Hot summer ... South ... Black Sea coast ... Beach ... And suddenly !!! “Chips, pistachios, squid rings” - starts coming from the left. He immediately flies to the right: "Goooooryayayayayachye cheburekiiiii !!!". And, not letting herself come to my senses, a very tanned lady of Caucasian nationality is leaning over you and, smiling broadly with golden teeth, offers: “Baklava, straws, hot corn? Take the sweet Churchkhela to the child! ” Damn it, corn, pistachios and sweet straws are known to me, but what kind of strange Churchkhela is and why is it traded on everyone on the beaches of the Black Sea coast? In the evening, when the child fell asleep, I climbed on the Internet to find out what kind of “vegetable is” Churchkhela. How is Churchkhela useful? And what is it made of before I take it to my child, as the saleswoman advised? And here is what I found out ...

Churchkhela is the traditional oldest Georgian national sweet, which has another name - dried seedless berries. It is a soft but elastic stick about 30 cm long. Inside it, nuts are strung on a thin thread, which are covered with syrup made from thickened flour and grape or pomegranate juice. However, the second option is extremely rare, because considered "elite".

A bit from the history of Churchkhela

The history of making goodies goes back to the deep ancient times of David the Builder. Then the Georgian soldiers went on long hikes and took with them on the road, high-calorie and satisfying foods that do not deteriorate, are stored for a long time and are convenient to use. Churchkhela was one of those. Over time, it does not disappear, but simply becomes harder. The composition of manufactured products (grape juice and nuts) is a complete set of essential vitamins. The size is small, but to get enough, just gnaw a couple of sticks.

What Churchkhela is made of

At home, preparing churchkhela is not difficult. On a thread nuts are stringed one by one. They are completely immersed in a pan with a thickened boiled juice that covers each nut. The thread goes and in limbo is dried in the sun. After two hours, the procedure is repeated and done so many times so that a layer of 2 cm forms on top of the nuts. After that, the sweet is dried in the sun for 2 weeks and stored in boxes for 2-3 months. At the end of this period, churchkhela gains a great taste and beautiful appearance. They usually store it for up to a year, because it can be prepared again with a new grape harvest.

The product has high nutritional properties, as It contains a lot of fructose and glucose (30-50%). It also contains organic acids, proteins, vegetable fats and all major vitamins. Churchkhela has a huge calorie content (410 kcal per 100 grams), so it perfectly satisfies hunger.

This sweet product is not only popular, but also beneficial for the body. This is due to the composition: the nuts contain other potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium. These minerals are 2-3 times more than in fruits. Also a lot of protein in them (15-25%).

Churkhchela cooked on grape juice contains many sugars: glucose and fructose. In addition, grape juice in itself is very useful, it is both a medicinal and a diabetic product. It contains up to 1% organic acids, more than 2 dozen minerals and many vitamins. And it contains a lot of pectin, which lowers blood cholesterol. It is recommended for diseases like gout, ischemia, diseases of the lungs, stomach or liver. The drink contains antioxidants - a prophylactic for heart pain, blood vessels and cancer. Studies have confirmed that the composition of the juice is identical to mineral water, so it tones, heals and refreshes.

The third useful component of sweets is wheat. It stores 50-70% of starch, carbohydrates, protein, essential amino acids, fiber and vegetable fats.

In the aggregate of all components, churchkhela is saturated with many important trace elements, vitamins and nutrients that improve well-being and bring a boost of vigor.

Recipe from Pocashevarim
CHURCHKHELA Home-made from grapes and a mixture of nuts

My conclusions about Churchchel

After reading everything, I realized one thing: Churchkhela is not only a sweet Caucasian delicacy, but also a whole storehouse of vitamins and minerals that are useful for both children and adults. Churchkhela is a really environmentally friendly and natural product that requires special knowledge and skills in cooking, because this dish is prepared in the same way as it was prepared hundreds of years ago. Only the only thing that remained unclear to me was why the merchant offered to buy Churchkhela only for my child, and I? After all, nuts are very useful for male power. Tomorrow I will buy one twig, for testing, but not for the child, but for myself. First you need to try yourself what you are going to give the child later.

  Real advice! Be the first to know!

  ჩურჩა - dried seedless berries) - an ancient Georgian national delicacy. Distributed under other names in Azerbaijan, Armenia ("chinchlach"), Turkey and Cyprus. In Turkey, it is known as a tour. Pestil Cevizli Sucuk: literally sujuk with walnuts. Prepared from stringed nuts in a thickened flour grape juice.

