Anesthesiologist from Ryazan Makes Toffees and Raises Diabetic Son
Yevgenia Osipova is an anesthesiologist-resuscitator at the Ryazan Perinatal Center, a loving wife, mother of two wonderful boys, and… a confectioner. The Ryazan native started making sweets while on maternity leave. And unexpectedly, the hobby turned into a family business.
I spoke with Yevgenia and learned how a doctor can come to making sweets and enjoy the process.
The very first question I had to ask my interlocutor was about her choice of profession:
«I was always interested in surgical specialties. As a student, I wasn«t afraid to be in the operating room, and I didn»t feel faint at the sight of blood. In college, most of our doctor-teachers constantly said: ‘A woman surgeon is either a woman or a surgeon.’ This specialty is very difficult, but anesthesiology captivated me.»
Yevgenia is sure that anesthesiology has a special purpose, since its main task is to relieve a person of pain. This means: allowing the patient to calm down and relax, and allowing the surgeons to perform the operation calmly.
«The complexity of the work comes from many factors: there are no ‘easy’ anesthetics. There will always be patient anxiety, concomitant diseases, and language barriers, and in obstetrics, it«s also double responsibility not only for the mother»s life but also for the child«s condition,» Osipova believes.
«The Toffees Didn»t Want to Cooperate»
The Ryazan native came to making sweets in 2021, when she was on maternity leave.
«I couldn«t sit still and wanted to do something. And since I always loved cooking, I bought online pastry courses and started learning. I always liked ‘Soviet’ sweets. Many people make cakes, and those niches are already tightly occupied. I wanted to make something that would be tasty not only for our generation but also for parents, grandparents who simply don»t understand modern trends. Besides marshmallow and bird«s milk, I made ‘Flight’ cake and ‘Kiev’ cake, which clients also really liked,» Yevgenia recounts.
When asked why exactly toffees, my interlocutor said that she once saw a blogger making pull-toffees, and she liked the idea of learning to make them herself. Moreover, the Ryazan native wanted to break the stereotype that modern toffees are ‘filling-pullers’.
«In autumn 2022, I bought training courses and started boiling! For two months, I honed my skills, the toffees would crystallize and didn»t want to cooperate, but in the end, I succeeded, and by the New Year, gift sets of toffees and fondant appeared,» Yevgenia shares.
The girl had to give up marshmallow and bird«s milk because orders for toffees were increasing, and she simply didn»t have time for everything.
Yevgenia says that boiling is the most difficult part of making sweets:
«For our toffees, we use 33% fat cream, butter, and sugar. Natural additives — peanuts, coffee, spices, currant puree — are added during the process or when pouring the toffee mixture into molds. The temperature at which the toffee is ready is 122-123°C (252-253°F), and you need to be very careful not to get burned — at first, burns were my constant companions.»
Yevgenia maintains an active blogging activity: her VKontakte public page dedicated to confectionery is very warm, cozy, and heartfelt. The Ryazan native talks in it not only about work but also about her family, and also shares culinary secrets.
The Osipova family — her husband and two sons aged two and three — actively help her with cooking.
«The sons are still little and only learning to help, but they actively try to pack toffees into boxes, enthusiastically take parcels with us to the pickup point, and really love greeting customers who sometimes pick up their orders directly from us. My husband learned to boil toffees, and now I can say that ‘the student has surpassed the teacher,’ because when I«m busy with the children, he ‘manages’ the boiling. I get the most pleasant part — wrapping the finished candies and assembling orders,» my interlocutor recounted.
«Strong Boy»
Yevgenia»s elder son is a ‘diabetic’ child — at 1 year and 9 months, he was diagnosed with diabetes, but despite all the difficulties, the little one behaves like a real hero.
«At first, we gave injections, a bit later we installed an insulin pump. Every night at three-hour intervals, we wake up to the alarm to check his blood sugar. He«s already used to the pain from injections, to the fact that there»s a ‘helper’ on his belt in a pouch. And we weigh food, count the amount of carbohydrates in the food, and monitor so that blood sugar doesn«t drop or rise too much. Is it hard to live with this? Yes, very. But he»s a strong boy and, I hope, with age, we«ll be able to explain to him how to control everything himself so that this condition doesn»t interfere with his life,» the Ryazan native recounted.
According to her, the sons are already used to there always being toffees at home, and they really like watching the preparation and wrapping process. And, of course, it doesn«t go without begging for sweets.
«Actually, it«s already quite easy for the kids to pass by the toffees, they»re used to us not hiding the sweets, but they always ask if they can take some. If the ‘sweet limit’ for the day isn«t exceeded, of course, we allow it. We treat them, but in moderation,» the woman says with a smile.
Fillings in Place
Despite the difficulties, Yevgenia continues to work as a doctor, delight her customers with tasty sweets, and at the same time remain a friendly and pleasant interlocutor.
«Your own, native business, into which you put your soul, will always find the right people for fruitful cooperation,» the Ryazan native believes.
By the way, returning to the topic of ‘filling-pullers’, I can»t help but note that I personally had the chance to try the toffees made by the heroine of this interview — and they are not only soft and tasty but also left all my fillings in place.
