The Orenburg Shawl (or wedding ring shawl) is a finely knit lace-shawl made with down-hair of Orenburg goat and a base thread (usually cotton or silk). Orebnurg shawl is one of the classic symbols of Russian handicraft, along with Tula Samovar, Matrioshka, Khohloma painting, Gzel, Palekh, Vologda lace, Dymkovo toys, Rostov finift (enamel), and Ural malachite. Other symbols include balalaika musical instrument, navy striped t-shirt, ushanka hat, a bear, valenki boots
The finely knit Russian hanidcraft originated in the Orenburg area about 250 years ago, in the 18th century. Orenburg shawl was first introduced to the audience in 1857 and gained high accolades.
The fleece to make shawls is taken from Orenburg goats, and this is one of the thinnest fleece fibers in the world. Angora goat is a similar breed to Orenburg goat, and Angora fleece – which is called Mohair, is 22-24 microns in diametre, whereas Orenburg goat fleece fiber is 16-18 microns! The fine quality of Orenburg fleece can be explaind by frosty winters and blizzards, typical of Orenburg area, as well as goats diet – vegetation of mountain steppes of the Urals.
Interestingly enough that the attemps to breed Orenburg goats elsewhere failed. The French attempts to breed the goat in France in XIX were unsuccesful, the goats turned into usual goats with thick coarse fleece due to the soft climate of France.
There are several types of Orenburg shawl
fleece shawl — grey (sometimes white) thick and warm shawls. Such shalws are worn as a casual everyday element of outfit. You feel cold at home or in the office – this shawl will keep your back and shoulders warm for sure.
lace Orenburg shawl (pautinka, wedding ring shawl) – this is a lace goat fleece shawl made from goat fleece and shawl. Such lace shawl is worn for celebrations. It is very fine and it is not recommened to put a jacket over it – take it in a small bag and put it over you shoulders when you have arrived at your destination point. This accessoire to your party dress will undoubtedly make you stand out! make
stole shawl — thin lace Orenburg shawl but slightly narrower. Also worn as an expensive and formal accessoire.
Stamp with Orenburg shawl pattern
Pautinka (паутинка, En. cobwed) and stole shawls are very thin shawls with a complicated pattern and are worn as an acessoire or jewelry. These shawls will suit any dress. Pautinkas usually have 2/3 of fleece and 1/3 of silk. Silk increases the strength of the shawl. The shawl knit in the traditional fashion is so fine that it can be pulled through a wedding ring, hence the popular name in the Western world.
Handmade pautinkas have unique pattern and is an original piece of art. A good knitter can knit two kerchiefs – pautinkas (“spider lines”) of medium size or three tippets a month.Each shawl presents a picture of the Universe the way the knitter imagines it. Because of the high cost of down hair and yarn, an original hand-made Orenburg shawl or kerchief is an expensive item. This would be a great present or accessoire.
22 March 2015, Amsterdam – Rossotrudnichestvo organization jointly with Jelena Koezjmina, Member of the Dutch Council for Russian compatriots and Ilona Cherepanova, founder of the ‘Russian Culinair’ community, hosted Lente festival dedicated to welcoming spring. The event was primarily organized for former USSR citizens residing in the Netherlands and took place in the building of the Russian Trade Representation.
Spring equinox celebrated by many nations was the theme of the event. The Slavs used to welcome the spring and baked traditional pastry in the shape of lark birds. Turkic nations celebrate Nowruz – the festival with a thousand years long history, stemming back to zoroastrianism. Even in Holland the “official” arrival of the spring is celebrated on the 21-22 March.
The festival was opened by the officials. On behalf of the Federal Agency Rossotrudnichestvo Zurab Agirbov welcomed the guests and said how happy he was to see such events happening on a regular basis. He has invited the guests to the planned events in May to commemorate the Soviet soldiers who have fallen in the Netherlands during the Second World War. More details on the upcoming events can be found on the official Facebook page of Rossotrudnichestvo (https://www.facebook.com/rossotr.netherlands).