It has high nutritional properties due to the high content of glucose and fructose (from 30 to 52%), vegetable fats, proteins, organic acids (1.1-2%), nitrogenous and phenolic substances, vitamins.

In September 2011, the Georgian authorities filed a patent for churchkhela and several other dishes of national cuisine

Write a review on Churchkhela

Notes

Churchkhela passage

Saying this, he did not keep his smiling eyes from his face, from his neck, from Natasha’s bare hands. Natasha certainly knew that he admired her. She was pleased, but for some reason she became cramped and hard from his presence. When she did not look at him, she felt that he was looking at her shoulders, and she involuntarily intercepted his gaze so that he looked better at her eyes. But, looking into his eyes, she felt with fear that between him and her there was no that barrier of shyness that she always felt between herself and other men. She herself, not knowing how, in five minutes felt terribly close to this man. When she turned away, she was afraid that he would not take her bare hand from behind, kiss her on the neck. They talked about the simplest things and she felt that they were close, like she had never been with a man. Natasha looked back at Helen and at her father, as if asking them what it meant; but Helene was busy talking with some general and did not answer her gaze, and her father’s gaze didn’t tell her anything, except that he always said: "fun, well, I'm glad."
  In one of the moments of awkward silence, during which Anatole looked calmly and stubbornly at her with her bulging eyes, Natasha asked him to break this silence as he liked Moscow. Natasha asked and blushed. It constantly seemed to her that she was doing something indecent, talking with him. Anatole smiled, as if encouraging her.
  “At first I didn't like much, because what makes the city pleasant is ce sont les jolies femmes, [pretty women,] isn’t it?” Well, now I really like it, ”he said, looking significantly at her. “Will you go to the carousel, Countess?” Go, ”he said, and, reaching out to her bouquet and lowering his voice, said:“ Vous serez la plus jolie. ” Venez, chere comtesse, et comme gage donnez moi cette fleur. [You will be the prettiest. Go, dear Countess, and give me this flower as a guarantee.]
  Natasha did not understand what he said, just like himself, but she felt that in obscure words he had indecent intent. She did not know what to say and turned away, as if she had not heard what he had said. But just as she turned away, she thought that he was so close behind her here.
"What is he now? Is he embarrassed? Angry? Should I fix this? ”She asked herself. She could not resist not to look back. She looked him straight in the eye, and his intimacy and confidence, and the good-natured tenderness of a smile defeated her. She smiled just like him, looking directly into his eyes. And again she was horrified to feel that there was no barrier between him and her.
  The curtain rose again. Anatole came out of the box, calm and cheerful. Natasha returned to her father's box, completely subordinate to the world in which she was. Everything that happened before her seemed to her quite natural; but for that reason all her previous thoughts about the bridegroom, about Princess Mary, about village life never came to her mind, as if all that had been a long time ago.

Each country has its own national dishes. Churchkhela - what is it? Many people ask this question. Only in Georgia can you try this outlandish sweetness. Everyone who was in this unusual country could see strange-colored sausages in the bazaar. They are translucent, sparkling and eye-catching.

What is the use of this treat? Can I cook it myself?

What is unique?

What is churchkhela, Wikipedia claims - it is a national Georgian delicacy made from nuts and grape juice. The dish is also popular among the peoples of the Caucasus. The composition of churchkhela is simple - flour, grape juice and nuts. What is the use of eating such a delicacy?

• satisfies hunger well;
• nutritious;
• easy to digest;
• stored for a long time;
• composed of many useful substances;
• high calorie content;

All this already in ancient times made churchkhela in demand. Such sausages were popular with warriors. They were light, well satisfied hunger and could be stored for a long time. Now it can be found in any Georgian bazaar. It arrives in stores in other countries.

What happens churchkhela? Is only Georgian this dish?

This delicacy can be found in different versions in any eastern country: Armenia, Greece, etc. The modern spread of dessert has led to the appearance of various modifications of the original composition. Churchkhela is not only a sweetness based on grape juice. Today, juice can be pomegranate, and apple, and any other. The color of the final product depends on the raw materials used:

• Bright red color is obtained by adding pomegranate juice.
• Amber color - when using apple juice.
• Orange color - when adding apricot juice.
• Light chocolate color is obtained by adding grape juice.

Today, churchkhela is increasingly being cooked with various unusual additives. As nuts add almonds, cashews, peanuts, you can find supplements of dried fruits and candied fruits. In addition to the fact that there is a natural churchkhela benefit and the harm of which is obvious, there is a modification with the addition of artificial dyes. The latter negatively affects the quality of the product.

