For those making New Year’s resolutions to explore and do more interesting places and experiences in 2017, news from the Tula region of Russia comes at an appropriate time. Starting this coming April the confectionery factory “Yasnaya Polyana” will launch new master classes on making the famous, Tula gingerbread. Talk about taking home delicious and artful treasures from vacation, the world’s most artful gingerbread secrets can now be yours.
For those who are unaware, the making stamped gingerbread is considered a high art form, the imprints adorning the Tula confections having graced the royal tables of Russia since the 17th century. Considered by many the 8th wonders of the world for their culinary artfulness, these ornate printed cake recipes were once stoically held family secrets. Now in Tula gingerbreads are baked both on ancient and newly developed recipes. Tula, one of the oldest cities in Russia, is also the birthplace of Russian arms. Established sometime before 1146 AD, the city was a fortress that withstood the great siege by Crimean Tartars. Since then, Tula has been known for fine craftsmanship and especially wood and metalworking.
As for gingerbread making, tthanks to the Tula gingerbread-maker Anna Matveevna Pavlova and Stepan Dmitriyevich Sevastyanov, who was the thirteen-year-old in 1903 and worked for the owners of the factory, the once-secret recipes are universally known. The expert techniques are however, much more complicated and difficult. Enter “Yasnaya Polyana” and a collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of Tula region. noted the importance of the discovery for tourists as well as traditional industries. This creates a new emphasis on the regional tourist product — the artisans of Tula, Tula — industrial. Such tours are already using the
For tourists, the factories at “Yasnaya Polyana”, “Honey tradition”, and “Bakery Polyakova”, along with the Tula Museum of Gingerbread will provide the backdrop for visiting other attractions too. Some of these attractions include; the Yasnaya Polyana Museum-Estate of Leo Tolstoy, the Tula Kremlin Museum, and especially the Tula State Museum of Weapons.