From the history of the BIRD'S MILK cake
“BIRD'S MILK” is the first cake for which a patent was issued during the existence of the USSR.
The authors of the recipe, created in the early 1960s, are a group of confectioners consisting of the head of the confectionery department of the Moscow restaurant "Prague" Vladimir GURALNIK, Margarita GOLOVOY and Nikolai PANFILOV.
“At first we made 30 pieces a day, then 60, then 600,” recalls Vladimir Guralnik.
This was sorely lacking for Muscovites and guests of the capital: in the 80s there were such queues for cake that they had to be turned around so that people would not block traffic between Kalinin Avenue (now Novy Arbat) and Arbat. Buyers stood for hours to make an appointment; The smaller queue consisted of holders of coupons, which the restaurant sold to the “selected” for 3 rubles. (the “Bird’s Milk” cake itself cost 6 rubles 16 kopecks at that time).
Guralnik recalls with a laugh how, at the exit from the Arbatskaya metro station, he was offered to buy a coupon for his own product.
The first experimental industrial batches of “bird milk” were produced starting in 1968 at the Rot-Front factory. But due to the complex technology, the batches were small, and the recipe documentation was not approved by the USSR Ministry of Food Industry.
The application for the invention was filed in September 1980, and in 1982 the developers of the formulation were issued an inventor's certificate No. 925285, where the production method was registered.
“Bird's Milk” has a special technology. A layer of dough is placed down, but not biscuit or shortbread. It tastes like a cupcake. Then comes a layer of soufflé - it is made not with gelatin, but with agar-agar - this is a jelly that is extracted from seaweed. By the way, it is also used for finishing fabrics. It took the authors more than six months to find this most cunning ingredient in Bird's Milk. But it is precisely this “exotic” additive (in those Soviet times in the USSR, many things were exotic and scarce) makes the cake so tender and melting in your mouth. Agar-agar does not coagulate at a temperature of 117 degrees, ideal for preparing delicate “Bird's milk”. From above, this entire creation is doused with chocolate and decorated with cream.
Bird's Milk cakes produced in different places have different designs:
With their joint development, Vladimir GURALNIK, Margarita GOLOVA and Nikolai PANFILOV entered the history of confectionery art: after looking at the new “Bird's Milk” candies from the “Red October” factory, they created the “Bird’s Milk” cake, which is somewhat different in taste.
In the famous filling, instead of traditional gelatin, agar-agar extracted from special algae was used.
In 2006, Vladimir Guralnik became a nominee for the “Public Recognition 2006” award and received the award in the “person-legend” category.
In addition to creating the legendary “bird,” over 50 years of work, he developed and introduced into production 35 branded confectionery.
Many of them are now produced in all confectionery shops in Moscow.
Today he passes on his knowledge and rich work experience to young people. They have already trained 85 confectioners.
His “Prague” cake, based on the famous Viennese “Saher” cake, was accepted into mass production and included in the “Collection of confectionery recipes for public catering establishments.”
About bird's milk
Bird's milk is mentioned in myths and tales of many peoples of the world.
There were popular belief that they fed their chicks with bird milk birds of paradise. If a person tried it, he immediately became invulnerable to any weapon and any disease.
But birds are not mammals. They do not feed their chicks with milk. Therefore, the expression “bird's milk” began to mean something unprecedented, something that does not exist in reality, the impossible, the limit of desires.
Long ago, when women got tired of their lovers, they demanded that they bring them bird's milk. Unhappy lovers rushed into the desert and died there from thirst and loneliness, believing in illusions and mistaking fantasy for reality.
However, ornithological scientists have proven that bird “milk” still exists, but it does not look like cow’s milk, but resembles liquid cottage cheese. Birds from their beaks feed their chicks with “milk” regurgitated from the stomach for a very short time - no more than a month. So bird “milk” (which is not milk at all) is very rare in the feathered world.
It is no coincidence that this name, characterizing abundance and well-being, was chosen for the most delicious, delicate and exquisite sweets and cakes with soufflé filling.
Loved by many. This is a combination of delicate soufflé and dark chocolate, a win-win option - not too greasy and airy filling and chocolate that melts in your mouth. Great option for tea, coffee or as a compliment. Based on them, there was even a cake that was immediately loved by those with a sweet tooth.
