International Dessert Day is celebrated in many countries on the 1st of February. The holiday originally commemorated cake pops (chocolate covered sponge cakes on a stick), made popular by an influencer and pastry-cook Angie Dudley. Other sweets and unsweetened desserts are honored on this day as well, moreover many sweets have personal dates: World Ice Cream Day (June, 11) and International Eskimo Day (January, 24), World Chocolate Day (July, 11), World Candy Day (October, 18), International Cake Day (July, 10) and World Nutella Day (February, 5).

Desserts and sweets are the final dishes of the table, served towards the end of the meal. Dessert can be anything served after the main course: cheese, fruit, berries, nuts, juices. etc

Sweet fruit and honey were the first commonly available desserts. Only people's desire for wonder can explain the appearance of ice cream some 4,000 years ago in hot Mesopotamia, where nobles had “ice houses” for storing ice. Ice was delivered to the table of the Egyptian pharaohs via the Nile. It is known that in Athens in the 5th century BC snow balls with honey and berries were sold. For Nero servants collected snow from the mountain tops to make fruit ice with honey and nuts. In the 4th century BC, the Persians managed to construct buildings where ice preserved in winter or brought from the mountain tops was stored all summer long. It was in Persia that the prototype of contemporary ice cream - a dish of frozen rosewater, saffron, fruit and thin strips of dough resembling vermicelli - appeared.

Chocolate, like the cacao tree, is native to Central and South America. For centuries, the Maya and later the Aztecs mixed ground and roasted cacao beans with water and then added bitter pepper to the mixture. The result was a bitter, tangy, frothy, high-fat drink that was drunk cold. In Europe, the cocoa drink had been known since the 1520s; the conquistador Hernan Cortés first tasted it. Instead of being cold and bitter, the drink had become hot and sweet in Europe by the early 17th century.

Oriental sweets... They are associated with fairy tales, legends and mysterious stories and are often referred to as one of the recognized wonders of the East and sweet jewels. In ancient times, they were believed to have special magical powers, and their making was entrusted to healers and apothecaries. The history of the oriental sweets goes back many centuries. Exotic sweets from the Far East were unknown to Europeans for a long time. They appeared in Europe around the 17th-18th centuries, they were served in the richest homes as exquisite specialty product. Eastern sweets in their fullest assortment have always been produced in Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. In Europe they are made in Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.

The custom of finishing a meal with dessert appeared in Europe only in the 19th century, along with the growth of sugar production industry. Before then, sweets were the privilege of the rich and only appeared on the table of commoners on feast days.

Almost all nations have a favorite dessert, e.g. tiramisu in Italy; pudding in England; cheesecake in America; cannoli on the island of Sicily; strudel in Austria; hua¹⁾, tánya²⁾ and qui³⁾ in China; éclair in France; baklava, lokum and halva in eastern countries…

What sweet dishes were cooked and loved in Russia? Until the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries these desserts included honey, sugar, gingerbread, jam, dried fruit, sugared fruit and some sugared vegetables. The dessert was served both after a lavish meal and as a snack between meals.

The ancient Russian sweet dish is a popular gingerbread cake known nowadays. They have been baked in our country for more than 1,000 years. The first spice cakes were cooked from rye flour, berry juice and honey. Cane sugar and spices from India transformed the dessert pastry. Cakes, pancakes and crapes appeared.

The first mention of pastilles can be found in documents dating back to the 16th century, although some researchers argue that this delicacy was known to the inhabitants of Kolomna much earlier. It is believed that it was there that the technology of making the traditional Russian treat from apples and honey originated.

Today, pastries (cakes, biscuits, waffles, muffins, pies); various types of sweets, also whipped cream dishes; ice cream; sweet fruit and berry mixtures (the so-called fruit salads); drinks (tea, cocoa, coffee, glace coffee); low alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks can be served as dessert.

Desserts can be found in almost every cuisine in the world and have their own history; some have even become legendary, while others are associated with famous historical figures. Dessert serving dishes are a separate category in the "family" of numerous serving utensils, characterized by their variety and originality of design.

Glass Art  and Ceramics and Metal Artworks sections of the museum Collection repository features items for serving the dessert table; you can take a closer look at some of them in our new thematic album.

On the cover: Dessert vase. Russian Empire, Saint Petersburg. Mid-19th century. Imperial Glass Factory

¹⁾ Huá) - moist, smooth, slippery; refers to puddings, jellies, mousses, marmalade, fatty creamy desserts.
²⁾ QQ or tányá, which is the inexplicable quality that makes marmalade and jelly sweets so popular in China. It denotes the degree of firmness of the product, which is pleasing to chew.
³⁾ Cuì - crispy, crunchy, fresh. Different snacks like waffles, gingerbread, nuts as well as juicy and crunchy fruits like pears, apples, Chinese dates etc.

Source: https://coffee-ex-pressa.ru/1-fevralya-mezhdunarodnyj-den-deserta