churchkhela

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Churchkhela

| image = Kakheti, Georgia — Churchkhela.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Kakhetian churchela

| alternate_name = Churchela

| country = Georgia

| region =

| creator =

| course =

| type = Confectionery

| served =

| main_ingredient = Grape must, nuts, flour

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Churchkhela ({{lang-ka|ჩურჩხელა}}, {{IPA|ka|tʃʰuɾtʃʰχela}}) is a traditional Georgian{{cite book|last1=Goldstein|first1=Darra|title=The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia|date=1999|publisher=University of California Press|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3PM_FnWgPBAC&dq=Churchkhela+georgian&pg=PA210 210]}}{{cite web|date=2002|language=ru|publisher=Culinary Dictionary of V.V. Pokhlebkin|quote=Грузинское национальное лакомство.|script-title=ru:Чурчхела|url=http://www.langet.ru/html/4/4ur4hela.html|website=langet.ru}}{{cite book|last1=Roufs|first1=Timothy G.|last2=Roufs|first2=Kathleen Smyth|title=Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture|date=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=M_eCBAAAQBAJ&dq=Churchkhela+georgian&pg=PA140 140]}} candle-shaped candy.

The main ingredients of {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}} are grape must, nuts, and flour. Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and sometimes chocolate and raisins are threaded onto a string, dipped in thickened grape must, mulberry juice, or fruit juices and dried in the shape of a sausage.{{Cite web|url=http://www.meals.ru/cb.php/vr/3258/|title=Кавказская кухня|language=ru|website=meals.ru|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913221014/http://www.meals.ru/cb.php/vr/3258/ |archive-date=13 September 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://dish.1001chudo.ru/russia_990.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919091705/http://dish.1001chudo.ru/russia_990.html|url-status=dead|title=На Кавказ за чурчхелой|archivedate=September 19, 2018}}[http://www.geoheart.info/news/2009-03-06-26 Churchkhela]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In eastern Georgia, {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}} production begins with a condensed juice called {{Lang|ka-latn|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, and Achara), and this condensed grape juice is called {{Lang|ka-latn|pelamushi}}.{{cite web|title=Churchkhela: Ark of taste|url=https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/churchkhela-2/|publisher=Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity|access-date=1 August 2022}} In Abkhazia, a region in the North Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, it is known as {{Lang|ab|Аджинджук}} ({{Lang|ab-latn|adzhindzhukhua}} or {{Lang|ab-latn|ajinjuk}}) in the local Abkhaz language and is touted as the best souvenir for gifting.{{cite book|last=Гарбузова|first=Александра|title=Абхазия. Путеводитель|year=2021|publisher=Бомьора|isbn=9785040198443|page=116}}

Georgian warriors carried {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}} with them because they contain many calories.{{cite book|last=Goldstein|first=Darra|author-link=Darra Goldstein|title=The Georgian Feast|year=2013|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520275911|page=192}}

The traditional technology of {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}} in the Kakheti region was inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia list in 2015.{{cite web|title=არამატერიალური კულტურული მემკვიდრეობა|url=https://heritagesites.ge/uploads/files/599d49e41f7c0.pdf|publisher=National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia|access-date=25 October 2017|trans-title=Intangible Cultural Heritage|language=ka}}{{cite web|title=UNESCO Culture for development indicators for Georgia (Analytical and Technical Report)|url=https://www.culturepartnership.eu/upload/editor/2017/Research/170926%20CDIS%20Georgia%20Analytical%20and%20Technical%20Report.pdf|publisher=EU-Eastern Partnership Culture & Creativity Programme|access-date=25 October 2017|pages=82–88|date=October 2017}}

Outside Georgia

{{Lang|ka-latn|Churchkhela}} (ჩურჩხელა in Georgian) is now gaining popularity in other parts of the world, notably Canada and the USA. Georgian food has been seeing an upward trend over the last few years due to large numbers of Russians immigrating to Canada and the United States{{Cite web |last=Flores |first=Rosa |date=2023-02-20 |title='I realized that my country was doing something wrong': Nearly 22,000 Russians have tried to enter the US since Putin's war draft |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/americas/russian-migrants-mexico-united-states-intl-latam/index.html |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=CNN |language=en}} with several companies starting up and taking off, like Chella, who make {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}} in Vancouver, British Columbia, and La Fabrique St-George, who make Georgian wine in traditional qvevris.

