Kozuli: national gingerbread of the Pomors

Many cultures have their own national treats. Different countries are famous for interesting recipes for desserts and traditional sweets. Apple strudel is associated with Austria and New Year's Vienna, baklava and Turkish Turkish delight tell us stories about Turkey, yogurt with honey smells like hot Greece, Italy responds with tiramisu and gelato, France - with croissants and eclairs to the soft songs of Joe Dassin.

It is difficult to speak of the existence of a single sweet symbol of Russia because of the multinational character and scale of the country, but each region has something of its own. For example, the Pomors (people who live on the coast of the White Sea) have kozuli, which are very common. These are carved gingerbread figurines of deer, cows, horses and birds. They are the most ancient Slavic designations of ritual baking, influencing the belief that there would always be bread and livestock in the house, which in ancient times was equal to survival

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As a ritual pastry, they appeared long ago, and remained for a long time. This was especially evident during periods of celebration of the birth of the new Sun, and later during Christmas. The Pomorie (and the Arkhangelsk region and part of the Kola Peninsula) is interesting because in this region pagan rites existed together with the Orthodox Church and its tenets. The people used to say: "A little bird flew and wagged its tail. All the people know, give me a kozulka."

Over time, the custom of using kozulas as ritual gingerbread evolved into another form. There was a felling gingerbread, for which painting with glaze is important. To this day, in Arkhangelsk and the region, it is believed that this northern gingerbread - kozulia northern - is important to bake in December, before the New Year and Christmas, and the recipe should not be broken - you can spoil the whole coming year. Often there are exhibitions devoted to this wonderful and tasty gingerbread.

The name "kozulia" itself was recorded in the northern territory until 1730, and in 1976, in Arkhangelsk, a gingerbread shop in Gostiny Dvor was mentioned for the first time. The gingerbread man was a very important profession, thanks to which this trade has survived to the present day. Over time, however, it passed into the category of arts and crafts. Now for tourists it is a souvenir story, although locals carefully preserve the recipe, cook and paint gingerbread for warm family holidays. The composition is quite simple: sugar, butter, spices, flour, eggs.

In another part of Pomorie, on the Kola Peninsula on the Tersky coast, where the villages Varzuga and Umba are located, there are also kozuli of their own. However, unlike the Arkhangelsk ones, they cannot be eaten as they are hard, made of salt dough, depicting figures of horned animals. Each is a talisman, each has its own meaning: a deer for happiness and prosperity, a goat for family and home, etc. An important feature is the absence of artistic painting: the natural color of the amulet was important to people. In Varzuga a saying still survives: "A face bright like a kozulja", which means "very beautiful".

To make Arkhangelsk kozulas one needed more time and ingredients, to make Tersk kozulas one needed only salt, rye flour and water. Each of the ingredients was considered sacred: water meant life, flour meant health and wealth, salt was a talisman against evil forces.

To this day, local artisans mold these ritual protective figurines and share their warmth with each guest arriving in these harsh territories.