Zefir

Name: Zefir
Ingredients: 120 g apple purée; 100 g sugar; 1/2 egg white; 2 tsp lemon juice; 1 tsp vanilla sugar; 150 g sugar; 50 g water; 4 g agar-agar; powdered sugar for dusting

I love zefir — but only the good kind: fresh, delicate, not too sweet, without any crystallized sugar, with a subtle, barely-there apple flavor. Did you know that zefir is made from apples? ;-) Unfortunately, that kind of truly authentic zefir is pretty hard to find in stores. It seems many manufacturers don't bother following the proper technique for making this treat. But it's absolutely within our power to make it the right way! The method for making zefir is very similar to making Bird's Milk soufflé. In both cases, whipped egg whites are cooked with a hot sugar syrup — but with zefir, the egg whites are whipped together with apple purée. The zefir is then piped into halves and left to dry at room temperature for 1–2 days. No baking required — no oven needed — which is especially great for anyone whose oven can't hold a low drying temperature. This recipe made 16 pieces (32 halves) for me, about 4 cm in diameter. If you'd like, you can easily double the proportions — that way you won't have to split a single egg white in half, which is a bit awkward.

Ingredients:

120 g apple purée
100 g sugar
1/2 egg white
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla sugar
Syrup:
150 g sugar
50 g water
4 g agar-agar
Also:
powdered sugar for dusting

How to cook zefir

The apples must be tart or sweet-tart, green, and firm — these contain the most pectin. Antonovka is ideal, and that's what I used. You'll need about 2–3 apples to get the required amount of purée. Peel the apples, cut them in half, and remove the core and seeds. Microwave for 2–4 minutes, until completely soft.

Blend with an immersion blender until smooth, then press through a colander to remove any remaining bits of skin, etc.

Add 100 g of sugar and stir to combine. Let the purée cool completely — you can even refrigerate it for a couple of hours.

Make the syrup. Soak the agar-agar in the water and let it sit for 30 minutes (or for the time indicated on the package). Place over heat and warm until hot.

Add the sugar and bring the mixture to a boil.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, it will rise up into a big foamy cap (that's just how agar-agar behaves).

Reduce the heat to medium and cook the syrup until it reaches 110°C (230°F). If you don't have a thermometer, that's about 5 minutes, or until the syrup falls from a spatula in a thin, steady stream. Set the finished syrup aside for about 10–15 minutes.

Add the half egg white, lemon juice, and vanilla sugar to the apple purée.

Beat thoroughly for about 10–15 minutes, until the mixture has doubled or tripled in volume. I beat mine on maximum speed for 12 minutes.

Pour the hot syrup in a thin stream while continuing to beat, then beat for another 5–7 minutes. The mixture will be snow-white, shiny, glossy, and very thick — it should practically wind itself around the beaters. If needed, keep beating a little longer.

Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe onto sheets of parchment paper. Leave to dry for 1–2 days, depending on the temperature and humidity in the room. The zefir should develop a thin crust on the outside.

Dust the zefir with powdered sugar through a fine sieve. Carefully peel them off the paper and press two halves together. Store zefir in a sealed container so it doesn't dry out.