Do birds give milk?
Children sometimes wonder: “Why is Bird’s Milk called that?” Do birds even give milk? And adults know this for sure. The vast majority of birds, like reptiles and other amphibians, are not mammals, but oviparous. And those that feed chicks in a way similar to that existing in mammals, do it with a viscous liquid similar to milk completely different. So, we can say that bird’s milk does not exist in nature, and even more so, it is not included in candies.
But despite this obvious thing, not all adults know why “Bird's milk” is called that. But most likely they simply don’t think about where such a strange and ridiculous name comes from.
Where does this name come from?
The fact is that the Poles borrowed this name from the legends about the healing milk of birds of paradise, with which they supposedly feed their chicks. Birds' milk is also mentioned in the comedy "The Birds" by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristophanes. It is described as the highest delicacy, the food of the gods, which gives incredible strength and health.
In ancient times, it was customary to ask fans to give amazing gifts. The more amazing the gift, the greater the chances for the heart of the young beauty. And if a girl didn’t like the guy at all, she asked him for bird’s milk, probably knowing that this was just a legend, and he wouldn’t get him, which means there would be a reason to refuse. Poor young men died in search of this magic milk, but no one found it.
This legend, in one interpretation or another, is found among many peoples. Since ancient times, Russians even have a proverb: “The rich have everything, except bird’s milk.”
Thanks to such a variety of fairy tales and legends, bird's milk has become synonymous with something special and rare. That's why Bird's Milk is called that. To emphasize the divinity of the delicacy and compare it with the mythical milk of the birds of paradise.
Now, however, a small number of birds have been found that feed their chicks with something like milk. For example, flamingos and penguins. But the creators of the candies clearly did not have this in mind, and even at the time of the invention of the candies, and especially the birth of this legend, they could not have known about this.
What are the candies made of?
These candies were first produced in 1936 in Poland, under the name Ptasie Mleczko, and there they were a resounding success. The famous Soviet factory "Rot Front" decided to repeat this success and began producing them in the USSR in the 1960s. They decided not to stand on ceremony with the name and translated it verbatim. That's why "Bird's Milk" is called that way.
The composition of the sweets is very simple - no super rare ingredients. It is a mixture of egg white, sugar, gelatin and butter, drizzled with chocolate. The ingredients are clearly not why Bird's Milk is called that. But despite the simple composition, preparing them is not so easy; everything is important - the freshness of the products, the speed of mixing, and the cooling temperature.
Therefore, they made sweets in small batches, which quickly sold out. During the Soviet era, shortages were a common thing, and these candies were especially difficult to get. The Soviet people interpreted why "Bird's milk" as such. They believed that this was due to their scarcity and unusualness at that time.
GOST was strictly observed, and those who ate them then say that the delicacy was much tastier than it is today. Now, unfortunately, many ingredients are being replaced with cheaper and synthetic ones. Not every factory makes them equally well, and some have changed the recipe so much that the taste is unrecognizable. Candy "Bird's Milk" from "Rot Front" is still considered a standard.
How did the cake come about?
Later, in the 1980s, the confectioners of the then elite Prague restaurant, led by Vladimir Guralnik, invented a sponge cake, which was named the same. It was a cake filled with the most delicate soufflé and, like the legendary candies, dipped in chocolate. That's why the cake is called "Bird's Milk". It is also unique in that a patent was never issued for any other in the USSR, but this one was issued.
Nowadays it is also baked at home, since the recipe is not a secret. But due to the complexity of the technology, only the most skillful and experienced housewives can achieve it.
“Bird's milk” - as the name suggests - was once a real scarcity and luxury. Today everyone can afford this square confectionery miracle from the Soviet past. By the way, few people know that the candies of the same name were invented first. The cake was not immediately successful for the production masters.
Photo from the book by pastry chef Alexander Seleznev “Soviet Cakes and Pastries” (EXMO)
The name “Bird's milk” often misled us as children and was presented as the main ingredient. Later, of course, it turned out that bird's milk is a non-existent thing. Even the ancient Greek authors Aristophanes, Lucian and Strabo used “bird's milk” in their works as a symbol of great rarity. The milk of birds is also glorified in old Slavic fairy tales. Ancient legends tell of birds of paradise feeding their chicks with milk. If a person drinks this milk, he will be able to resist all diseases and enemies. The beautiful princesses turned out to be especially enterprising, sending their annoying gentlemen in search of bird's milk.
