Pastila

Pastila (пастила́) is a Russian confection made from fruit, usually apples. It’s entirely gluten and dairy free, but it’s made with egg whites and sometimes honey, so it’s not usually vegan. However, we were able to find one vegan recipe that’s linked at the bottom!

The texture of pastila is similar to a marshmallow, but it tastes like fruit. It’s often layered and sliced into pieces to serve. The first recorded recipe for pastila dates back to Imperial Russia in the 16th century, but it may be much older. Nowadays, a modern version of pastila called zefir (зефи́р) is more prevalent. But more Russians are rediscovering traditional recipes, which has sparked a renewed interest in pastila. Zefir looks like meringue cookies but contains the same ingredients as traditional pastila, plus the addition of a gelling agent and extra egg whites for stability.

Apples are an important part of Russian culture because they grow and store well in the cold climate. There’s a huge assortment of apples across Russia, but a green and sour variety called Antonovka is the main type used for pastila. Pastila takes advantage of the more sour and underripe varietities because the extra pectin helps build structure. Some good apple subs would be Granny Smith, crabapples, or even underripe apples. You don’t want to use sweet apples here.

Zephir is mass produced more often than pastila, so it’s easier to buy online. But even if you find pastila in stores in your area, the packaged product tends to be very different from the homemade version. It’s one of those foods that’s best made at home. Traditional pastila isn’t too difficult to make (although it does take a good chunk of time in a low oven) and it’s easy to customize with different fruits. We’ve linked packaged zephir options and some pastila recipes below.

Buy Zephyir Pastila:

• Russian Zefir Marshmallow Vanilla Flavoured

• Russian Zephir MarshmallowApple Flavoured

• Zefir Marshmallow Chocolate Covered 3 Flavour

Pastila Recipes:

• Crabapple pastila from Backyard Forager

• Pastila history and recipe from Atlas Obscura

• 2 traditional pastila recipes from Cooking Without Gluten

• Pastila - turn apples into marshmallows from Emmy Made

• Blackberry zephyr from Natasha’s Kitchen

• Homemade zephyr marshmallows from Sweet and Savory

• Vegan zephyr marshmallows from Yumsome