Kristina surprised us today with home-made Churchkela, kindly prepared by her mum who is visiting this week. Churchkela are Georgian candies in the shape of sausages and made from grape juice and walnuts.
The candies are made by dipping a string of nuts into grape must thickened with flour, then hanged to dry for 2 or 3 days (according to Kristina’s mum, you know when they’re dry by looking at them). According to Wikipedia, Georgian warriors apparently used to take Churchkela with them as it is very nutritious, like an old-school energy bar! This delicious treat is also popular in Russia, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus (where it is known as soutzoukos and made with almonds instead of nuts).
We loved it because it is not too sweet, but if you have a sweet tooth you can add sugar to the must to make yours sweeter 🙂
Sausage shaped “Churchkhela”.
London Food Stories 