Cuisine & Wine

Georgians themselves divide their country into Eastern Georgia and Western Georgia. The houses, the way of life, customs, and culinary traditions are quite different in these two regions. Thus a most fertile and original Georgian cuisine has kept its national peculiarity with some distinct differences in the art of cooking between Eastern and Western parts. The common feature is the utilization of wine and spices. These two ingredients are part and parcel of any meal. As for the rest of the ingredients they differ considerably. For example in Western Georgia, bread and various round flat cakes made from maize flour ("mchadi") are widespread. In Eastern Georgia people prefer bread made of wheat flour. In some parts of Western Georgia such as Megrelia and Abkhazia, a sort of millet ("chumiza") bread is used. The millet is put into a pan and cooked as gruel ("gomi") after which it is served with soups, meat, and vegetable dishes. In the eastern region of the country, people eat mouton and a lot of fat along with traditional beef while in the west of Georgia less meat and poultry is preferred.

Georgian cuisine can be distinguished by its simplicity of cooking technology. The religious or cultural restrictions are not imposed on choosing a type of meat since for a long time the nation has been developing at the intersection of many cultures and traditions. In general Georgian cuisine does not favor one kind of meat over another. Georgian meat courses can be cooked from pork ("muzhuzhi"), mouton ("chanakhi"), beef ("kharcho"), and poultry ("chakhokhbili"). Yet this tolerance of all types of meat yields to beef and poultry. For example "kharcho" soup is made only from beef, rice, and walnuts as the basis of its special sour broth ("tklapi") prepared from plum, and it looks like a thick cream soup. A combination of soft beef broth, neutral rice with a natural sour "tklapi" taste, herbal spices, and the peculiar aroma of nuts provides for the specific flavor and smell of "kharcho" soup. As for "khash", it is made from pig legs. People drink this broth with garlic and black pepper in the morning before daybreak. As Georgians say "khash" is an especially good "medicine against a hangover". In general Georgian soups are very thick because of added egg yolks and they are cooked without vegetables. Various sorts of meat are also widely used for cooking main courses. Meat is often grilled on a spit as "mtsvadi" (equivalent of Russian shashlyk or barbeque). A washed piece of meat is put length-wise on a spit and then grilled over a charcoal, continuously kept turning. Only 10 minutes before it is ready Georgians sprinkle it with salt, pepper and spices.

Poultry is usually cooked in its plumage. Georgians take a cleaned bird, salt it inside and coat it with soft clay. In that way the bird is cooked in its own juices. After 40 minutes they break down the clay and remove it together with the plumage.

In Georgia, fish takes a considerably inferior place in comparison with meat. The majority of fish courses are cooked from the barbell, carp, and trout species inhabiting only some parts of the country. Mainly Georgian’s consume boiled or stewed fish.

Vegetable dishes have a significant place in Georgian cuisine. The majority of these dishes are made from haricot beans, eggplants, cabbage, beetroot, and tomatoes. In addition, Georgians eat nettle, mallow, and young leafy tops of root vegetables such as cauliflower. Vegetables can be eaten raw, boiled, roasted, fried, stewed, salted, and marinated.

Another peculiarity of Georgian table is its various, and plentiful consumption of cheeses. Cheese is a part and a parcel of Georgian cuisine. The content of cheeses is very specific here. In general it is salt cheese prepared in a jug or in a water-skin. We must mention the differences of tastes in Western and Eastern Georgia. The West specializes in producing plain, tasteless cheeses with a sour milk flavor ("sulguni" and "imeretinskiy"). Sulguni is a layered sort of cheese in the shape of a round cake, "imeretinskiy" cheese is similar to the latter but without layers. Eastern Georgia specializes in producing salty and spicy cheeses. In Georgia the way cheese is consumed is also very peculiar. It is not used as an ingredient which is typical of European cuisine. It is generally used as the main ingredient for hot, main courses. In Georgian they prepare cheese by boiling, boiling in milk, charcoaling on a spit, frying, baking in pastry, soaking, mashing, and by flavoring with oil and spices. This tradition of cheese preparation is connected with the fact that Caucasian cheeses do not go through a complete process and very often represent only a half-finished product. The number of Georgian dishes which contain cheese as an ingredient exceeds several hundreds. But, perhaps, one of the most favorite and universally recognized dishes for all Georgians is "khachapuri", which is a type of a pie prepared with various kinds of cheeses.