Recipes

Many are sure that cooking churchkhela is difficult and dreary. In fact, such a healthy dessert is easy to make on your own, you just need to follow the technology. What can you make oriental sweetness from? From a minimum of ingredients: sugar, grape juice, walnuts and flour. How long does it take to cook? About an hour to cook and a few days to dry the finished product.

First you need to prepare the nuts. Peel them and then fry them over low heat in a dry skillet. This is necessary to cleanse the skins. If you skip this step, the skins will not spoil the taste of the dish, but will complicate the process of eating. You can chop the nuts finely or simply halve them. Pieces need to be strung on a thread. Enough length of 30 cm, after the thread with nuts tied in a loop. A match is tied to the end.

In a metal bowl, you need to boil grape juice. You need to do it for two hours over low heat. Due to this process, the juice will begin to thicken. It is important to constantly remove foam from the surface. Sugar is poured in portions, carefully mixing the mixture and controlling its dissolution.

The resulting mixture was cooled to room temperature. After adding flour in portions, interfering and preventing the formation of lumps. This mixture is called tatar. She put again on a slow fire and heated. It should be halved in volume and thicken. A thread with nuts is lowered into the Tatars. Gets, dries out a little and falls again. So you need to do two to three times. Then the bunch needs to be hung in the sun or in any other dry room. Willingness was easily determined: as soon as churchkhela stopped sticking to her hands, she could be eaten.

From the Tatars you can prepare an easy version of churchkhela - pour finely chopped nuts into the jelly and so on. The taste of the final product directly depends on the grape variety used. The best churchkhela will come out of high-quality raw materials, making it easy. Instead of grape juice, you can use any other. Chalk or marble flour in a small amount will help reduce the acidity level of the dessert.

As a variety, you can use a lot of fillers: nuts of all kinds, dried fruits or candied fruits. The cooking technology is the same as with the classic recipe: juice is boiled with sugar and flour, cools. The filler is strung on a thread and immersed in the mixture. The bundle should eventually be covered with a thick layer of juice (at least 2 cm!).

Churchkhela is a good sweet for those who cannot use natural sugar. Because of the combination of juice and nuts, this product cannot be called dietary. Therefore, you need to eat it in moderation, without abusing it, otherwise the extra pounds will not keep you waiting.

Oriental cuisine is known for its delicious and original dishes. But churchkhela is at the head of the Caucasian sweets. This traditional oriental delicacy has been known since time immemorial. During archaeological excavations, vessels of a special form with inscriptions were discovered that indicate that churchkhela was transported in these vessels. However, despite such a long history of existence, the tradition of making this delicacy has survived to the present day. Churchkhela is based on nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds) and juice, most often grape, although you can use pomegranate, apple and others - it will be delicious anyway. The manufacturing techniques of churchkhela in different areas are significantly different, hence the diversity of taste.

How to cook churchkhela at home

Churchkhela at home, cooked according to old recipes - a wonderful treat. Walnut slices are strung on a thread, after which it is all dipped in a bowl with thickened boiled grape juice, which should cover each nut. Then the thread is removed and dried in the sun. After a few hours, the procedure is repeated until a layer of a couple of centimeters forms on top of the nuts, after which the thread with the nuts is dried in the sun for two weeks. Churchkhela is then put in boxes for two to three months, after which the delicacy acquires a wonderful taste and appearance - nuts covered with sweet, dried grape juice.

Useful properties and caloric value of churchkhela

As you know, churchkhela is not only tasty, but also healthy. In ancient times, soldiers took it with them on a camping trip - this product is very nutritious and unpretentious in storage.

• Nuts contain 2-3 times more potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron than in fruits, and the protein content is 16-25%.
• Grapes ranks first in the content of easily assimilated glucose and fructose (12-18%). In addition, 100 gr. it contains 0.8-1% of organic acids and more than 20 microelements, 250 mg of potassium, 45 mg of calcium, 22 mg of phosphorus, 17 mg of magnesium, iron, cobalt and other minerals, as well as vitamins necessary for normal functioning of the body. Grape juice is considered one of the most valuable medicinal, dietary and food products. Pectin substances contained in grapes in large quantities are able to lower cholesterol. Therefore, it is useful for diseases of the lungs, stomach, liver, gout, coronary heart disease, etc. Thanks to its antioxidant properties, grapes are used to prevent cardiovascular and oncological diseases. Studies have shown that the composition of grapes is similar to mineral water. Therefore, its juice, refreshing and toning, has a therapeutic effect.
• Wheat used to make churchkhela contains 50-70% starch and carbohydrates, essential amino acids and protein, vegetable fats and fiber. In addition, it contains the most important trace elements and vitamins.

