Gurian cheese differs entirely from Kakhetian or Megrelian cheeses. It is fresh, squeaky, mildly salty — and most often goes into fresh-baked khachapuri or kadauri. The rennet is traditionally extracted from veal stomach — the 'othakhi.' This technique is passed between generations within families.
Churchkhela in Guria is distinctive — most often made with Chkhaveri grape juice, which gives it a pomegranate-rosé colour. Walnuts or hazelnuts are strung on thread and dipped several times in a flat grape-flour mixture. This process is a family occasion.
Chiri — naturally dried fruit — is a Gurian family winter provision. Plum, apple, pear — every summer families dry fruit on rooftops or in the courtyard, stocking up for winter.
