pressed into a truncated pyramid with the image of a cross and the letters "ХВ".
Do you know what Easter symbolizes? This is a symbol of the Holy Sepulcher. And the letters "ХВ" remind people that Christ became an Angts, slain for human sins.

kulich

According to tradition, Jesus Christ, after the Resurrection, came to the apostles at the time when the apostles were having a meal. The middle place was not occupied, and in the middle of the table lay the bread intended for Him. Over time, a tradition appeared on the festive Sunday to leave bread in the temple. And left it on a special table. Just like the apostles did.

Since the family has long been considered a "small church", over time there was a custom to have their own bread. This "own bread" became Easter cake (from the Greek kollikion - "round bread"). Easter bread was baked round in memory of the shroud of Christ, which had a similar shape. As for the dough for Easter cake, according to legend, before his death, Christ ate unleavened bread with the disciples, and after the miraculous Resurrection they began to eat yeast bread.

Easter cake is traditionally prepared in good thursday, i.e. on the day that symbolizes Last Supper. In the kitchen where the cake is baked, there must be absolute silence, you can not open doors and windows. And you can't speak loudly. Ancestors believed that doors and windows are a connection with the outside world, in which evil forces live.

In general, the dough for Easter cake is incredibly capricious. It simply does not tolerate drafts, temperature changes and fuss (or haste) in cooking. Therefore, it will not be possible to cook Easter cake in a quick way.

Easter photos

Resurrection of Christ
Princess E. Gorchakova

On Easter day, joyfully playing,
The lark flew high
And in the blue sky, disappearing,
He sang the song of resurrection.

And that song was loudly repeated
And the steppe, and the hill, and dark forest.
"Wake up, earth," they said,
Wake up: Your King, your God is Risen!

Wake up, mountains, valleys, rivers,
Praise the Lord from Heaven.
He conquered death forever -
Wake up and you, green forest.

Snowdrop, silver lily of the valley,
Violet - bloom again
And send up a fragrant hymn
To the one whose commandment is love.

Easter Recipes

Easter Gentle

To make this Easter recipe, you will need:

• Cottage cheese with a fat content of 18% - 500 g
• Cream with a fat content of 30% - 300 ml
• Powdered sugar - 150 g
• Yolks - 4 pcs.
• Lemon - 1 pc.
• Light raisins - 100 g
• Candied fruits - 120 g
• Chocolate - 50 g
• Vanilla sugar - 10 g.

Cooking Easter:

1. Soak candied fruit and raisins in warm water for 2 hours. Dry.
2. Remove the zest from the lemon with a fine grater.
3. Grind the pulp of the lemon into a puree.
4. Beat cottage cheese with a blender into a smooth creamy mass. Gradually add lemon zest and vanilla sugar mixed with powdered sugar, yolks and lemon puree. Mix until smooth.
5. Add raisins and candied fruits to the curd mass, mix gently.
6. Cover the form for Easter with gauze. Put the curd mass on cheesecloth and press this mass with a load. Place the form in a large cup, in the refrigerator for a day.
7. Before serving, remove Easter from the mold, grate chocolate and decorate Easter.

Easter white light

White chocolate will give an exquisite taste to Easter.
In order to cook Easter according to the recipe, you will need:

• Cottage cheese (preferably farmer's) plastic - 1 kg
• White chocolate - 200 g
• Butter (sweet cream) 82.5% - 200 g
• Yolks - 6 pcs.
• Powdered sugar with natural vanilla - 150 g
• Raisins yellow (golden) - 200 g
• Rum - 100 g
• Sea salt - a pinch.

Cooking Easter:

1. Pour raisins with boiling water, dry and pour rum. Close the container with raisins and rum and stand for 18 hours (preferably 36 hours).
2. Put the cottage cheese in the kitchen waffle towel or gauze folded in several layers. Put a towel with cottage cheese in a colander, a colander in a large basin. Put a heavy load on top of the curd. Leave for at least 4 hours.
3. Rub the cottage cheese through a sieve.
4. Chop the chocolate and butter into small pieces and melt in a water bath (or in the microwave). Cool slightly.
5. Beat the yolks with salt and powdered sugar - add to the chocolate mass and mix.
6. Combine with cottage cheese and beat with a mixer until fluffy (about 10 minutes).
7. Add the raisins and rum and stir until the raisins are evenly distributed.
8. Cover the form for Easter with gauze, lay out the curd mass and cover the mass with the ends of the gauze.
9. Put Easter in the refrigerator for 12 hours (preferably 36).
10. Decorate as you wish before serving.

Easter cake with icing

Very beautiful and tasty cake.

For steam:

• Yeast: 13 g dry or 25 g fresh
• Wheat flour - 130 g
• Milk - 200 ml
• Granulated sugar - 15 g

For test:

• Wheat flour - 320 g
• Sugar sand - 150 g
  Butter - 150 g
• Vegetable oil - 30 ml
• Yolks - 120 g
• Candied fruits - 100 g
• Raisins - 100 g
• Rum - 60 ml
• Vanilla - 1 pod
• Ground nutmeg, cardamom, ginger and salt - to taste.

