Khachapuri among 100 best-rated dishes on TasteAtlas
Georgian traditional dish Khachapuri is one of the best-rated dishes on TasteAtlas. The website discovers local ingredients, traditional dishes, and authentic restaurants throughout the world.
khachapuri is the most famous dish in Georgia. The pastry is traditionally topped with melted cheese, eggs and butter. There are different types of khachapuri but it is usually filled with Georgian Sulguni or Imeretian cheese. Three of the most common varieties include the Imeretian khachapuri, shaped into a circular form, Adjarian khachapuri, the open boat shaped version topped with butter and a raw egg on top and Megrelian Khachapuri shaped into a circular form and topped with melted cheese.
TasteAtlas also offers information about plenty of other traditional Georgian dishes from appetizers such as Jonjoli and Badrinaji to Georgian sweets Pelamushi or Churchkhela.
Source: Georgianjournal.ge
Georgia among top 10 countries on the World Cheese Map
Georgian cheese has been listed among top 10 cheeses on the world cheese map. There exist thousands of different sorts of cheese that stand out for their wide range of flavors and various textures. Each country has its own method of cheese making and Georgia is no exception. Apart from delicious, hearty and spicy dishes, Georgia can boast a number of different sorts of cheeses that come from country’s different regions. Here we present three most famous and widespread types of Georgian cheese.
Although Georgia is a small country, it produces more than 250 types of cheese. This dairy product is so popular that there is one famous quote in Georgian “If you don’t have kveli (cheese in Georgian) at home, then you are dead”. Georgian supra (feast table) is unimaginable without Kveli, be it soft and tender Imeruli cheese from Georgia’s Imereti region or more rough and slightly sharp flavored Guda cheese from mountain region of eastern Georgia. The latter is usually made from sheep’s or cow’s milk and is aged in sack made from cheep’s skin for weeks. This method of cheese making was invented by the shepherds in the mountains of Georgia.
Imeruli Cheese, Guda Cheese, Guda cheese and Shoti (Georgian bread) And here we come to the queen of Georgian cheeses, Sulguni that originated from Georgia’s Samegrelo region (an area in the western part of the country). This type of cheese is soft, has a sour, moderately salty flavor, a dimpled texture, and an elastic consistency. It is noteworthy that Sulguni is often compared to Italian Mozzarella, due to its texture and taste. Sulguni may be produced from normalized milk of cow, buffalo, or a mix of these milks. It is a “quick cheese” maturing in just one or two days. There exist two types of Sulguni cheese – an ordinary one and smoked Sulguni. According to the folk etymology, the name Sulguni comes from two Georgian words – suli (which means “soul”) and guli (which means “heart”). Georgians usually consume cheese with Mchadi (Georgian corn bread), Ghomi (corn meal) Shoti (Georgian bread baked in the clay oven) or bake Khachapuri (Cheese bread) from it. Among the very delicious cheeses in Georgia are: Sulguni Cheese and Smoked Sulguni Cheese.
Source: Georgianjournal.ge
Photo: Georgianjournal.ge
Georgian guda cheese wins first place at cheese festival in Italy
Traditional cheese made in Georgia’s historical region of Tusheti has become the winner of the International Cheese Festival in Italy.
A Tushuri ‘guda’ cheese, made by young Georgian farmer Kakha Abuladze, 22, came in first place at the Festival.
Tushuri guda is a cheese produced from sheep’s milk that ripens in a “guda” (the Georgian word for a bag made from the skin of a sheep, goat, or calf)..
Since 2011, Slow Food has awarded shepherds and craftsmen who reject shortcuts and continue to produce cheese and other food products while preserving naturalness, traditions, and flavors.
Shepherds and chefs who produce cheese and other organic products according to traditions were awarded as well.
The other winners of the four-day festival were farmers from the United States, Italy, and the Cape Verde Republic.
The international cheese festival in Italy is held once every two years and gathers hundreds of farmers from all over the world.
Cheese Festival
Every year Georgia invites gourmets from all over the world to the Cheese Festival. In 2015 it became international, as Armenia and Azerbaijan filled the list of participants, which means you can enjoy even more varieties of this loved-by-all food. Moreover, it was decided to hold the next festival in the region that wins the competition. Previously, a celebration of the senses had been hosted by the Rike Park in Tbilisi.
The name makes the purpose of the event obvious – to introduce visitors to the regional types of cheeses. Hard flavorful dambal-khacho prepared according to technology which is recognized and protected by UNESCO, spicy Guda cheese matured in a bag made of sheepskin, Tenili Kveli from Southern Georgia, tightly woven into a braid, cheese in honey, oils, flowers, spices, and even wine! Please, come hungry to Georgia festivals to feel the rich taste of all this awesomeness!
Peasants from different regions enjoy showing the ancient tools used for preparing cheeses and tell visitors about specific details of preparation of different sorts of cheeses.
If you appreciate the culture of cheese making and huge variety of cheeses to taste, welcome to Georgia!