To Žaslius – to taste “beans” found nowhere else and swing over the lake

Žaslius, in the Kaišiadorys district, is worth visiting not only because of the famous Žasliai mound. The new attraction – last year for 80 thousand. Statkūniškės Lake Walking Trail was installed in euros.

It stretches for about 800 meters and offers a beautiful panorama of the Žasliai area.

“Žasliai are our little Trakai, although some of them are probably residents of Trakai, and they are angry about the name. Why do we call ourselves that even though there is no castle on the island? We have three lakes connected by a nameless channel!

The shores of Lake Žasliai, which occupies 101 hectares, and Lake Liminas, which covers an area of ​​12.3 hectares, are densely populated: 60-70%, so it was chosen to cover the smaller Statkūniškės lake.

Due to the abundance of lakes, it is understandable that during the bathing season, Žaslius is flooded with tourists. By the way, the Laukysta fish farm “feeds” on these lakes. It has its own ponds, but it opens slugs and drains the water from our lakes when they need it, ”described Gintarė Stankevičienė, the oldest in Žasliai.

The shores of Lake Statkūniškės, which stretch for 1.41 km, were chosen to be groomed as well because of the wonderful view from them. An unfurnished lake of about 8 hectares was left because almost all the land around it is state.

“For a long time, Lake Statkūniškės was left for the protection of nature. Only the two bathing areas worked, which were supervised by the body of elders. Until now, it was the most popular bathing place in Žasliai (Limin has nowhere to bathe, and Lake Žasliai has one official and several unofficial ones, which people cleaned), but the shores were dominated by an unexplored pine forest covered with meadows.

It was decided to build a cozy walkway and turn Statkūniškės Lake into a center of attraction. Behold, the locals themselves rose to the fore. Adrenaline shoots up while sitting on it, “smiled G. Stankevičienė.

The volunteers who died for the freedom of Lithuania were buried in the pine forest that stretches near the lake, so they want to implement the idea in the future: to establish their headquarters on Lake Statkūniškės. There are three crosses to visit today.

Along the Jonava road (a detour is planned to be built), you can relax on the winding road in the original stone-built view.

Part of the coastline has been left intact, as required by the landscaping project. Each time, the old man will have to cut about 3.5 hectares of coastal area by hand.

At Lake Žasliai – active recreation

This year, new attractions have sprung up near the fisherman’s favorite lake Žasliai. Water bikes are available here, for a total of eight.

The entertainment was 100% worth it, because Žasliai had something to offer for passive water lovers, but not for active ones.

There are four cabins with sauna and hot tub near Lake Žasliai. The same owners own both the cabins and the water bikes.

“Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius celebrated his first mass in the church of Žasliai. He is considered probably the most famous compatriot here. Žasliai and Jewish history are famous, as is the fact that the final stage of Tad Blinda’s film is filmed in the central square of the city, here this “light iron” stumbled and died, “the old man introduced to other celebrities in the town.

When asked what else was missing on campus, he confirmed that he wanted to complete the infrastructure management work. He wants the local population to feel safe and comfortable for tourism to develop.

Those who work in Kaunas and Vilnius are also happy to choose Žaslius for life, a great connection. Here you can reach Kaunas in just half an hour and live in peace and nature.

According to the old man, the fish processing company “Desė” operates in the city and is considered the largest local employer. There are also several foreigners living in Žasļi, who have been “welcomed” by women here.

“It is true that there is no catering establishment. The closest restaurant is in Kaišiadorys, you have to go at least 7 kilometers to it, ”said the old man.

It is famous for its dwarf kugel

It is really strange that the city does not have a single cafe, because Žasliai is famous for its festivities, donuts and the unique taste of “babke”, a Sassian kugel, topped with bacon and baked in the oven.

Dalia Ramonienė, a craftswoman at the Žasliai Center for Traditional Crafts, introduces the subtleties of this delicacy during her education.

There are no potatoes, there is nothing to eat.

She took her love for cooking from her father. He and Dalia’s grandmother are both constipated Samogitians.

