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Making churchkhela at home. How to make churchkhela. For churchkhela you will need

Churchkhela is an ancient Georgian dish, which is made from nuts strung on a string and filled with thick natural juice. The benefits and harms of such products mainly depend on the set of ingredients used. In any case, with the correct implementation of the technical recommendations for the implementation of the process, the delicacy is enriched with the substances necessary for the body.

Another advantage of the dessert is its nutritional value, the product perfectly satisfies hunger, but does not overload the digestive tract. Properly prepared churchkhela can be stored for quite a long time without worrying about the destruction of beneficial ingredients and the disappearance of therapeutic properties.

The classic way to cook churchkhela

In the traditional version of cooking churchkhela, only walnuts and are used. The process itself is quite simple, although it takes a lot of time. It is worth noting that only churchkhela prepared from natural ingredients and dried in natural conditions acquires characteristic beneficial properties. Store-bought products may be tasty, but the likelihood of obtaining medicinal results from their use is minimal.

The cooking process looks like this:

Juice is extracted from it, it is used undiluted. In order for the liquid to reach the desired thick consistency, it is injected into it.
Take a regular strong thread. Walnuts are strung on it with a needle. Do not make the "necklace" too long, it may not support its own weight.

Tip: In the process of preparing products, you should use only raw, but well-dried. If the ingredients are fried, they will fall apart in the hands, they cannot be strung on a thread. Even a real churchkhela is not prepared from crushed ingredients, its taste is not at all what it should be.

Next, the workpiece is dipped several times into the thickened juice. It should cover the product with a dense, uniform layer. If the liquid is not very thick, then after a couple of hours the churchkhela can be covered with juice several more times. Such products are sweeter.
Semi-finished products are sent for drying in a dark and dry room. It should be 5 to 10 days.

The use of non-natural thickeners can significantly facilitate the process of harvesting churchkhela, but this is not recommended. Such experiments will not only reduce the usefulness of the product, they can harm the body.

Modern options for cooking churchkhela

Today, the number of recipes for preparing churchkhela, or, as it is called in some countries, "chuchkhela", has increased markedly. The following products are now often used as the main and auxiliary ingredients:

In addition to grape juice, apple, orange, plum, cherry, apricot and other drinks began to be actively used. A special taste and properties of the product are acquired if they are prepared with.
The base can also be almost any, the main thing is that the components can be strung on a thread. It could be peanuts.
Today, more and more often, dried fruits, such as dried berries, are added to the composition of products. Preparations doused with syrup are rolled in whole or crushed seeds.

Depending on the set of ingredients used, the properties of the product and its calorie content will change. This should be taken into account, especially if the churchkhela is intended for children, the elderly or overweight people.

The composition and useful properties of churchkhela

Churchkhela, prepared exclusively from natural ingredients, becomes a source of many useful substances for the body. Regardless of what ingredients are used in its production, the finished product will contain the following chemical compounds and elements:

glucose and fructose. They are excellent energy providers.
organic acids. Participants in metabolic processes, stimulants of chemical reactions.
Vegetable fats. They prevent the formation of blood clots, reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, and stimulate brain activity.
The main groups of vitamins. They prevent the development of deficient conditions, increase the functionality of organs and systems.
mineral elements. Maintain acid-base and water balance. Provide fabrics with building material. Essential for chemical reactions.

Thus, the regular use of churchkhela, even in small volumes, allows you to achieve the following results:

Increased activity due to energy production. The activity of the brain improves, the work of all organs and systems is stimulated.
The work of the heart and blood vessels improves. The risk of developing atherosclerosis and hypertension is reduced.
The body is rejuvenated. This has a positive effect not only on external data, but also on the general condition.

Of course, to obtain all the above results, you need to include only natural churchkhela in the diet. It should not contain thickeners, preservatives, sweeteners and other chemical additives.

Harm of churchkhela and contraindications

When including churchkhela in the diet, it is important to understand that its calorie content can reach 500-700 units per 100 g of product. Food ingredients are often the cause of allergic reactions. Here are a few more things to keep in mind:

The use of churchkhela against the background of obesity and lack of physical activity can cause weight gain.
Even completely natural products are prohibited in diabetes.
Tuberculosis and kidney disease are also contraindications.
During pregnancy and breastfeeding, it is better to refuse treats so as not to provoke an allergy.