The Cypriot variety is made by dipping strings of almonds into jelly, called {{Lang|el-latn|shoushoukos}} ({{Lang|el|σιουσιούκκος}}).shoushoukos is the long one with almond nuts in it, and palouzes is the one made without nuts usually poured in a bowl/container

{{Lang|ka-latn|Churchkhela}} and its varieties are popular in several countries besides Georgia, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Cyprus,{{cite web|title=Soutzoukos|url=http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Cyprus/Cuisine/en/Soutzoukos.html|website=hellenicaworld.com|publisher=Hellenica World|quote=Soutzoukos (Greek: σουτζούκος) is a popular traditional sweet of Cyprus.}} Greece, Russia,{{cite web|title=Как сделать чурчхелу в домашних условиях [How to make churchkhela at home]|url=https://lady.mail.ru/advice/177-kak-sdelat-churchhelu-v-domashnih-uslovijah/|publisher=mail.ru|language=ru|date=10 October 2013|access-date=23 November 2015|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402131014/https://lady.mail.ru/advice/177-kak-sdelat-churchhelu-v-domashnih-uslovijah/|url-status=dead}} Ukraine and Bulgaria.{{Cite web|title=Рецепт - Чурчхела|language=ru|url=https://www.procook.ru/view.php?th=1962|website=ProCook.ru|access-date=26 May 2023}}{{Cite web | last = Zeldes | first = Leah A. | author-link = Leah A. Zeldes | title = Eat this! Rojik, something sweet from Armenia | work = Dining Chicago | publisher = Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. | date = 2011-03-02 | url = http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2011/03/02/eat-this-rojik-something-sweet-from-armenia/ | access-date = 2011-06-30 | archive-date = 2019-05-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190504155132/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2011/03/02/eat-this-rojik-something-sweet-from-armenia/ | url-status = dead }} In Persian, it is known as {{Lang|fa|باسلوق شیره انگور|rtl=yes}}. In Aleppo, Syria, it is known as {{Lang|apc-latn|jok malban}} {{Lang|apc|جق ملبن|rtl=yes}}. In Azerbaijani, 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 {{Lang|hy-latn|sujukh}}" ({{Lang|hy|քաղցր սուջուխ}}, {{Lang|hy-latn|kaghtsr sujukh}}) in Armenian{{cite news|title=Վրաստան այցելելու պատճառները՝ Buzzfeed-ի ֆոտաշարքում|url=http://www.tert.am/am/news/2014/11/05/georgia-country/1237851|agency=Tert.am|date=5 November 2014|language=hy|quote=չուրչխելա (քաղցր սուջուխ)|access-date=26 December 2014|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105112740/https://www.tert.am/am/news/2014/11/05/georgia-country/1237851|url-status=dead}} ({{Lang|hyw|շարոց}}, {{Lang|hyw-latn|sharots}} in Western Armenian), and {{Lang|tr|cevizli sucuk}} ('walnut {{Lang|tr|sujuk}}') in Turkish.{{cite news|title=Going nuts in Pangaltı, Şişli|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/going-nuts-in-pangalti-sisli.aspx?pageID=438&n=going-nuts-in-pangalti-sisli-2010-01-28|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=29 January 2010|quote=...the cevizli sucuk, a traditional, sausage-shaped candy made of walnuts sewn onto a string and dipped into thickened mulberry juice.}} It is known in Cypriot Greek as {{Lang|el-latn|shoushoukos}} ({{Lang|el|σιουσιούκκος}}){{cite web|title=Shoushoukos|url=https://www.cyprusalive.com/en/palouzes-shoushoukos|website=cyprusalive.com|publisher=Cyprus Alive|quote=Palouzes and shushukos are exclusively known as traditional Cypriot delicacies.}}{{cite book|title=Cyprus|date=1999|publisher=Hunter Publishing|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xnQDGhk-HckC&dq=Soutzoukos+is+a+solidified+grape+juice+sweet&pg=PA231 231]|quote=Soutzoukos is a solidified grape juice sweet made with almonds and formed into sausage-like rolls.}}{{cite web|script-title=el:Σουτζιούκκος|url=http://foodmuseum.cs.ucy.ac.cy/web/guest/trofima/civitem/2379|website=foodmuseum.cs.ucy.ac.cy|publisher=Cyprus Food Virtual Museum|access-date=30 November 2015|language=el}} and as {{Lang|el-latn|soutzouki}} ({{Lang|el|σουτζούκι}}),{{cite web|title=Authentic Foods Soujoukos & Palouzes|url=http://www.cyprusfoodndrinks.com/cgibin/hweb?-A=1121&-V=authentics|website=cyprusfoodndrinks.com|publisher=Cyprus Food and Drinks|quote=Soujoukos (grape must roll): A similar name, soutzouki, is also used in Greece to denote the same product.}} {{Lang|el|τζουτζούκι}} ({{Lang|el-latn|tzoutzoúki}} or {{Lang|el-latn|jutsuki}}){{cite web|title=Εποχή για μάζεμα καρυδιών στην Αρκαδία... ώρα για μουσταλευριά και τζουτζούκι! (Season for picking walnuts in Arcadia... time for mustalevria and jutsuki!)|url=https://www.kalimera-arkadia.gr/blog/item/14529-epoxi-gia-mazema-karydion-stin-arkadia-ora-gia-moustalevria-kai-tzoutzoyki.html|website=www.kalimera-arkadia.gr|date=16 October 2013 |publisher=Kalimera Arcadia|quote=τζουτζούκι! Παραδοσιακό γλύκισμα από μουσταλευριά και καρύδι γιατί εκτός από εποχή του καρυδιού είναι και η εποχή του κρασιού! (jutsuki! Traditional mustel and walnut confection because in addition to walnut season, it is also wine season!)}} and {{Lang|el|tσούτσελα}} ({{Lang|el-latn|tsoútsela}}) in Greece. Several related sweets are made in Greece during the autumn grape harvest by thickening grape must, to include the grape molasses {{Lang|el|πετιμέζι}} pekmez ({{Lang|el-latn|petimezi}}), the grape must pudding called {{Lang|el|μουσταλευριά}} ({{Lang|el-latn|moustalevria}}) and grape must cookies called {{Lang|el|μουστοκούλουρα}} ({{Lang|el-latn|moustokouloura}}).