Quite often Georgian national cuisine uses nuts such as filbert, almonds, hazel nuts, beechnuts, and most frequently walnuts. A walnut is an invariable component with different seasonings and sauces. Nuts are perfectly suited for meat dishes as well as for vegetable and fish dishes. They are added to soups, confectionary, salads, and main courses. On the whole it is impossible to imagine a Georgian table without nuts.

Spicy herbs play a significant role in Georgia. Spices are used all year round. They are served with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Depending on the season it can be parsley, dill, damsons, mint, basilica, savory, or many other greens growing in Georgia. Fetus, leaves, stems, bark, roots, and inflorescence can also be used as spices. All spices can be either freshly made or dried. Further, the aroma spices contain great amount of wholesome substances, for example, minerals, salt, iron, phosphorus, volatile oils, amino acids, fructose, and many others. Who knows, maybe herbs in particular, hold the secret of health and longevity for Georgians.

The appliance of sauces for enriching and diversifying the main course is one of the most essential and distinguished culinary traditions of Georgian cuisine. One and the same dish served under different sauces is distinguished from the alike by its appearance, flavor and aroma. Bright-colored sauces decorate and complete the dish. Georgian sauces fundamentally differ from the sauces used in other national cuisines by both their composition and cooking technology. In Georgia sour berry and fruit juices are used as a foundation for making sauces. The base is usually made of pomegranate, blackberry, and tomatoes. Sauces made with a foundation of ground nuts are also very popular. Then the base is flavored with a range of spices and herbs.

The tradition and culture of wine manufacturing is inseparably linked to the history of Georgia. Viticulture is one of the oldest and most respected branches of agriculture of Georgia. From generation to generation Georgians cultivate vineyards keep family recipes. That is why Georgia has preserved its great diversity of wines. Nowadays Georgian vineyards breed over 500 grape species. The culture of wine making, which entered family lives of Georgians many years ago, imprinted the culture of consuming strong drinks. Every lunch is accompanied with wine. During the working days Georgians usually drink 2 or 3 glasses, which is quite moderate. In Georgia nobody, including poor people, can resist the opportunity to have a glass of wine before dinner. Genuine Georgian wine contains a lot of wholesome elements, which is why it is allowed for children.

During the holidays and big family gatherings Georgians drink a lot of and good quality wine. However, it is important to mention not only the quantity of wine consumed, but the quality and the culture of drinking. Strict order reins at the Georgian table. A master of ceremonies (a toastmaster or Tamada) is chosen and nobody has a right to propose a toast without his permission. Normally a toastmaster proposes about 25 toasts (250 grams each) to every guest during the ceremony which lasts for about 5 hours. The record was 45 glasses and a 3-liter horn-shaped vessel consumed during one ceremony. The last glass of wine should be emptied because according to the tradition one "must not leave tears" to the owner of the house.

A special holiday, "Rtveli", devoted to vintage is celebrated in September. Everyone (even children) gathers grapes in special wicker baskets. Walls of houses are decorated with grape bunches. A sweet foamy "machari" is made out of the first grade grapes. This wine is not aged but drunk as soon as it is ready. A must, which is left after making "machari", and maize flour is used for cooking "pelamushi". Georgians also make "churchkhelas" of grape juice and nuts. In the basement of every country house there is an area for wine storage ("marani") containing several huge cone-shaped jugs ("kvevri") that are dug in the earth up to the neck.

Cognac manufacturing appeared in Georgia not long ago, in the second half of the 19th century. Despite its short history, Georgian cognacs have gained wide popularity. Georgian cognac is produced on the basis of cognac spirits (65-70% alcohol), in oak barrels where cognac gets its golden color, soft flavor, and aroma. Depending on its age and the grade of maturity cognacs are produced of 6 to 10 years old spirits or of 3 to 5 years old spirits.