Churchkhela

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Churchkhela" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. See our advice if the article is about you and read our scam warning in case someone asks for money to edit this article. (June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Kakhetian churchela
Alternative names	Churchela
Type	Confectionery
Place of origin	Georgia
Main ingredients	Grape must, nuts, flour
Media: Churchkhela

Churchkhela[a] is a traditional Georgian[1][2] candle-shaped brittle confection.

The main ingredients of churchkhela are grape must, nuts, and flour. Most commonly, walnuts or hazelnuts are threaded onto a string, dipped in thickened grape must, mulberry juice, or fruit juices and hung upside-down to dry in the shape of a candle. In eastern Georgia, churchkhela production begins with a condensed juice called 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 pelamushi.[3] In Abkhazia, a region in the North Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, it is known as Аджинджук (adzhindzhukhua or ajinjuk) in the local Abkhaz language and is touted as the best souvenir for gifting.[4]

Georgian warriors carried churchkhela with them because they contain many calories.[5] The traditional technology of churchkhela in the Kakheti region was inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia list in 2015.[6][7]

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[8] with several companies starting up and taking off, like Chella, who make churchkhela in Vancouver, British Columbia, and La Fabrique St-George, who make Georgian wine in traditional qvevris.

Georgians usually make 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 tatara or phelamushi (grape juice thickened with flour), and dried in the sun. No sugar is added to make real 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 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 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 badagi, is now ready for use in the next step in the process of making 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 2–3-meter (6.6–9.8 ft)-long threads. The strings are dipped in the badagi mixture until completely covered. This process is repeated several times (usually three times) until the churchkhela has the desired thickness. 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.[citation needed]

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 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.[clarification needed]

• Gozinaki
• List of grape dishes

• Media related to Churchkhela at Wikimedia Commons