Churchkhela and chocolate: two ways of dipping
Georgia's favourite sweet is made by dipping nuts again and again into thickened grape juice. Chocolatiers dip, too — and the two crafts have more in common than you'd think.
In autumn, after the grape harvest, strings of churchkhela appear on balconies and market stalls across Georgia. Walnuts or hazelnuts are threaded onto a string, dipped into tatara — grape must thickened with flour — and hung to dry. Then dipped again. And again.
Patience in layers
Each dip adds a thin coat. Too few, and the sweet is sparse and brittle; too many too quickly, and it never dries properly. The skill is in the rhythm: dip, hang, wait, dip again.
Anyone who has made enrobed chocolates will recognise the feeling. Coating a nut or a ganache in chocolate is also about temperature, timing and a steady hand.
Different sweetness, same idea
Churchkhela gets its sweetness from the grape alone. Chocolate brings bitterness and fat. But both turn a simple nut into something to keep, carry and share — a small, portable celebration.
Some of the best ideas in a kitchen are simply: cover something good with something else good, patiently.
We are curious what happens when the two meet. If you have tried chocolate churchkhela, or a chocolate made with tatara, write to us.