Churchkhela can be an excellent natural medicine and an incentive to lift your spirits. You only need to eat it in small quantities and it is better at least after 1-2 days. More frequent use of the product will not bring much benefit to the body, but it can provoke unpleasant consequences.

Resting in the south, many heard peddlers on the beach or traders in the bazaar shouting loudly: “Churchkhela!” Someone tried this delicacy, but someone did not dare to taste Georgian sweets, not knowing what churchkhela is. Meanwhile, this is a very healthy dessert made from nuts and fruit juice, however, the high calorie content still makes you count the number of churchkhela sticks eaten.

General principles

If you have not seen how this dessert is prepared in the Caucasus, and do not know how and from what to make churchkhela at home, just follow a few simple rules.

First: the base of the delicacy is nuts. The classic version uses either walnuts or hazelnuts. However, cooking always gives room for imagination, so you can experiment, taking peanuts, hazelnuts, and other varieties of nuts as a basis, alternate them with each other and even “dilute” with dried fruits: dried apricots, prunes, apricots.

Second: the necessary ingredient is juice, originally grape. However, grapes do not grow everywhere, so you can cook churchkhela from any juice. The main thing is that it should be freshly squeezed and thick enough. If the juice is not very sweet, you can add sugar or honey, but remember that sugar is put in boiling juice, and honey is cooled down.

The third the required ingredient is flour. Traditionally, fine wheat flour is used, sifted and without impurities, but you can take oatmeal, corn, and rye - most importantly, it must be ground very, very finely.

The recipe is traditional, the easiest

The easiest way is the traditional Georgian churchkhela, the recipe for which includes a minimum of ingredients.

Ingredients:

juice from white table grapes - 3 l;
white wheat flour - 3 cups (a cup - about 150 g);
peeled halves - 1 kg.

Cooking

The most difficult thing in cooking churchkhela is to string the nuts on a string so that they do not crumble. This should be done with a needle, into which a strong thread made of natural fiber is threaded - linen or cotton. Of course, we use only undyed thread. When the nuts are strung on strings (20-25 for each), we leave a free tail on each string, long enough to hang the churchkhela to dry. We split the juice in half. We set half to boil on fire, in the second we carefully dissolve the flour, and so that lumps do not work out, stir with a whisk. As half of the juice boiled, slowly, stirring, pour in the second part - with flour. The mixture boils and thickens quickly, so in no case do we move away from the stove and do not stop stirring. Turn off the thickened mixture and cool. Now the most interesting thing is how to cook churchkhela so that it turns out to be dense and smooth. To do this, we dip the thread with nuts into our juice, raise it, wait for the rest to drain, and hang it for a couple of hours. Then we repeat bathing the nuts in the juice. Drying churchkhela lasts 3-4 days. The place should be cool, well ventilated, it should not be accessible to animals and insects. After a few days, we remove the treat and enjoy the viscous sweetness of the fruit concentrate and crunchy nuts. If you have cooked a lot of churchkhela, the question will arise how to store churchkhela at home. If you leave it in the fresh air, the sticks can stick together, so we wrap each with parchment or cling film and put it in the refrigerator.

Turn on fantasy

An unusual delicacy - churchkhela with hazelnuts - is prepared in the same way, but you can dream up a little and make such a dessert that guests will simply swallow their tongues.

It is not only tasty, but also a nutritious sweet, unmatched in nutrition among all delicacies. It contains a huge amount of glucose, fructose, proteins, organic acids and vitamins. Therefore, learning how churchkhela is made will be very interesting for all beginners and experienced chefs. Today, many varieties of this dish are known, which are prepared differently in each region of Georgia.

How to make churchkhela at home?

Even an inexperienced cook who used to buy sweets in a supermarket can easily understand how to make churchkhela at home.

Ingredients:

natural - 3 l;
wheat flour - 750 g;
cornmeal - 250 g;
peeled nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts) - 700 g.

Cooking

Toast all nuts in a dry frying pan for 3-4 minutes and cool slightly. Free the almonds and hazelnuts from the husk by lightly rubbing them with your palms. Chop the walnuts into fairly large pieces.

Take strong threads about 40-45 cm long and use a thick needle to string nuts on them (they should take about two thirds of the length). Be sure to make a large knot at one end, tie the blanks in pairs using the free ends, and hang them on any wide crossbar.