A lot of useful substances contained in the treat, not only improves well-being, but also brings a huge charge of vivacity. Churchkhela calorie content is 410 kcal per 100 g. product. However, this dish, having many advantages, has a number of contraindications.

Churchkhela contraindications

This high-calorie product is not recommended for obese people. Churchkhela should not be used for patients with diabetes. Liver cirrhosis, urination disorders, the second half of pregnancy, advanced forms of tuberculosis, even allergic reactions to nuts and grapes can serve as contraindications. In these cases, consult a doctor.

But first of all, churchkhela is a delicacy that, when used in reasonable quantities, can deliver a lot of positive emotions. A kind of charge of vivacity, which is so necessary for residents of both a large metropolis and a small town, where stress lies in wait at every step of the person. Delicious, compact and at the same time nutritious - it was not for nothing that churchkhela was taken on a campaign by warriors in ancient times, when the preservation of strength and health was most important.

Those who visit the south of our country for the first time in their life, especially with great bewilderment, look at small multi-colored sausages sold at bazaars and beaches. They are especially surprised by their unusual name - churchkhela. What is it and how it is being prepared, we will try to find out now.

This is a national delicacy of oriental cuisine. Despite the fact that it is widespread both in Armenia, and in Georgia, and in Azerbaijan, as well as in Greece, Georgians consider churchkhela to be originally their "invention", and even applied for a patent for it. Now, along with khachapuri, chacha and suluguni, churchkhela is the Georgian brand.

Low nut, covered with dried boiled fruit juice. According to legends, this delicacy appeared in antiquity, when warriors, going on hikes, took tasty and nutritious sausages with them, which did not require any hassle in preparation and perfectly restore strength. Since it was often necessary to fight, churchkhela was procured for the future, not being afraid that it would deteriorate. It will definitely last a year, and from the next harvest you can make new tasty sausages with nuts called churchkhela. What is it - you already have an idea. Now let's talk about how it is cooked.

How to cook churchkhela at home

To prepare this product, you will need to stock up on nuts, grape juice, sugar, flour and a harsh cotton thread with a needle. You can take any nuts, although walnuts are traditionally used and are strung on a thread whole, and the walnut kernels are divided into two halves. The optimal length of the nutty low is about 30 cm. This is just enough to ensure that a thick decoction of juice, called Tatara, can cover it with a dense layer. And it is best to choose the length of the thread depending on the depth of the pan in which the syrup will be cooked. The dependence here is this - it should be low completely immersed in the Tatars without bends and kinks.

After all the nuts are tightly strung, you can do cooking Tatars. Three liters of freshly squeezed grape juice is poured into a saucepan (it is advisable not to use an enameled one), a glass of sugar is added to it, all this is put on a small fire. You need to boil the juice with constant stirring until its volume is reduced by half. Do not forget that the foam formed during the cooking process must be removed. What turned out in the end, the Georgians call Badagi.

Pour about a couple of glasses of badagi into a wide bowl and cool the contents. Bred in a cooled syrup two glasses of flour, carefully breaking the lumps formed. To ensure uniformity of mass, it can be wiped through a sieve at the end. We connect both parts of the juice and again send to the fire. Do not leave the stove. You must constantly stir the mass, otherwise it will burn. After the contents of the pan thicken and acquire a luster, you can turn off the fire and consider the process of cooking the Tatars finished.

Letting it cool slightly, take a nutty low and dip it whole in a hot mass. After waiting about 20 seconds, we take out the thread, let it drain to the last drops, and send it to dry. After two hours, repeat the entire sequence of actions. Ideally, the Tatars should reach one and a half centimeters.

Since you will have to make churchkhela in this way for a long time, you can slightly reduce the total time for preparing goodies by tying several threads with nuts to the rail at once and dip them into the tartar at the same time. After you consider that the layer thickness satisfies you, send the semi-finished churchkhela for a couple of weeks in the sun to dry. Readiness can be judged by touch - if it does not stick to your hands, then drying can be considered finished. Now you need to wrap the sausages in a cloth and leave to ripen. After a month, you can treat your admired loved ones with a treat called Churchkhela.

What is it, you now know and, as a true culinary specialist, you can engage in experimentation by changing varieties of nuts and fruit juices. And you can do without a thread, just by mixing the finished Tatara with nuts. This will, of course, not churchkhela in the classical sense, but no less tasty treat.