Paskha (meal)
Encyclopedia
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
of Great Lent
Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
. It is made during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
and then brought to church on Great Saturday to be blessed after the Paschal Vigil. The name of the dish comes from Pascha
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of Easter.
Paul is a traditional Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
dish made from tvorog (farmer's cheese, cottage cheese
Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed, so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity, giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from...
, etc.), which is white, symbolizing the purity of Christ, the Paschal Lamb
Paschal Lamb
Paschal Lamb can refer to:* Korban Pesach, in Judaism* Lamb of God, in Christianity* Sacrificial lamb...
, and the joy of the Resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
.
In the Russian Orthodox tradition, pascha is usually molded in the form of a truncated pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
(a symbol of the Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
; also said to represent the Tomb of Christ). It is traditionally made in a wooden mould assembly called пасочница (pasotchnitza) that can be taken apart for cleaning; but more modern materials, such as plastics, are used nowadays.
The pascha is decorated with traditional religious symbols, such as the "Chi Ro"
Labarum
The labarum was a vexillum that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" — Chi and Rho . It was used by the Roman emperor Constantine I...
motif, a three-bar cross, the letters X and B (Cyrillic letters
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
standing for Христосъ Воскресe which is the Slavonic form of the traditional Paschal greeting
Paschal greeting
The Paschal greeting is an Easter custom among Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Christians, as well as among some Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians...
: "Christ is Risen!"), egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
s, and a lance
Lance
A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
, all symbolizing Christ's Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
and Resurrection
Death and Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
.
Preparation
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
, eggs, sour cream, raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
, almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
, spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s, and candied fruit
Candied fruit
Candied fruit, also known as crystallized fruit or Glacé fruit, has been around since the 14th century. Whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, are placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it...
s can be used.
The paskha can be either cooked or uncooked (raw). Cooked pascha is made in the form of an egg custard
Custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce , to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used as...
, to which the remaining ingredients are folded in. An uncooked pascha is made simply of the raw curd and the other ingredients mixed together at room temperature. Since uncooked curd cannot be conserved for a long period of time, these paschas are typically made smaller.
The tvorog is first pressed
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
in order to eliminate the maximum amount of liquid possible, then put twice through a sieve to make a homogenous mass. If the pascha is cooked, this mass is then heated. The pan containing the mixture
Mixture
In chemistry, a mixture is a material system made up by two or more different substances which are mixed together but are not combined chemically...
is then placed in a container of cold water and progressively cooled, then placed in the pasotchnitza with a layer of cheese cloth protecting the mould. The mould is cooled for twelve hours in a cold, but not freezing, place (typically in a cellar or refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
). Finally, the mould is removed and the paskha put on a dish. It may then be decorated with candied fruits, nuts, or flowers.
The pascha (or at least a portion of it) will be placed in an Easter basket together with other festal foods, and taken to church to be blessed. Pascha is traditionally accompanied by a rich Easter bread
Easter Bread
In many European countries, there are various traditions surrounding the use of bread during the Easter holiday.-Sardinia:In Sardinia, Italy, bread is a part of a wide social context. It is the most important food in Sardinia, as well as all over Italy and the Mediterranean. "Bread is a nexus of...
called Kulich
Kulich
Kulich is a kind of Easter bread, traditional in the Orthodox Christian faith and eaten in Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria and Serbia....
.
Other uses
Kulich
Kulich is a kind of Easter bread, traditional in the Orthodox Christian faith and eaten in Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria and Serbia....
, while the adjacent belfry has a pyramidal form reminiscent of paskha (photographs here).