Not everyone knows what modern churchkhela is made of, but the main ingredient - grapes - remains unchanged. Cook jelly out of it. To do this, pour the juice into a saucepan, wait for it to boil, reduce the heat a little and boil for about 10 minutes.

Pour separately one liter of juice and leave it to cool, and boil the remaining liquid for about another 10 minutes. Pour wheat and corn flour into a bowl with cooled juice and mix thoroughly until the smallest lumps are completely removed.

With constant stirring, pour this mixture into the remaining juice, which continues to boil. Boil still for about 25 minutes. It should be turned off when the consistency of the mass resembles a thick porridge.

Place a tray under the crossbar with hanging blanks that need to be dipped in jelly and hung again on the crossbar. If you are wondering how churchkhela is made in Georgia, you should understand that this is one of the most important stages in the preparation of this delicacy. Therefore, try to ensure that the workpieces are well saturated with liquid, and when they dry out, repeat this simple procedure again. At the end, move the crossbar with the churchkhela to a room that can be well ventilated for a couple of weeks, then wrap it in parchment and store it in a place that is not exposed to sunlight.

How is churchkhela made in Abkhazia?

In principle, the recipe for the dish is in many ways reminiscent of the Georgian counterpart, but it has its own nuances: Abkhazians use only hazelnuts for cooking. Try making churchkhela both ways and compare which flavor you like best.

Ingredients:

- 500 g;
grape juice of natural origin - 1 l;
wheat flour - 150 g;
sugar - 50 g.

Cooking

We clean the hazelnuts from the husk and string them on strong threads about 25 cm long using a needle. Tie a knot at one end of the thread. We boil the grape juice for about a quarter of an hour over low heat, add sugar, remove from the stove and cool. Then again put the pan on the fire and, not forgetting to stir constantly, pour in the flour. Cook the mixture for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.

Churchkhela is an oriental sweet made from natural ingredients. Both children and adults love it, but due to its high nutritional value, many women refuse dessert for the sake of a slim figure. The delicacy of churchkhela has a different calorie content, this indicator varies. But the average value equates to 410 kcal for every 100 g of food. The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in a 100-gram serving is 5: 15: 63 g, respectively.

The benefits of churchkhela

Useful properties of churchkhela are explained by the natural composition. The classic version contains grape juice and nuts. For a change, grape juice is replaced with any other. For example, apple, melon and apricot juice will make the delicacy yellow, pomegranate and cherry - red. Grapes give a beautiful purple hue. Nuts are sometimes replaced with dried fruits.

What is useful churchkhela:

Ecological safety - no dyes, preservatives, artificial sweeteners.
The ability to increase efficiency - organic sugar is responsible for this.
Vitaminization of the body - regularly using a natural product, you can do without pharmacy multivitamin complexes.
Improving the functioning of the digestive and cardiovascular systems.
Rejuvenation - A nutritious treat makes for a great snack when you don't have time to eat your usual food.

Is churchkhela harmful? For obese people, diabetics and patients with tuberculosis and kidney dysfunction, nuts in grape juice are contraindicated. Allergy sufferers are advised to try the dish for the first time in a small piece, as it can provoke side effects. Pregnant and lactating women should not try dessert due to the possible development of allergies.

Classic churchkhela recipe

Cooking churchkhela at home is easy. But housewives need to be patient and wait a few weeks until the delicacy is completely usable.

What components will be needed:

How to make churchkhela according to the simplest recipe:

The nuts are broken in half.
A thick cotton thread 30 cm long is threaded through a needle and nuts are strung until 5 cm of free thread remains. The tip is fixed with a match.
The flour is stirred with juice (300 ml) so that no lumps remain.
The rest of the juice is brought to a boil over low heat, then the first composition is mixed in.
If the grapes are sour, the mixture is sweetened with a small amount of sugar.
The juice is boiled down to the consistency of thick glue.
The prepared base is cooled to 50 ° and “walnut beads” are immersed in it for a couple of minutes.
The workpiece is dried for 5 - 7 minutes and again dipped into the juice. Manipulation is done repeatedly until a layer of juice 1.5–2 cm thick forms on the nuts.
The delicacy is dried on a rope for 1 to 2 weeks. A baking sheet is placed on the floor so that the dripping juice does not stain the kitchen.

