Asia

Snacks from Georgia

Georgian snacking is churchkhela, walnuts strung and dipped in thickened grape must until they hang like candles at every Tbilisi stall. Gozinaki, walnut-and-honey shards, belong to New Year. Tklapi is fruit leather from tkemali plums or grapes. Pelamushi is a grape-must pudding. Shotis puri from a tone oven, torn and eaten with cheese, is the savory walk. Khachapuri can be a snack if you buy a small one.

Updated August 27, 2026

Signature snacks: Churchkhela, Gozinaki, Tklapi, Pelamushi
Flavor palette: grape must, walnut, plum leather
When people snack: churchkhela at Dry Bridge and gozinaki at New Year
What travelers buy: churchkhela, gozinaki, tklapi, churchkhela keeps if it is well dried

What to try first

Churchkhela Nuts on a string, coated in grape-must gelatin, dried into chewy candles.
Gozinaki Walnuts bound with honey, cut into diamonds, a New Year sweet.
Tklapi Sun-dried fruit leather, sour plum or grape, torn like a sheet.
Pelamushi Thickened grape-must pudding, sometimes walnut-studded, a harvest sweet.
Shotis puri Canoe-shaped tone bread, eaten warm as a walk-around snack.
Nadugi Creamy whey spread, often in tarragon, on bread as a savory nibble.

The candle is edible

Churchkhela is not a novelty. It is how a wine country stores grapes and walnuts for winter, hung in windows, sold in every tourist street and also in village yards. Bite through the must-skin to the nut. Too fresh and it is sticky; too old and it is candy. Gozinaki is the New Year plate: honey, walnut, a diamond that shatters.

Tklapi is sour fruit leather, useful on hikes, nothing like a gummy bear. Bread from a tone is a snack if you tear it while it still steams. Pack churchkhela, gozinaki, and tklapi. Pelamushi is a bowl. Do not confuse this with Armenian sweet sujukh without naming churchkhela; Georgians will notice.

Questions about snacks from Georgia

What sweets is Georgia known for?

Churchkhela, gozinaki, tklapi fruit leather, and pelamushi. Tone bread is the savory walk-around.

How do you eat churchkhela?

Like a sausage of nuts: bite through the grape-must coating. It should be chewy, not wet.

What is gozinaki?

Walnuts caramelized in honey, a New Year sweet cut into pieces.

What Georgian snack travels best?

Well-dried churchkhela, gozinaki, and tklapi. Fresh shotis puri does not.

From the journal

No tasting reviews from Georgia yet. This page is the research hub. When we eat something from here, the note will land in the journal and on this page.