Georgian cuisine is rich with mouthwatering dishes, but except for appetizers and the main course, it has some tempting desserts. While Georgian sweets are not typical desserts you might find elsewhere, we have some unique cakes, pastries, and snacks. Here’s the top list of Georgian sweets every traveler should try.
Churchkhela
Photo Source: mkurnali.ge
Churchkhela is probably one of the most famous Georgian sweets you can find everywhere in the country. This candle-shaped snack is made from nuts and grape juice. With the help of a needle, half walnuts or whole hazelnuts are put on a thread. Separately flour and grape juice are mixed on high heat. Then a strand of threaded nuts is placed inside and coated. Afterward, they are hanged for drying for several days. You can store it for several months, older ones are well dried and mature, but the new ones are soft and juicy. They are all delicious; just don’t forget to pull the thread out.
Gozinaki
Photo Source: wikipedia.org
Gozinaki is a bomb among Georgian sweets made of walnuts and honey. It is prepared only for the New Year. Sadly, Gozinaki is seldom sold in shops. You can find peanut and sunflower seed variations of Gozinaki, but that’s not the right one to try. The best way to taste authentic Gozinaki is to be invited by a local family in early January during the New Year celebrations.
Tklapi
Photo Source: Chirifruti FB page
Tklapi is a general and plural term for dried fruit sheets. The fruit is boiled, pureed, and then spread in a thin layer on a big tray to dry under the sun. The most common fruits used to make Tklapi are plums, pear, apple, and even kiwi. Our favorite is the sour red Tklapi made of Tkemali, local plums.
Pelamushi
Photo Source: metronome.ge
Pelamushi is a byproduct of Churchkhela. When preparing it, the grape juice and flour mixture is called Tatara in eastern Georgia and Pelamushi in western. They are the same thing, but in restaurants, you’ll most likely see it listed on the menu as Pelamushi. Whatever is left from Churckhela making, we put it into different china so that it has various forms when cooled down. It’s like a very thick gel full of nutrients.
Kaklucha
Photo Source: Orbelianebis Nugbari FB page
Very few locals know about Orbeliani Royal Candies. Vakhtang Orbeliani was a famous Georgian poet and a public figure of 18the century. The authors of the secret recipe were the daughter of the poet Vakhtang Orbeliani, Mariam Orbeliani, and her cook Pelagia. They have created delicious Georgian sweets with caramelized sugar and walnuts. Sadly, they are not widely available in shops or restaurants of Tbilisi. The only places you can try them are Cafe Leila and Shemomechama in Tbilisi. Alternatively, you can order them directly from Orbelianebis Nugbari.
Muraba
Photo Source: genius.ge
Muraba is a more liquidy jam made from almost every fruit, walnuts, or watermelon rind. Instead of blending them and making them into a jam, we boil fruits with sugar so that they release the juice and create a syrup. As a result, we have whole or large slices of fruits floating in the syrup. It might not sound any different from jams you might have tasted before, but Georgian Muraba is worth tasting. Try walnuts, figs, apricot, and white cherry.
Korkoti
Photo Source: gastroguide.borjomi.com
Korkoti, Kolio, and Tsindali is the same ritual dish prepared at funerals, but one can also find them in some cafés. It is a porridge-like Georgian sweet that is widespread all across the country. Therefore, each region has its own take on it. Typically, it’s made of honey, raisins, and wheat grains, but the ingredients might be slightly altered depending on the region. Only a handful of restaurants offer Korkoti on the menu; one of them is Sofiko with a modern twist to it.
Qada/Kada
Photo Source: gastroguide.borjomi.com
Qada (also spelled as Kada) is one of the Georgian sweets that every grandmother treats their grandchildren with, and for many locals, its taste is usually associated with childhood. Qada is widely sold in different bakeries and pastry shops, unlike other Georgian sweets. Sometimes, you can even find them in restaurants. This simple dessert has different shapes – some are round as Khachapuri, while others are like roulette cake. The main ingredients of Qada are lots of butter and sugar, but if you forget about the calories just once, try fresh Qada when it’s right out of the oven.
Chiri
Photo Source: 8000.ge
Chiri is a Georgian name for dry fruits. Locals mostly dry plums, apples, figs, persimmons, pears, and apricots, but one can find more exotic local Chiri prepared from kiwi or bananas. You can find various dried fruits in different grocery shops all around the country.
Nazuki
Photo Source: DERGI FB page
Nazuki is one of the simplest Georgian sweets and a polular road-trip snack when traveling from Tbilisi to the West, passing through Surami and Khashuri. Don’t worry; you won’t be able to miss them as dozens of families line up the highway to make them freshly. Nazuki looks like a Georgian bread shoti. However, it’s sweet, glazed with cinnamon, and has raisins inside. A few bakeries in Tbilisi to offer Nazuki, so sharpen your eyes if you aren’t planning a road trip anytime soon to the west.