Candy period
The history of the dessert began in Poland. Jan Wedel, owner of the E. Wedel confectionery factory, returning from a trip to France very impressed, asked himself the question: “What could a person who has everything want? Maybe bird's milk." This is how the legendary name appeared (in Polish - ptasie mleczko).
True, the recipe for the first Ptasje Mlečko sweets was somewhat unusual. In 1936, E. Wedel began producing them filled with marshmallows and coated with chocolate. Marshmallows are candies that taste like marshmallows, but without eggs or applesauce. Marshmallows contain sugar or corn syrup, gelatin, dextrose and flavorings. All this is whipped to a “sponge” state and formed into small pieces.
State order
Bird's Milk candies appeared in Russia... by order of the government. Candies similar to “Ptasya Mlečko” were also produced in Czechoslovakia, where our Minister of Food Industry arrived in 1967. The government member appreciated the work of confectionery art and took a small batch with him on the way back. Returning to the USSR, he gathered the leading confectioners at the Rot Front factory and, having treated them to a delicacy, ordered them to invent the same, relying only on their taste buds. Afterwards, the same minister obliged all factories to learn how to make such candies, and from that moment their mass production began.
Anna Chulkova, a confectioner from Vladivostok, also attended a course teaching the secrets of producing Bird's Milk. Returning to her home factory, Anna decided to refine the recipe, experimenting with the main recipe, additives, production process. She also came up with the idea of mechanizing the manual cutting method, which significantly speeded up the production of sweets (instead of the planned six tons, the factory received 12). Later, the Vladivostok “bird” was officially recognized as the best in the Union, which the local residents were very proud of. They brought candy as a local landmark as a gift to loved ones, and Anna Chulkova was made an honorary resident of the city.
Now there are many different Bird's Milk candies. The Vladivostok ones are now called “Bird’s Milk Primorskoye,” and “Rot Front” has merged with “Red October” and “Babaevsky” and produces simply “Bird’s Milk” - without any specifications. There are also quite tasty analogues with similar names - for example, “Bird's Sweetness”. Modern candy "Bird's milk" is a chocolate soufflé based on milk (condensed or dairy products), sometimes flavorings are added (amaretto, almond, rum...), as well as agar-agar.
Tricky Jelly
Many people have never heard of one of the main “bird” components - agar-agar (sometimes they write simply agar or even E406). Nevertheless, agar-agar is used quite often in confectionery - it is because of it that a delicate but dense texture is obtained not only for the filling of bird's milk, but also for marshmallows, marmalade, and soufflé.
Agar-agar means "jelly" in Malay. It is similar in properties to gelatin, although it is more expensive. In addition, the structure of products “captured” by agar is more plastic; it is often used to create delicate air layers with bubbles. Agar usually looks like a white or yellowish powder.
Agar-agar is produced from red and brown seaweeds that grow in the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea. It is completely natural and “suitable” for vegetarians, since, unlike gelatin, which is made from animal connective tissue, it contains only plant materials.
Filling: high technology
The next step in the development of the “bird” theme is the famous cake. It was also invented here, in the Prague restaurant, in 1978. Moreover, the Bird's Milk cake created a real sensation. The queues behind him were monstrous, they even had to be “turned” onto Old Arbat so that the “tail” from the government highway (New Arbat, then Kalininsky Prospekt) would not be visible. A little later, for the first time in our country, a patent was issued for the cake.
The famous cake was invented by a confectionery duo - Margarita Golova and Nikolai Panfilov, under the leadership of the head of the restaurant's confectionery department, Vladimir Guralnik. By the way, it is to Guralnik that we owe the appearance of many Soviet desserts - for example, the no less famous Prague cake.
Initially, they tried to make the cake according to the same recipe as candy, the production technology of which was already established at that time. However, what is good in candies, on large layers for a cake, looked more like marshmallow - it did not have the necessary airiness and tenderness. The recipe needed reworking. Guralnik spent six months with his assistants in the “culinary laboratory” before the recipe was perfected. In addition to agar and condensed milk, egg whites and butter play a major role in the filling.