The speech was followed by Alexandr Cherevko, Head of the Trade Representation of Russia in the Netherlands. Mr Cherevko also greeted the guests who have gathered to foster traditions and friendship. Alexandr Chervko noted that the Netherlands remain a major economic partner of Russia. To promote business relations between the two countries the Trade Representation, being a part of the Russian Embassy, hosts regular events. The goal of such events is to provide consulting assistance to the entrepreneurs who look for entering the new markets and search for business partners.
After the opening ceremony the guests enjoyed buffet snacks and socialized. Live guitar concert by musician Vera Borisovskaya continued the festival.
The concert was followed by a lecture of Ilona Cherepanova, Russian Culinair, and the representative of the catering the Silk Road Kitchen. Ilona told the audience about traditions of the pagan Slavs and Central Asian cultures when celebrating the spring equinox. The chef of Silk Road Kitchen, catering specializing in Uzbek delicacies, said that in the East hospitality starts with the rich welcoming table.
Then the audience voted for the best pastry – traditional lark cakes and a pie with poppyseed stuffing, which was made by the little guests.
To crown the Festival the guests were welcomed to the table filled with exquisite dishes typical of Russia and Central Asia. Salads such as Olivier, Dressed Herring, pilaf rice and various sweet and savoury pastry were the highlights loved by everyone.
The guests enjoyed the delicious meals and each other’s company with the karaoke background.
MyRussianFood.com was one of the sponsors of the event.
Organizers of the event:
Jelena Koezjmina, Member of the Dutch Council for Russian compatriots, RUS in NL Facebook group administrator – event organizer and spiritual leader of the Lente Festival
Milk shortbread is a simple nostalgic cookie which for decades has been popular in Russian canteens and school cafeterias. A simple comforting and huge cookie is a dream with a cup of tea or a glass of milk.
Nothing fancy or over the top, with slightly crunchy edges and soft middle, this cookie will give sweet comforting memories to many.
The recipe has specific measurements. If you don’t have kitchen scales – I most definitely recommend it. It will save you lots of calculations and converting. Plus will give an extra fun side to the cooking process, you can pretend to be an old-fashion druggist taking his job seriously 🙂
Ingredients:
Milk – 80 gr
Sugar – 200 gr
Margarine – 100 gr
Egg – 1
Flour, sieved – 400 gr
Vanilla sugar – 2 gr
Soda – 2 gr
Baking powder – 4 gr
Method:
Warm up milk, and add sugar. Mix in untill the sugar melts, preventing boiling. Take the milky syrup off the heat. Add margarine, mix it in to melt and leave the mixture to cool down.
Set the stove to 200 C.
Mix in an egg and soda, baking powder and vanilla sugar, mix well. Gradually add flour, mixing it with a fork at first, and then use your hands. Put the dough for 15 minutes into the fridge, for the dough to cool down, this will make it easier to work with.
Roll the dough out. Traditional width of the piece of dough is a little less than 1 cm – this will make soft korzhiki. For crunchier once, you can roll the dough thinner. Cut out the cookies. Collect the dough leftovers and roll them out too, for the other set of cookies.
Place the korzhiki on the tray lined with baking paper, do not place them too tightly. Optionally, you can cover the cookies with an egg wash.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, do not allow for them to get too golden.
alt=”Russian maslenitsa Groningen” width=”150″ height=”150″ />
On 19 February 2015 the Centre for Russian studies organized an event “Maslenitsa”. The guests had an opportunity to listen to the lecture “Maslenitsa – het Slavische Nieuwjaarfeest” (Maslenitsa – the Slavic New Year Festival) by the chef Ilona Cherepanova and try traditional pancakes with various dips and jams.