The readiness of churchkhela is judged by the hard outer layer and softness inside. Store the dessert in a linen towel at room temperature.

Churchkhela with cherry jam

If you don't have fruit juice, but stocks of cherry jam, you can use them for churchkhela. Pitted jam creates a homogeneous marmalade coating, under which the walnuts are hidden.

Ingredients:

Jam - 1 cup.
Nuts - 300 g.
Corn starch - 0.5 cups.

How to make churchkhela from jam:

Nuts are strung on threads so that they seem whole. To do this, they are docked with flat sides.
The jam is diluted with water 1: 1 and brought to a boil with continuous stirring.
Starch is stirred in cold water until a liquid creamy mass is formed.
The starch component is poured in a thin stream into the liquid jam, constantly stirring the entire composition of the future churchkhela.
When the mass is boiled down to a thick consistency, walnut garlands are alternately dipped into it and placed on a pendant where they should dry.

After 3 - 5 days, the made delicacy is removed and served at the table in the form of slices.

Recipe for 6 servings

Grape-nut churchkhela recipe for 6 servings will require the hostess to collect the following ingredients:

Juice - 3 liters.
Flour - 2.5 cups.
Hazelnut - 200 g.
Almonds - 300 g.
Walnut - half a kilo.

The production of dessert using this technology is practically no different from previous methods. But here, almonds and hazelnuts need to be held in a dry hot pan for about 5 minutes, and then rubbed with your palms. Walnuts can be left whole or crushed into large pieces.

All subsequent actions are performed according to classical technology - you already know how to cook churchkhela according to its rules. Dry the dessert for 2-3 months in a convenient place, or at least 5-10 days if your household is unbearable to enjoy the natural product.

The daughter recently said that she had never eaten anything tastier than Snickers. ((Well, how to understand this? ((Grapes are cheap now, our own nuts ... I decided to make Snickers for her, but only Georgian - a natural, tasty and nutritious delicacy. Threat. Georgian girls (well, boys), correct me if it's not quite authentic, but I tried...

Ingredients for Churchkhela:

Nutritional and energy value:

Churchkhela recipe:

Grapes for juice, I took the Isabella variety, it is very fragrant, sweet and the juice from it turns out to be very dark in color. The easiest way to get juice from grapes, of course, is through a juicer. But I don’t have such a miracle of technology, so I just punched the berries in a blender and strained, rubbing through a sieve. If it’s really tight with grapes (we have a season, I paid 100 rubles for three kilograms), take ready-made, packaged juice, but the taste, of course, will be completely different. From three kg of grape juice, I got almost 2 liters.

Prepare nuts. I have a mix of walnuts and hazelnuts. Break them into halves or quarters, but not smaller, otherwise you will not be able to string them on a thread. Leave the hazelnut whole. Using a fairly dense, strong thread and a needle, make these walnut beads.

Pour about a glass of juice, put the rest on the stove and bring to a boil. Boil five minutes. Add flour to a glass of juice and pour into boiling juice, stirring vigorously. I did not add sugar - the grapes were very sweet, but you try, you may have to sweeten. About flour. I met different ratios of flour-juice proportions. For myself, I settled on this option - I didn’t pour all the flour, cooked, stirred and looked at the density of the resulting mass. It should be quite thick and viscous. I dipped the end of the thread with nuts and watched if the mass was kept on the nuts, if it drained too quickly. Perhaps the amount of flour will have to be increased or, conversely, reduced. This viscous and fragrant mass must be boiled for another 5 minutes.

Well, now - the most pleasant. We dip the threads with strung nuts into the syrup, melting them with a spoon. We raise it above the pan, wait a little for the glass to have extra mass and hang it in a pre-prepared place (I hung it on hooks from paper clips on the ajar door of the oven. You can adapt an ordinary clothes hanger for this business). Be sure to place a baking sheet under the churchkhela or lay baking paper!

This procedure will have to be repeated several times, increasing the grape layer. When you dip the last thread, the first one will already drain slightly and harden, you can wait a couple of minutes and start the process over again: dipped, raised, a little glass, hung. I did three times. If the grape juice remains, pour the substandard from small pieces of nuts into it and place it in candy molds.