Although the city is also famous for the production of condensed caramel candies (children like education more to make them), Dalia does not communicate with sweets, as she says.

“I’ve always laughed, there are no potatoes, there is nothing to eat,” he smiled.

The horse of this craftsman are the baked zeppelins, whistles and a currant. It is exceptional because it is baked according to a 100 year old gooseberry recipe. It is true that the people of Zasliai did not call kugel kugel, their grandmothers did not bake anything but “mashed potatoes”.

“My family calls this kugel ‘babke’. It is decorated with bacon or bitches drops.

The recipe is simple: 2.5 kg of grated green potatoes, bacon, onion, pepper, salt. Add the hot boiled milk. Spread the “Brittany” with butter, pour in the prepared dough and cool in the oven.

This is preheated for 2 hours, then the coals are removed and the “baby” is baked for another 2 hours, covered for one hour, not the next.

Babkė used to be a festive, everyday dish. The sauce is made from sour cream, bacon and fried onion, ”Dalia revealed the secret of the recipe.

When asked if one “Brit” is enough to eat some people, he named number six.

Potatoes with less starch are more suitable for making “Babkei”, so the cone is softer and less elongated.

“Now if you buy bacon in the store and buy it, it is not the same as before. You fry the meat of these times and you see, just water. By the way, in the past, the kugeli was eaten with milk or sour milk When I was a child, what I enjoyed the most was eating it with cold milk, ”Dalia recalls.

“Babke” is now baked in a pan

She baked the first kugel on her own, maybe in the tenth grade. When she was left with zeppelin grids, she, as a child, was very happy because she was allowed to do bandukes or Kleckelius.

Babkes local gooseberries are still baked, but of course not in the oven, but in the pan. The recipe is simple: line the pan with pieces of salted bacon, add the bacon, a little smoked bacon, flip it over and make a grater grated by hand, something – beat the egg.

Then cover the pan, bake for a while, until the bun is finally flipped over and continue to bake without covering the lid. This is how crackles appear on top.

“We also bake zeppelins in the oven, they are not cooked before. In the beginning, the Jews baked these fried zeppelins. They were probably the first to bake kugelis in Žasliai, not the Lithuanians,” Dalia said.

Unfortunately, no one can taste “Babkė”; it is necessary to participate in education, which must gather at least 15 people. The cost of kugel production and tasting education start at 105 euros. If there are more people, the entertainment will cost 7 euros per person.

Kugel to taste is not so easy

Wondering how often Dalia bakes a “bean”? Typically, three educations are planned per week.

And aren’t you tired of making a kugel yet?

“It just came to our knowledge then. As an actor before a performance, you are always excited. If you don’t worry about going on stage, then you need to take a break. So with the production of a cone, every time you do it, you think whether you’ll bake or not. If it’s not those potatoes, maybe it’s great. You’re always excited, “admitted the artisan who plays and sings in the local team and works at the Marius Steponavičius poultry farm.

Dalia also knows how to speak and the elders of Zaslija speak. It intertwines the dialects of Aukštaitija and Dzūks. Although Žasliai’s national costume is Dzūkija, the locals do not consider themselves to be either pure-blood Dzūks or pure-blood Aukštaitians.

And why, having a legendary dish, is there no café in Žasliai that still serves it?

In zaslis and zeppelins they were called non zeppelins.

“There were once three cafes in Žasļi. Four. Currently there are rumors that a businessman will start cooking zeppelins. In the past, a woman cooked them and sold them in the market place ”, assured the interlocutor.

It is true that in Zaslia and zeppelins they were not called zeppelins, but “bombs”, apparently because they were not shaped like air but round.

“My family made and the greaves stuffed zeppelins were the most delicious for me. The butter melted, the fat melted and the breast was left. They put them in place of meat. If it was cooked with meat, it lengthened, and if it was cooked with crackers, it was round ”, Dalia recalls.

Although Dalia’s favorite place in Žasļi is her own courtyard, other employees of the Center for Traditional Crafts hinted at the valley by the lake where the events take place.

Popular in Žasļi and in the bakery education branch.