Sugar And | Spice Qartulad

While "Sugar and Spice" is an English idiom, Georgia has its own rich history of combining sweet and spicy flavors: Honest Guide to Georgian Cuisine - Caucasus Trekking

Top "Sweet" Spices: Vanilla was found to be the most similar to sugar in sensory perception. Other high-ranking "sweet" spices include cinnamon, spearmint, and anise. sugar and spice qartulad

1. The Spice: Soak the walnuts in lime water for 2 weeks (changing daily) to remove bitterness. This is the spice step—removing the aggressive tannins.
2. The Sugar: Boil the sugar with water and spices to make syrup.
3. The Union: Add the walnuts to the syrup. Boil daily for 5 days.
4. Result: The green walnut turns glassy and black. It tastes like a spicy, honeyed fruitcake. It is simultaneously bitter (spice) and tooth-achingly sweet (sugar).

Churchkhela: The Original "Candy Bar"

If there is one sweet that represents Georgia, it is Churchkhela (ჩურჩხელა). Locals call it "Georgian Snickers." Grape juice (Tatara) is boiled down with flour into a pudding-like consistency, then strings of walnuts or hazelnuts are dipped in it repeatedly until a candle-shaped sausage forms. This is the purest form of "sugar and spice" – the grape sugar plus the nutty, earthy spice of the nuts and sometimes added cinnamon. While "Sugar and Spice" is an English idiom,