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Churchkhela ( ka, ჩურჩხელა, ) is a traditional
Georgian cuisine Georgian cuisine () consists of cooking traditions, techniques, and practices of Georgia. Georgian cuisine has a distinct character, while bearing some similarities with various national cuisines of the Caucasus and the wider Eastern Europe. E ...
candle-shaped
candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies ( Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, ...
. The main ingredients of Churchkhela are grape
must Must (from the Latin ''vinum mustum'', "young wine") is freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of ...
,
nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...
, and
flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many c ...
. Almonds,
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...
s,
hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species '' Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts accordi ...
s, and chocolate and sometimes
raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...
s are threaded onto a string, dipped in thickened grape must, mulberry juice, or fruit juices and dried in the shape of a
sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...
. In eastern Georgia, churchkhela production begins with a condensed juice called tatara, made from must from local grapes in the areas of Kakheti, Kartli or Meskheti thickened with wheat flour. Wheat flour is also used for making condensed mulberry juice in the area of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Corn flour is used in western Georgia (the areas of Racha, Lechkhumi, Guria, Samegrelo, Abkhazia or Achara), and this condensed grape juice is called pelamushi. In
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...
, a region in the North Caucus Mountains of Georgia, it is known as "Аджинджук" ("Adzhindzhukhua" or "Ajinjuk")" in the local
Abkhaz language Abkhaz ( ; ), sometimes spelled Abxaz and also known as Abkhazian, is a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian language most closely related to Abaza language, Abaza. It is spoken mostly by the Abkhazians, Abkhaz people. It is one o ...
and is touted as the best souvenir for gifting. Georgian warriors carried Churchkhelas with them because they contain many calories. The traditional technology of churchkhela in the
Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises e ...
region was inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia list in 2015.


Outside Georgia

Churchkhela and its varieties are popular in several countries besides Georgia, such as
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...
,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, Syria,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
, and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
.Procook.ru:Чурчхела
In Persian, it's known as باسلوق شیره انگور /a>/sup>. In Aleppo, Syria it is known as ''jok malbal'' جق ملبل. In Armenian, Greek, and Turkish it is known as " sujuk", which is actually a dry sausage. To distinguish the two, it is sometimes referred to as "sweet sujukh" (քաղցր սուջուխ, ''kaghtsr sujukh'') in Armenian (շարոց, ''sharots'' in Western Armenian), and ''cevizli sucuk'' ("walnut sujuk") in Turkish. It is known in Cypriot Greek as ''shoushoukos'' (''σιουσιούκκος'') and as ''soutzouki'' (σουτζούκι,) τζουτζούκι (tzoutzoúki Or jutsuki,) and tσούτσελα (tsoútsela) in Greece. Several related sweets are made in Greece during the autumn grape harvest by thickening grape must, to include the grape molasses πετιμέζι
Pekmez Pekmez ( tr, pekmez, az, bəkməz/doşab) is a molasses-like syrup obtained after condensing juices of fruit must, especially grape by boiling it with a coagulant agent like wood ashes or ground carob seeds. It is used as a syrup or mixed with tah ...
(petimezi), the grape must pudding called μουσταλευριά ( Moustalevria,) and grape must cookies called μουστοκούλουρα (moustokouloura.) Another variant of Churchkhela, traditionally called Kelawo, is prepared in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan. It was locally marketed as Hunza chocolate, but as Kelawo does not contain any cocoa, it is now renamed as Hunza Candy. The Cypriot variety is made by dipping strings of almonds into jelly, called ''palouzes'' (παλουζές).


Preparation

Churchkhela is a homemade Georgian product. Georgians usually make Churchkhela in Autumn when the primary ingredients, grapes and nuts, are harvested. It is a string of walnut halves that have been dipped in grape juice called Tatara or Phelamushi (grape juice thickened with flour), and dried in the sun. No sugar is added to make real Churchkhela. Instead of walnuts, sometimes hazelnuts or almonds are used in the regions of west Georgia. The juice is placed in a large bronze cauldron and heated slowly. A small amount of a special white earth called ''asproi'' is added to the boiling must and causes impurities to rise to the surface, where they are collected and removed. It is possible to substitute ''asproi'', when not available, with lager beer, which has a similar result. Once the cleansing process is complete, the liquid is left to cool. Next, flour is added while stirring and heating the mixture. When it reaches the right consistency, based on the rate of steam bubbles and the viscosity of the mixture, it is removed from the heat. The mix, called ''Badagi'', is now ready for use in the next step in the process of making Churchelas, which consists of preparing the nuts for dipping. Before they are threaded, the nuts have to be shelled and dipped into water in order to soften them. Once soft enough, they are strung onto 2-3 meter-long threads. The strings are dipped in the ''Badagi'' mixture until completely covered. This process is repeated several times (usually three times) until the Churchkhelas has the desired thickness. Churchkhelas strings are then left to dry for 5–6 days. They are then ready for consumption or storage, even though some people like to eat it fresh.


Consumption

Churchkhela is a between-meals snack and is also served as a dessert during
New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...
and
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celebrations. Traditionally, in times of war women would send their men Churchkhela to eat at the front, because of its pragmatic size, ability not to mold for long periods of time, and heavy texture that keeps one full.


Gallery

File:Naschmarkt Wien 2009 PD 20091008 035.JPG Making of Churchkhela (6253776040).jpg File:Tschurtschchela.jpg File:Churchkhela (4).jpg File:Churchxela.jpg File:Churchkhela.jpg


See also

*
Gozinaki Gozinaki or Gozinaqi ( ka, გოზინაყი ) is a traditional Georgian confection made of caramelized nuts, usually walnuts, fried in honey, and served exclusively on New Year's Eve and Christmas. In the western Georgian provinces of Im ...
* List of grape dishes * Pestil


References


External links

* {{Nut confections Cuisine of Georgia (country) Grape dishes Georgian products with protected designation of origin Almond desserts Nut confections