For glaze:

• Protein - 1
• Powdered sugar - 130-150 g
• Lemon juice - ½ teaspoon.

Cooking cake:

1. Cut candied fruits into pieces, mix with raisins and rum. Leave until use.
2. Heat milk to 36-38 degrees, mix with mashed yeast, sugar and flour, mix and leave in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.
3. Drain and save the rest of the rum, dry the candied fruits and raisins on a paper towel.
4. In a large bowl, mix the dough with sugar, softened butter and vegetable oil, yolk, rum, vanilla seeds and spices to taste, and salt. Mix until smooth.
5. Add sifted flour, raisins and candied fruit. Knead a smooth soft dough. Divide the dough in half.
6. Arrange the dough in the forms, filling the forms no more than 2/3 of the volume. Keep the forms with the dough in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours.
7. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes at a temperature of 165 -170 degrees.
8. Cool the cake.
9. To prepare the icing, mix the icing sugar with the egg white and lemon juice. Pour the cakes with this glaze.
10. Decorate the cake to your liking.

Easter cake on yolks

For this recipe, you will need:
For steam:

• Milk - 200 ml
• Granulated sugar - 1 tablespoon
• Fresh yeast - 30 g
• Wheat flour - 1 cup (not full).

For test:

• Butter - 70 g
• Butter for greasing the mold
• Egg yolks - 5 pcs.
• One egg yolk for greasing the cake
• Granulated sugar - ½ cup
• Salt - a pinch
• Wheat flour - 2.5-3 cups
• Breadcrumbs.

Cooking Easter cake:

1. To prepare the dough, mix warm milk with sugar, add yeast and sifted flour. Stir and put in a warm place for 20 minutes.
2. Grind the yolks with sugar, add salt and softened butter. Add the mass to the approached dough and mix well.
3. Pour in most pre-sifted flour and knead a soft elastic dough. The longer you knead the dough, the tastier the cake will be. Cover the dough with a towel and leave it in a warm place.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, knead the dough again. If necessary, add flour. Cover the dough again with a towel and leave it in a warm place for several hours.
5. Grease the cake molds with oil and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Divide the dough into parts and place in molds (1/3 of the volume). Let the dough rise. Brush the top of the cake with beaten egg yolk.
6. Bake the cake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

The oldest symbol of the Holy Sepulcher, in which the great miracle of the Resurrection of the Savior of mankind took place, the victory of light over darkness, is Easter cottage cheese. The history of the origin and origin of the dish goes back thousands of years. Symbolic meaning cottage cheese easter great for all believers.

On the eve of the bright holiday of Easter, Orthodox believers prepare the obligatory Easter dishes: they paint eggs, bake Easter cakes, and make cottage cheese Easter. Each dish has its own history and deep meaning.

Those who believe that for the celebration of Easter it is enough to stock up on colored eggs and sweet rich Easter cake are mistaken. The main Easter dish, which has the same name with the feast of holidays, is curd Easter.

Curd Easter - what is it?

Cottage cheese Easter is prepared on the basis of cottage cheese. Add different ingredients: honey (sugar), sour cream (cream), butter, chicken eggs, vanillin, jam, tinctures, liqueurs, candied fruits, dried fruits, citrus zest, nuts.

Making cottage cheese Easter is an individual process, especially important for the well-being of the whole family in whose house the dish is made. Each hostess must choose the products for this sacred dish herself. This traditional Easter dish must be prepared in the best possible way using the freshest ingredients.

Pasochnitsa - a wooden detachable mold with a special carving for making curd Easter

The curd Easter was placed in a special pastry box, where it solidified and, after being removed from a wooden carved form, took the form of a truncated pyramid. On the wooden sidewalls were depicted images of the torment of Christ:

• cross, spear, cane

and the Resurrection of the Savior:

• flowers, sprouts, herbs.

The pasochnitsa was inherited, acquired in churches or at Orthodox fairs.

Easter decoration

At the top of the truncated pyramid of cottage cheese, the letters ХВ are placed, which have a welcoming meaning:

- Christ is risen!

The sides of Easter cottage cheese are decorated with symbolic signs that remind believers of the torment of the Savior on Good Friday, when he was crucified (cross, spear). Placed on the sides and flowers, sprouts - signs of the miraculous Resurrection of Jesus.

The symbolic meaning of cottage cheese Easter

The truncated pyramid is a shape that repeats the appearance of Heavenly Zion (the unshakable foundation of New Jerusalem, God's city). Cottage cheese Easter symbolizes the joy of the Resurrection of Christ, the beauty and purity of life in paradise, unity with the Lord, spiritual salvation, which is available to everyone who loves the Lord, repents of bad thoughts and deeds, and begins to live according to the laws of love and mercy.

