Sweet moment: how condensed milk got into restaurants
It is already impossible to imagine modern Russian cuisine without condensed milk, although this product has been established in our gastronomic culture for less than 100 years. The technology of making condensed milk, which is familiar to us, was invented in the USA in the middle of the nineteenth century, and it came to Russia from Switzerland at the end of the same century. These canned goods were practically not used in everyday cooking until their industrial production was launched in the USSR in 1932. Since then, condensed milk has become an indispensable part of recipes for both home and restaurant dishes. Izvestia found out how this folk product is combined with high gastronomy nowadays.
What is cooked with condensed milk in different regions of Russia
Condensed milk is one of the most common ingredients in the preparation of sweet creams in the confectionery craft these days. At the same time, both boiled and classic variations of canned food are widely used.
"Boiled condensed milk is used to make ice cream, siphon cream for combined desserts, as well as cream tubes or tartlets with seasonal berries, which have been popular since Soviet times," Roman Orlov, brand chef of the Agronomist and Syrodelnya restaurants (Suzdal), told Izvestia. — Ordinary condensed milk is used in the preparation of cream for the Napoleon cake. This product is suitable not only for sweet dishes, and today, for example, it is customary to add it to wasabi sauce for shrimp.
Lazy honey cake with baked apples and condensed milk
You can now find a lazy honey cake on the menu of the Cheese Factory. This is a combined dessert that uses mousse made from boiled condensed milk, as well as apples baked with buckwheat honey and blackcurrant jam. It is sprinkled on top with broken pieces of thin and crispy honey cakes. Our interlocutor recommends taking note of the custard, which can be made at home from boiled condensed milk with white chocolate. He recommends serving it with seasonal persimmons sprinkled with lemon juice and chocolate sponge cake.
Nuts with homemade condensed milk
"Condensed milk is an absolutely native product in our Nizhny Novgorod region, so it is used quite often in restaurant cuisine, especially in desserts that are memorable: pancakes, homemade cakes and, of course, nuts," says Artyom Atopshev, chef of the Citadel city cafe (Nizhny Novgorod). — Today, guests are increasingly looking for food that evokes emotions, and homemade tastes bring a person back to childhood, create a feeling of warmth and sincerity — this is something that cannot be replaced by sophisticated technology.
Soviet nuts and hot milk with condensed milk
Dessert nuts at the Citadel is an interpretation of the classics familiar to everyone, made taking into account modern tastes. They are made from crispy dough and filled with thick homemade condensed milk with a light salty accent to remove excessive sweetness. In order to make the taste of the popular dessert more voluminous and richer, our expert advises adding a little farmer's butter to the filling. A small amount of roasted walnuts or almonds in the filling will add flavor to the dessert and make its texture more presentable. To emphasize the reference to Russian cuisine, you can add a little rye flour to the dough, and for a bright fruity acidity, add a drop of sea buckthorn tincture.
Nuts with condensed milk
— Most of all, I like to work with boiled condensed milk because its taste seems to me as "folk" and suitable for sweet dishes, — says Nikita Gavrilenko, pastry chef of the Beluga restaurant (Moscow). — We make ice cream based on it, where we also add fresh bell pepper and miso paste, which gives the dish a special flavor. Condensed milk in this combination gives sweetness and a slight caramel note. Milk chips become a crispy component here, and red currant, hazelnut espuma and chocolate sponge cake with milk impregnation complement and balance the entire dessert.
Pepper ice cream with condensed milk and red currant sauce
According to our interlocutor, condensed milk can be integrated not only into desserts, but also into hot dishes. For example, an interesting experiment will turn out with duck demiglas, if you add a little boiled condensed milk to it, it will make the taste of the sauce more saturated and caramel.
Khabarovsk has its own legendary niigata cake, which appeared in the 1970s and was named after the Japanese twin city. The original dessert consists of vanilla cakes with layers of boiled condensed milk, souffle and dried apricots.
Niigata Cake
— We have rethought the classic cake recipe and offer our own version with almond sponge cake, creamy souffle with condensed milk, a layer of mango and dried apricots, and "caviar" from apricots, — says Elena Volkova, pastry chef of the Amur restaurant (Khabarovsk). — Boiled condensed milk was replaced with caramel sauce and salted caramel ice cream. But we make an airy cream with it in our sour cream pan, which also consists of chocolate sponge cake, currant compote and pine nuts. We choose Belarusian condensed milk and cook it ourselves for five hours.
Sour cream with cream from boiled condensed milk
Condensed milk can be used in Asian sauces, but it is important to understand what flavor accent you want to use it, adds Akbarkhon Kodirov, chef of the Amur restaurant. Since the product has a bright character, it should be administered moderately so that it does not interrupt other ingredients, but only emphasizes their advantages. For example, a small amount of it can be added to a recipe for chicken with yellow curry, along with coconut milk, cream and lime. Condensed milk will not only delicately soften the sharpness of the dish, but also decorate it with creamy depth. It can also be used in custards for sandwiches and toasts for breakfast.
Which foreign desserts with condensed milk have become popular in our country
The cult of condensed milk is inherent not only in the Russian gastronomic culture. This product is very popular in Latin America. Interest in the cuisines of these countries in Russia is growing every year, so some previously unknown dishes with condensed milk have already found their fans in our country. One of the most striking examples of such penetration is the dessert tres leches, whose name translates from Spanish as "three milks".
Tres leches
"This sweet dish is especially popular in Mexico and Nicaragua," explained Vladimir Bogozhavets, brand chef of the Greek restaurants Maroon and Meraki (Moscow). — It consists of a sponge cake soaked in three types of milk: condensed, melted and whole. Sometimes the cake is covered with whipped cream or meringue.
According to the chef, the dessert seems very simple, but in order to cook it properly, you need to tinker properly, otherwise the sponge cake inside will easily turn into porridge from impregnation and the treat will lose its charm. Tres leches has become one of the most popular desserts in Meraki restaurant. It is even customary for them to congratulate guests on their birthday here. Chef Vladimir Bogozhavets, together with pastry chef Alexander Dovletov, moved away from the classic recipe and developed a special, light sponge cake, adding homemade caramel to it.
Saffron trileche
The mentioned dessert from Latin America has taken root very well in the Balkan countries and Turkey, where it has been slightly changed in its own way and is called trileche. You can try your own version of this Turkish sweet dish with a bright saffron flavor at the new Turki diner in Moscow. It consists of an airy sponge cake soaked in milk sauce and complemented with saffron, mascarpone cream and caramel.
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