[2] In Imperial Russia, the "small jellied sweetmeats" were served for tea "with a white foamy top, a bit like marshmallow, but tasting of pure fruit".

[4][5][6] The name is probably a loanword from Italian: pastello or pastiglia, or from the cognate French: pastille which in turn comes from Latin: pastillus (a loaf or pie, cf.

[4][7] In the 19th century, pastila was made from sourish Russian apples such as Antonovka or mashed Northern berries (lingonberry, rowan, currants) sweetened with honey or sugar and lightened with egg whites.

[10] According to William Pokhlyobkin, this Soviet-style pastila does not depend on the unique properties of the peasant stove and is markedly inferior to its homemade predecessors.

[8] It was ultimately eclipsed in popularity by zefir, which is made from similar ingredients but with whipped egg whites and gelling agents.

[citation needed] The process included whipping apple puree with egg whites and drying the paste in a stove.