Maslenitsa is a huge event in many Slavic countries. The week filled with various events and traditions takes place before the Lent fasting. Many fun activities and traditional elements (for example, pancakes, winter games and Lady Maslenitsa dummy) are an integral part of this week. The bright scene of Maslentisa is featured in the movie “The Barber of Siberia”.
Ilona Cherepanova, the chef for Russische Culinair, told the guests a detailed story about Maslenitsa week, with interesting facts and the week’s traditional fun schedule. Ilona’s lecture also touched upon the way Masenitsa is represented in art and culture, movies and paintings.[/ezcol_2third_end]
The guests, who totaled around 30 people – the Dutch nationals and former USSR expats, could enjoy homemade pancakes with tea to have the real taste of Maslenitsa. Alongside pancakes there were other traditional Russian tea-time treats, provided by the Russian shop Vjatka in Groningen, for example, zefir and gingerbread.
The organizers were helping to create a warm and friendly atmosphere for the guests.
Organizers and sponsors
Centre for Russian studies is open on the basis of the University of Groningen since 29 June 2010. The Centre’s main focus is on the study of Russia and in particular on the study of Russian-Dutch relations.
Ilona Cherepanova, chef for the Russische Culinar, specializes in culinary master-classes.
Sochniki are staple Russian shortbread cakes with tvorog cottage cheese filling. OMG such simple and comforting treats.
These cakes have been very popular from Soviet times in canteens and cafes across the country. Not surprising – the tvorog filling is rich in protein, and sochniki are a great bakery to start off your day.
The main ingredient here, is, as to be concluded from above – tvorog, which is available in every Russian shop. Some people say you can substitute tvorog with kwark – do not listen to that! 🙂
Tvorog and kwark are two different things, their texture is completely different. If you don’t have tvorog you can substitute it with ricotta cheese – that would work out just fantastic, but much more expensive too.
Sochniki Russian cakes with tvorog recipe
Ingredients
For dough
Butter, softened – 50 g
Caster sugar – 1 cup , Smetana – 0.75 cup (you can substitute with creme fraiche)
Baking powder – 1 teaspoon ,
Eggs – 2,
Flour – 4 cups for the dough+ 0.5-1 glass for dusting [/ezcol_2third]
For stuffing
Tvorog cottage cheese – 400 g,
Caster sugar – 2 tablespoons ,
Eggs – 1 egg and 1 egg white
Smetana 2 tablespoons , Semolina – 2 tablespoons ( you can substitute with flour)
Egg wash:
1 yolk for egg wash – 1
Method:
1. Firstly, make the stuffing so the semolina would swell up and the sugar dissolve
In a large bowl combine eggs, tvorog, sugar and semolina. Mix well with a mixer. Set aside.
2. Dough
Mix together softened butter with sugar and eggs. Combine smetana with baking powder and mix into the sugar mixture. Gradually add the sieved flour, mixing into soft dough with your hands.
Set your oven to 190 C. Line the baking tray with baking paper
Shape the dough into a roll. Cut it into manageable pieces, dust the working surface with flour and roll those dough pieces out. Cut out circles using a glass.
Place around 1 tablespoon of stuffing onto each circle of rolled dough, and fold two sides together (no need to pinch the sides). Bring your sochniki onto the tray.
Make an egg wash mixing 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water and cover the sochniki with the mixture.
3. Bake the sochiniki for around 20 minutes until golden. Cool them down.
Sochniki are to be enjoyed cooled down.
Bon appetite!
Tips:
1. For an extra golden glaze, repeat brushing with the egg yolk in the middle of the baking process.
2. You can shape sochniki in a different manner working with the dough: Shape the dough into the ball, cut into small pieces by halving each of them: the original ball into 2, them each of those two – again into 2 etc. Once you have small enough pieces roll out each of them into elongated shapes, place the stuffing and follow the above baking instructions.
3. You can chose not to glaze sochinki with the egg yolk, but then dust them with icing sugar