An unusual recipe was invented for the dough, which distinguishes it from the familiar shortbread and biscuit dough. The crust for “Ptichka” was more like a soft cupcake, which went well with the delicate filling. There are two thin “cakes” in the cake - one at the very bottom, then the filling, another in the middle and again a soufflé on top. The quality of chocolate is also important, which must be at a certain temperature (38°C).
By the way, the cake was originally called modestly - “soufflé”. And only then the “real” Bird’s Milk cake could be distinguished by the firebird on the box. The recipe was not kept secret; moreover, it was decided to transfer it to the Mosrestorantrest plant, which is about 30 large enterprises. Nowadays, it is difficult to find “that” cake, but it is possible. You need to carefully look at the packaging (focus on the image of the “bird of paradise”), the composition of the product and try it.
Home option
What our mothers didn’t come up with to “make” the famous cake at home. To achieve tenderness and airiness of the soufflé, semolina was even added to it! So, in the semolina version, the recipe then became a homemade version of “Bird's Milk” for many housewives. But now there is no need to invent something - after all, all the ingredients can be bought in the store, if not agar-agar, then gelatin for sure.
Cake “Bird's Milk” (from the book “Soviet Cakes and Pastries” by Alexander Seleznev)
Ingredients. Dough: 140 g flour, 105 g sugar, 105 g butter, 75 g eggs (1.5 pieces), 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar. Cream soufflé: 308 g sugar, 4 g agar-agar or 20 g gelatin, 200 g butter, 95 g condensed milk, 60 g protein (2 pieces), 3 g vanilla sugar, 2 g citric acid. Chocolate icing: 100 g chocolate, 10 g vegetable oil.
Preparation. Dough. Beat butter and sugar. Dissolve vanilla sugar in the egg. Mix everything and beat for 15-20 minutes. Add pre-sifted flour and knead the dough. Make two balls of dough and roll them into two thin cakes. Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven. Place one of the layers in a round mold with a diameter of 22 cm.
Cream souffle. Beat butter with condensed milk. Soak the agar-agar in water for half an hour. Add sugar to it. Boil for 5 minutes, to a temperature of 110ºC. Add vanilla sugar and citric acid to the whites, beat. Add agar-agar in a thin stream. Gently beat until the cream cools to 50ºC.
Then add the condensed butter mass, mix and immediately pour the cream onto the dough in the mold. Cover with the second part of the dough. Place the cream on top again. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
Frosting. Melt chocolate and mix with butter. Pour the mixture over the cake.
Note. If gelatin is used instead of agar-agar, it should also be soaked for half an hour in cold water and melted in a water bath without bringing to a boil. Then add the protein-sugar mixture into the whipped and cooled to 50ºC mixture.
This dessert is probably adored by everyone who remembers the times of the Union. Fortunately, modern sweet tooths also have the opportunity to try Bird's Milk. Everything about this dessert is perfect: the most delicate soufflé, chocolate icing with an expressive taste, appetizing appearance, and in the case of the cake, also a soft sponge cake. The name itself is associated not just with a treat; for many it is a symbol of the era.
But why is "Bird's milk" called "bird's milk"? Surely this question has puzzled everyone at least once.
The first swallows
Many people know that the Poles were the pioneers. It was in Poland, at the E. Wedel factory, that these sweets were first produced back in 1936. The filling was similar in composition to marshmallows, but did not contain eggs.
Once, the Minister of Light Industry of the USSR tried Polish sweets “Bird's Milk”. He liked them so much that the country’s leadership set the confectioners the task of developing an analogue.
Origins of the name
Answering the question of why “Bird's milk” is called “bird’s milk”, it is worth looking not even at 1936, but at even earlier times. In medieval European folklore, a very common plot is in which an insidious beauty sends an unlucky suitor in search of bird's milk. Drawing analogies, we can mention the Slavic image of a fern flower and the fabulous “I don’t know what.” Of course, the gentleman had to either return with nothing or perish, because there is no bird’s milk in nature. In any case, in medieval Europe he definitely wasn't there.
But there are even more ancient references. They will also help us figure out why “Bird's milk” is called “bird’s milk”. The ancient Greeks believed that birds of paradise fed their babies with milk. If a person has a chance to try this delicacy, he will become invincible, strong and healthy, and will remain youthful for many years.