The shape of a truncated pyramid, which is given to Easter cottage cheese, is a symbol of Golgotha. On the high mountain Jesus of Nazareth was forced to carry the heaviest wooden cross, on which, after the ascension of the Son of God, they were crucified. Today Golgotha ​​has the meaning "endure suffering."

The symbolic meaning of cottage cheese Easter: an eternal reminder of human cruelty and God's mercy, patience and humility is a truncated pyramidal Easter cake made of cottage cheese.

In many cultures (Egyptians, Mayans, Aztecs) buildings in the form of truncated pyramids were found. Apparently, in ancient times it was believed that just such a form is the concentration of the energy of the Universe or God's grace, the ability to achieve perfection.

Cottage cheese Easter: the history of origin and occurrence

Since ancient times, cottage cheese dishes had a sacred meaning, they symbolized fertility. Many rituals in the old days were performed using cottage cheese and other milk products. Let us recall, for example, the tale of the Little Humpbacked Horse, where in order to rejuvenate the tsar had to plunge into boiling milk.

According to the biblical version, the prophet Moses, performing God's will freed the Jews from Egyptian slavery. Moses led his people into "a good and spacious land, where milk and honey flow". These blessed products (honey and milk) symbolized the great joy and endless happiness of the liberated Jews and all those to whom the Kingdom of Heaven was opened after the Resurrection of Christ.

The history of the origin and emergence of cottage cheese Easter is multifaceted and mysterious.

The most valuable, filled nutrients part of dairy products is cottage cheese. All the taste and benefits are concentrated in it. Cottage cheese in alliance with butter and sugar is a real gift from heaven.

A poor person in the old days could afford such a luxury infrequently, only during the great holidays there was an opportunity to taste a little divine food. Curd Easter was consecrated in the temple and then this dish became blessed.

Until the eighteenth century, curd Easter (Church-Slav. - thickened milk) was prepared from sour milk. After that, they began to make one of the main sacred dishes of the Easter period from cottage cheese. And even later they began to add butter, eggs, sugar, sour cream. Imported sweets brought from distant seas were quite expensive several centuries ago. Only very rich people could afford to use them for making curd Easter. And then candied fruits, dried fruits, nuts got into the mass for curd paste.

What are cottage cheese Easter?

There are raw, custard (warmed) and baked in the oven cottage cheese Easter.

Cooking raw cottage cheese Easter:

• fat-free cottage cheese is rubbed through a sieve several times
• pureed cottage cheese mixed with your favorite ingredients
• using a paster, a truncated pyramid is formed from the pureed curd mass mixed with different products in accordance with the recipe

Nuance

In order for the cottage cheese Easter to be easily removed from the wooden pastry box, the mass had to be placed first in wet gauze, and then pressed with the sides and rammed.

• decorate to your liking.

Cooking custard (warmed) Easter

1. mix the ingredients indicated in the recipe with cottage cheese
2. boil (simmer) on a small fire curd mass for 60 minutes
3. transferred to a pasochnitsa and pressed to obtain the shape of a truncated pyramid.

Cooking baked in the oven cottage cheese Easter

• mix products with cottage cheese
• put into a baking dish
• baked in the oven
• decorate to taste after removing from the oven.

1. use small low-fat cottage cheese
2. wipe cottage cheese without adding ingredients
3. with powdered sugar mix already grated cottage cheese
4. beat eggs with sugar until white
5. grated cottage cheese mixed with sour cream and butter
6. mix the curd-butter mixture with the whitened egg mass
7. add powdered spices if desired
8. last add dried steamed dried fruits, fried nuts, candied candied fruit. Mix everything until smooth.

The benefits of curd Easter

Phosphorus and calcium contained in cottage cheese, potassium in raisins, amino acids and other useful substances in this dish give a powerful boost of energy to believers who have passed through a forty-day fast. An exhausted body needs nourishment. Calcium strengthens the bones, potassium strengthens the heart, amino acids strengthen the nerves.

Healing possibilities of cottage cheese Easter

The Slavs were sure that Easter cottage cheese had magical properties:

• protected from diseases
• protected from evil
• attracted good luck and prosperity to the house.

A small piece of ritual food was wrapped in a linen bag and kept until the next Easter holiday as a home amulet. Some carried with them like an amulet. Vodka infused with cottage cheese Easter, made in Maundy Thursday used to exorcise demons and treat alcoholism.

In conclusion, the conversation about cottage cheese Easter: the history of origin and occurrence. We would like to wish our readers the symbolic meaning of cottage cheese Easter to cook with joy and pleasure.

In peace and harmony, we wish you to celebrate the holiday of holidays. Keep love and mercy in your heart. Be kind to others and kind to yourself. Light to you, hope and harmony. Festive mood and warmth in the soul.

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