It is difficult to imagine a typical landscape of a Ukrainian or Russian village of the 19th century without clay pots and jugs that were hung for drying on fence poles. In Russian villages, clay bowls, bowls, and mugs used for milk were most often called with the same word "krynka". What is it and what was the technology for the production of such dishes? We will talk about all this and the scope of application of the wings in our article.
Krynka - what is it?
In Russia, earthenware has long been considered a symbol of village life. Dishes were predominantly cooked in an oven, and clay pots were best suited for this. The same dishes were also used for storing milk, sour cream and other natural products. Such pots and jugs of clay were called very simply - krynka.
What is it, today few people understand when they hear this obsolete name. In fact, the krynka is a clay vessel with a wide edge, a narrower neck, having a spherical shape in the lower part. The lid was designed in such a way that it could be easily grabbed by the hand in a narrow part. Outwardly, such dishes are more reminiscent of an ordinary jug, but without a handle and without a lid. The height of the wing is about 20 cm, the diameter in the widest part does not exceed 13 cm. The volume of the dishes is 1-2 liters.
Production technology
Two hundred years ago, pottery was made on a potter's wheel. To align the walls of the finished vessel, a wooden knife and a wet rag were used. The dishes were dried for a day at room temperature, and then dried for another 3-4 days in an oven to achieve the desired shade of the dishes. So the krynka was made.
What is it, you can understand by the characteristic design of the dishes. Although at that time there were several forms. Some Krynks were more like pots of a softly curved shape and with a wide, open edge. Other krynks looked more like jugs, which were just used to store milk and get cream.
Clay lid: application
The main purpose of Krynka was to store milk: fresh and cold. Due to the porous structure of the pottery, the products in it seem to “breathe”, and because of this they stay fresh longer. The jug was placed on the table and it was also used to make baked milk in the oven.
The special design of the krynka helped to defend the cream in the narrow part of the jug. Here they could be easily collected for the subsequent preparation of sour cream and butter. The lid was made without a lid, since it was customary to cover the dishes only with gauze or a cotton cloth.