Food of Georgia

The food of Georgia was outstanding and perhaps the most flavorful of all countries on our trip. Maybe the remnants of the silk road spice trade are kicking in but the country certainly did not disappoint. They had a variety of different types of foods from salads to soups to dumplings and meat dishes. Mushrooms are very prevalent here as is breads and cheeses.

And of course don't forget the dumplings or Khinkali which are absolutely NOT to be eaten with a knife and fork. You flip them on their tails take a small bite and drain the soup out of the doling then eat it like a lollipop. Your not supposed to eat the knubs that you hold onto you simply discard them on the plate. These are usually filled with Veal or pork or mushrooms or potatoe or cheese. They are delicious.

Popular drinks in Georgia are Chacha or a liquor made from distilled grapes. And of course let's not forget the famous Georgia wine. Dave and I went to a tasting and enjoyed 3 wines from each of Georgians main wine producing areas. The amber or orange wine was delicious as was our red wines. They are traditionally made in a Georgian clay pot where they throw the entire grapes vine and all into the pot and then burry it in the ground for fermentation. This causes the sugar to be eaten up completely yielding mostly dry and some semi dry wines with strong earthy notes. Red wine or black wine as they call it is heavy to medium bodied with tannins very dry or semi sweet. White and amber wine is medium bodied and dry to semi sweet as well. We have not had a bad wine yet here.

While we are a lot of red meat, there were also se amazing vegan dishes. Many restaurants had a Georgian salad. It has not lettuce, but fresh tomato, cucumber, and onion and is topped with ground walnuts. One of the most interesting dishes we had was Mkhali. It's ground walnut and either beet or spinach, served cold in a Patty shape. Also, on one of our last days we ordered Beets in Tkemali, a local plum sauce as an app and it stole the shoe. Topped with cilantro, it was a very unique way to eat beets.

For culinary lovers this country cannot be missed. It yielded some of the most unique flavor profiles we have had.Read more