In Rus' there was a proverb that said that a rich man has everything except bird's milk. It was implied that some things (friendship, health, love) cannot be bought with money, no matter how rich a person is.
As we can see, in many cultures there were legends that birds could give milk. And everywhere it was associated with unearthly pleasure, benefits, treasure. It is not surprising that Polish confectioners gave their creation this tempting name.
Since 1967, the production of sweets began in the USSR. It was decided to leave the unusual name. By that time it had already gained fame and popular love. Why "Bird's milk" is called "bird's milk", the Soviet people may have wondered, but they were certainly not surprised. Apparently, the memory of generations worked: the dessert evoked strong associations with an outlandish delicacy, a fabulous pleasure, a feast of taste.
Polish manufacturers kept the production technology and composition of Bird's Milk secret. Therefore, their Soviet colleagues had to work hard to create something similar in taste. The most interesting thing in this story is that the name misled Soviet technologists: they were sure that it was due to the presence of eggs in the candy filling. In fact, eggs have nothing to do with the name. But if they were not present in Polish sweets, today they are present in many desserts of the same name.
Unique component
But the confectioners did not set out to completely repeat the recipe. On the contrary, they went their own way. The specialists of the factory in Vladivostok used not only their professionalism, but also the riches of their native land. Instead of gelatin, it was decided to use agar-agar, extracted from Far Eastern algae. It was this factory that was the first to launch the production of new items. The recipe has been registered.
The second factory was Rot Front. And after some time, other confectionery enterprises in all parts of the country, including the famous “Red October”, joined in implementing the plan.
Today, Vladivostok candies “Bird's Milk” are considered the best. In a three-hundred-gram box, the buyer will find candies with three different flavors (chocolate, lemon and cream), which can be stored for no more than 15 days. They still contain healthy agar-agar.
Legendary cake from the Prague restaurant
The success of the candies also inspired culinary experts. Vladimir Guralnik forever inscribed his name in the history of sweets, because it was he who developed the recipe for the Bird's Milk cake in the early 80s. Conjuring the ingredients, the master initially decided that he would also use agar-agar. The composition also included egg whites, powdered sugar, and water. And the base was an airy sponge cake.
The number of orders grew exponentially. If at the very beginning only visitors to the Moscow restaurant “Prague” could taste the delicacy, then after a few months the shop was also open for takeaway.
It was difficult to scare a Soviet person with a queue, and therefore the workers calmly lined up for the secret cake, taking their places before dark. Eyewitnesses of those times recall that the tail of the queue often bent towards the neighboring Old Arbat. The Bird's Milk cake recipe has been officially approved. Violation of recommended standards was prosecuted by law.
"Bird's milk" today
Bird's Milk candies are still produced today. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, not all manufacturers adhere to the original Far Eastern recipe. Expensive agar-agar is often replaced with gelatin, and preservatives are used to extend shelf life. But there is an advantage to this: the price of some types of “Bird's milk” is very low. You can find both loose sweets and packaged in beautiful boxes.
No less popular are cakes, pastries, and Bird's Milk soufflé, which today many housewives have learned to prepare on their own.
As a child, devouring candy on both cheeks called bird's milk, I really thought it was birds give, the father said pigeons, and the mother laughed and said - don’t confuse the child. As I grew up, I realized that these were fairy tales, and yet my father was right, bird’s milk is pigeon’s milk.
What is pigeon milk
Where does bird milk come from?
Birds that feed their chicks with milk are pigeons. True, they feed their newly hatched chicks with a special curdled mass, which produced in their crop. This " baby food"and is called bird's or pigeon's milk. Pigeon milk is so nutritious that in the first two days of life the baby becomes twice as heavy!
Grown up pigeon chicks bird's or pigeon's milk after a week, it becomes theoretically unnecessary; they feed on plant seeds, although very often you can see how parents feed pigeon milk even to those who have taken wing.
Wild pigeons living in Russia.
In forests North Caucasus The secretive and cautious wood pigeon, or vitiuten, nests. In gardens and parks throughout Russia, turtle doves live, as well as rock pigeons - the most numerous urban residents among relatives with whom we are all familiar.
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