Bird's milk history of the name. "Bird's milk": the creation of a sweet fairy tale

This dessert is remembered with nostalgia by people born in the USSR. Gentle air soufflé melted in the mouth, chocolate gave a spicy bitterness and added sweetness. Sweets and a cake with a complex recipe made strictly according to GOST were considered a delicacy and were popular. But why are they called "Bird's Milk"? Where did the phrase come from, because birds do not give milk?

Originally from Poland

Today "Bird's milk" is associated with a treat that embodies an entire era. The name has a Polish origin, because popular dessert invented by Polish confectioners.

The first batch of airy marshmallows, generously covered with chocolate on four sides, was made in the workshops of the Warsaw confectionery factory Wedel in 1936.

The production was owned by the hereditary confectioner Jan Wedel. He personally came up with sweets that would not be similar to any variety produced in Poland and other countries.

Nobody knows the exact composition of the unique delicacy until now. According to one version, culinary specialists used gelatin to shape the soufflé, and flavors were added to enhance the taste.

All the ingredients were whipped to the state of a “sponge”, after which rectangles of the filling were formed from it and filled with chocolate. The filling resembled marshmallows in taste and consistency, but was prepared without eggs.

The confectioner who created the culinary masterpiece decided that the world would recognize him as "Ptasie mleczko".

Unattainable but desirable

In one of the conversations, Jan Wendel said where the name came from. As he savored the taste and texture of the dessert, he wondered what does the person who has everything want? The answer came by itself - a person wants "Bird's milk", which in ancient ethnic groups and folklore means unattainable, but such desirable values, treasures that cannot be bought for any money.

The creator was prompted by the reaction of the tasters to such thoughts - the presentation of the new dessert delighted them. They unanimously rated its taste as divine.

I immediately recall the comedy "Birds", written by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristophanes, and promising happiness in the form of birds' milk.

Ancient legends also tell about the birds of paradise that fed their chicks. Legends say that a person who has tasted such milk will never get sick, will receive protection from any weapon, and will retain youth and energy. And in Rus' there is a similar proverb: "The rich have everything, besides bird's milk."

Plunging into history and folklore, you understand why sweets with unforgettable taste called "Bird's Milk". You can't imagine a better and more accurate name.

Consumers in the USSR are obliged to original and an unusual dessert to the then Minister of the Food Industry, who paid a working visit to Czechoslovakia and tried the novelty at one of the diplomatic receptions. It happened in 1967.

When a few days later the official arrived in the Union, the first thing he did was to gather leading technologists confectionery to Moscow. A significant meeting with them took place in the workshops of the capital's Rot-Front factory.

The Minister spoke briefly about original sweets, which he was lucky enough to try in Czechoslovakia, and ordered to develop his own recipe, close to the original.

The challenge is to reproduce exactly original dessert did not stand, because the Poles kept the recipe a secret. It took six months to create something similar. Oddly enough, but it was the name that confused Soviet confectioners. They believed that eggs were present in the filling. The result was not a delicate weightless soufflé, but a heavy viscous mass.

Anna Chulkova became a pioneer in the Soviet confectionery field. At that time, she held the position of chief technologist of a factory in Vladivostok. The team under her leadership developed the technology that became the basis for the production of the dessert.

Unique Ingredient

The main problem was the viscous mass - this was mentioned above. Technologists experimented with soufflé by adding gelatin to it, but the result was far from ideal.

Then the experts decided to replace gelatin with agar-agar, which was extracted from red and brown Far Eastern algae, and to abandon eggs. The experiment was a success - the soufflé turned out to be tender, airy, light.

The confectionery factory in Vladivostok was the first to start producing new sweets. The next to introduce them into the assortment were the capital's production "Rot Front", and soon the famous "Red October" and other workshops joined.

So in 1967 "Bird's milk" appeared in all grocery stores in the country. Soviet consumers may have wondered why the candies were called that, but weren't surprised.

Then and now, the sweet delicacy from Vladivostok is considered the best - quite deservedly so. Inside the 0.3 kg boxes, customers will find candies with three different tastes: creamy, lemon, chocolate. For their manufacture, natural ingredients are used, so the shelf life is short - only 15 days. As before, the composition includes useful agar-agar.

Legendary Cake

Customers valued sweets for refined taste and for the fact that it was problematic to get a scarce product. Demand and popularity inspired Moscow chefs and confectioners to create the Bird's Milk cake in the early 80s. Professionals from the famous metropolitan restaurant "Prague" worked on it. The team was led by Vladimir Guralnik.

Why the cake is called that is not difficult to guess - by that time, candies of the same name were firmly associated with a favorite delicacy, a feast of taste and rarity, so the success of the new product was ensured.

The basis of the cake was fluffy biscuit based egg whites, powdered sugar and water. For the soufflé, Guralnik also used agar-agar. The filling was plentifully poured with chocolate, and on top of the cake was decorated with a cute bird - also made of chocolate. The described combination of ingredients is considered a classic.

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, chocolate brings additional sweetness with 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 philosophers were revered Ancient Greece, 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.

Citizens Soviet Union had their own explanation, they believed that the cake or sweets got the name “ bird's milk" behind delicate taste, price and scarcity, because milk in birds is a rarity.

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.

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."

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.

21.05.2012 18:21

Almost every one of us at least once tried these delicious sweets with an unusual name and probably wondered why they are called that. Here, let's find out.

It is known that bird's milk does not exist. However, not so long ago this theory was refuted by scientists. According to their data, flamingos, pigeons, crossbills, and some penguins have it. Another thing is that it bears little resemblance to what we are used to. cow's milk, which is in our refrigerator - in texture it looks more like cottage cheese. Birds feed their young with them. It is believed that such milk is a rarity, so its cost is prohibitive.

But in ancient times they did not know about it. According to the legends, it was with such milk that the birds of paradise fed their chicks. In order to get rid of annoying lovers, the girls sent them in search of this unusual "product".

They went to the wild desert, where they died of thirst alone. Meanwhile, it was believed that whoever tried this rarest drink would become absolutely invulnerable to both weapons and any diseases. Since then, the phrase has come to mean something incredible, previously unseen and even impossible. With such an unusual term, it was decided to name the now so popular sweetness.

As for the sweets themselves, they were first produced in Poland in 1936. By the way, the recipe is the same as that of marshmallows, however, without the addition of eggs. In the 60s of the last century, they began to be produced in the USSR at the Rot-Front factory and they were very fond of consumers. After another ten years, it was decided to create a cake according to the same recipe, which had the same name. Connoisseurs say that at that time sweets were much tastier than now. Like it or not, we, alas, will not know.

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 appropriated their new culinary masterpiece the name "Ptasie Mleczko", which translates into Russian literally 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 Polish confectioners were guided by when they created a completely new recipe inimitable delicious dessert. Apparently, they already understood then that soon this recipe will scatter 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, this delicacy is associated with another very interesting fact. It concerns the modern production of both sweets and cakes. Today "Bird's milk" is a trademark, which means that its production and sale under original title only those companies that are part of the United Confectioners holding can be engaged. Other enterprises can also produce sweets according to open technology, however, they do not have a legal right to give such a name to their products.