Ingredients
Fruit
- 2 kgsour plums (alycha or damsons) or tart apricots, stoned
- 150 mlwater
- 50 gsugar, only if the fruit is very sharp
- 1 pinchsalt
Equipment
- 1wide heavy pan
- 1food mill or fine sieve
- 2large flat trays lined with baking parchment or a clean cotton cloth
- a warm dry place out of direct sun, or an oven set to 60°C (140°F)
Directions
- Wash and stone the plums, keeping the skins, which carry most of the pectin and colour that make the sheet hold together.
- Put the fruit in the pan with the water, cover, and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the flesh collapses completely and the skins have gone soft.
- Push the pulp through a food mill or a fine sieve to remove skins and fibre, leaving a smooth thick puree; work it hard, since the yield through a sieve is deceptive.
- Return the puree to the pan and cook uncovered over low heat for 25 to 40 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon so it never catches, until it has reduced by about a third and mounds on the spoon.
- Taste it now. Ttu lavash should stay properly sour, so add sugar only if the fruit is unbearably sharp, along with the pinch of salt that sharpens the fruit flavour.
- Spread the puree onto the lined trays in an even layer 3 to 4 mm thick, using an offset palette knife and taking care that the edges are not thinner than the middle, or they will crack.
- Dry in the sun for 2 to 4 days, bringing the trays in at night, or in an oven at 60°C (140°F) with the door propped for 6 to 8 hours.
- It is ready when the surface is matt and tacky rather than wet, and the sheet peels away from the parchment in one piece without tearing. Roll it in parchment and store in a dry tin.
Technique
- The name means sour lavash, and the sheet is deliberately mouth-puckering; it is torn off in strips and eaten as a snack, and also used as a souring agent in soups and stews in place of lemon.
- Thickness is the whole craft. Under 3 mm it tears when you peel it, over 5 mm it never dries through and can mould in storage.
- Test doneness by pressing a finger into the centre; if it leaves a wet dent rather than a shallow mark that springs back, it needs longer.
- Underripe or wild sour plums make the best sheets because they have both the acidity and the pectin. Sweet supermarket plums produce a limp, sticky leather.
Substitutions
- No sour plums: apricots, sour cherries or a mixture of apples and lemon juice all work; with apples add the juice of 2 lemons, since apples lack the required acidity.
- A dehydrator at 57°C (135°F) does the job in 5 to 7 hours with a far more even result than the sun.
Variations
- Apricot ttu lavash from the Ararat valley is paler, softer and slightly sweeter.
- A cornelian cherry version is the sharpest of all and is prized for cooking rather than snacking.
- Some households scatter crushed walnuts over the puree before drying.
History
Puréed fruit dried in sun on cloth; eaten as a snack and also torn into stews for sourness in winter.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ttu lavash?
Ttu lavash is a snack from Armenia: sour fruit leather of pressed plums or apricots, torn off in sheets. Puréed fruit dried in sun on cloth; eaten as a snack and also torn into stews for sourness in winter.
How long does Ttu lavash take to make?
Ttu lavash takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr cooking plus 2 to 4 days drying of cooking. The recipe makes 4 sheets, about 30 x 40 cm. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Ttu lavash?
Yes, within limits. No sour plums: apricots, sour cherries or a mixture of apples and lemon juice all work; with apples add the juice of 2 lemons, since apples lack the required acidity. A dehydrator at 57°C (135°F) does the job in 5 to 7 hours with a far more even result than the sun.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ttu lavash?
Return the puree to the pan and cook uncovered over low heat for 25 to 40 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon so it never catches, until it has reduced by about a third and mounds on the spoon.