Another variant of {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}}, traditionally called kelawo, is prepared in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.{{Cite web|title=Walnut Kelawo (Walnuts dipped in Honey & Mulberry Juice)|url=https://gshunzadryfruits.com/shop/walnut-kelawo-walnuts-dipped-in-honey-mulberry-juice/|website=GS Hunza Dry Fruits|date=6 February 2020 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-05}} It was locally marketed as Hunza chocolate, but as kelawo does not contain any cocoa, it is now renamed Hunza candy.{{Cite web|date=|title=Hunza Candy|url=https://gshunzadryfruits.com/product-category/hunza-chocolate-candy/|website=GS Hunza Dry Fruits|language=en-US|access-date=}}{{Better source needed|reason=Online store website|date=January 2024}} In Bulgaria, it's called "bal sudzhuk" ( балсуджук ), deriving from the Turkish "sucuk", and is traditionally made with grape must and walnuts, most popular in the mountainous regions such as near the Balkan mountains.

Preparation

{{Lang|ka-latn|Churchkhela}} is a homemade Georgian product.{{Cn|date=January 2024}} Georgians usually make {{Lang|ka-latn|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 {{Lang|ka-latn|tatara}} or {{Lang|ka-latn|phelamushi}} (grape juice thickened with flour), and dried in the sun.{{cite web|last=Progress Tour|title=Churchkhela|url=http://www.progresstour.com/wiki/churchkhela.html|access-date=2012-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234307/http://www.progresstour.com/wiki/churchkhela.html|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}} No sugar is added to make real {{Lang|ka-latn|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 {{Lang|ka-latn|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 {{Lang|ka-latn|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 {{Lang|ka-latn|badagi}}, is now ready for use in the next step in the process of making {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}}, 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 {{Convert|2-3|m|ft|sp=us|adj=mid}}-long threads. The strings are dipped in the {{Lang|ka-latn|badagi}} mixture until completely covered. This process is repeated several times (usually three times) until the {{Lang|ka-latn|churchkhela}} has the desired thickness. {{Lang|ka-latn|Churchkhela}} strings are then left to dry for five to six days. They are then ready for consumption or storage, though some like to eat it fresh.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

Consumption

{{Lang|ka-latn|Churchkhela}} is a between-meal snack and is also served as a dessert during New Year and Christmas celebrations.

Traditionally, in times of war women would send their men {{Lang|ka-latn|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.{{clarify|date=October 2020}}