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Each country has its own traditions of drinking wine. It was known in Georgia 3000 years ago. But despite the large quantities of excellent wine and strong chacha, which is made in almost every home, drunkenness is not common in Georgia and Abkhazia. Alcoholic drinks are treated here as a means of prolonging life. Almost every feast is not complete without wine or chacha. They drink quite a lot, but the feast lasts a long time, accompanied not only by a large number of famous Georgian toasts, but also by an abundance of delicious dishes for which the cuisine of this people is so famous.
Chacha - what is it
Chacha is a high strength drink. At its core, it is moonshine made from grape pulp, purified by single, double and even triple distillation. The strength of the drink depends on the number of distillations, which in some cases reaches 70 degrees. Traditionally chacha It can be no stronger than 45 degrees, this is the drink that brings the most pleasure and is best drunk.
According to the classification of wines, chacha is a strong grape brandy.The name of the drink, patented in Georgia in 2011 and also protected by the European Union, comes from the raw materials used for its production. In Georgia, this is what they call grape marc. It must have high acidity. Only in this case will the drink have a rich taste and rich aroma. In Georgia it is customary to use extracts from Rkatsiteli grape variety, in Abkhazia they prefer the Isabella grape variety.
The tradition of making strong alcoholic drinks from grapes exists in many countries where they grow. Therefore, chacha also has foreign relatives: in Italy it is grappa, in Portugal it is bagacheira, in France it is marc, in Spain it is orujo. Chilean pisco and Balkan rakia are considered analogues of chacha.
In Georgia and Abkhazia, chacha is made in almost every rural house. The recipe belongs to the family and is kept secret.
There are special village devices for distilling chacha. One of the ancient distillation apparatuses is kept in the museum. 2
In Georgia, copper containers are used to make chacha.
Chacha is drunk not only during a feast. This is a traditional aperitif drink. During agricultural work, peasants drank a glass of chacha with breakfast so that they would have strength for a whole day of hard work. This drink is usually consumed in small glasses or glasses, but not in one gulp; experts advise drinking it slowly, in small sips. Then it will bring undoubted benefits.
The benefits of chacha and its harm
Since this drink is prepared on the basis of grapes, it has absorbed its beneficial properties. It contains vitamins PP and B2. Chacha has a rich mineral composition and contains salts of iron, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. All these elements are part of the cells of the human body. Chacha also contains antioxidants, which are so necessary to fight many diseases.
Abkhazians and Georgians believe that they owe much of their longevity to the chacha. This drink has the following properties:
- reduces cholesterol levels;
- improves the functioning of the heart and blood vessels;
- destroys cancer cells;
- normalizes metabolism;
- reduces swelling;
- improves digestion;
- helps cope with inflammation and viruses.
Like every drink, chacha has its own contraindications. Women who are expecting a baby and nursing mothers should not drink it. Doctors do not advise people with chronic diseases to use chacha.
If it is not possible to taste chacha in Georgia, it is quite possible to enjoy it at home. There are several proven recipes for making chacha at home without yeast or using it.
Preparing chacha
You can prepare a drink from one grape variety; the best are Isabella, Rkatsiteli, Akachi. You can also use a mixture of different varieties.
To preserve it, it is often treated with special substances that can spoil the taste and quality of the drink.
To achieve waste-free production, it is better to prepare grape wine and chacha at the same time.From grape marc you will get a strong drink of excellent quality.
To prepare you will need:
- 10 kg of grape cake;
- 30 liters of water;
- 5 kg of sugar.
The role of the yeast component will be played by wild yeast, which is always present on the surface of the grapes.
Chacha will take longer to ferment without adding yeast, but the drink will be of higher quality, more aromatic and softer. The fermentation process can take up to 3 months.
You need to use soft water, but distilled or boiled water will not work. If the water is chlorinated, it must be left for 2 days.
Cooking equipment
- Containers for fermenting grape pulp must be large enough. Fill them 9/10 so that the fermented product does not spill out. You cannot use aluminum containers to prepare chacha. The acid contained in grapes will oxidize aluminum to form harmful salts.
- Water seal. It is necessary to prevent oxygen from reaching the fermenting pulp. If this happens, acetic acid fermentation will begin and the product will be spoiled. The released gases must have an outlet, which is what the water seal provides.
- Distiller or moonshine still.
- Dishes for storing chacha. Ideally, it will be an oak or beech barrel. If you don’t have it, you’ll have to limit yourself to glass containers.
- Alcohol meter. During the distillation process, the strength of the liquid will have to be measured repeatedly.
Chacha is prepared at home in several stages.
If chacha is prepared from the marc left for making wine, cake I'm ready now. Otherwise, you need to crush the berries well with your hands. Place the pulp or crushed grapes, without straining the juice, into the fermentation container. Now you need to prepare the syrup. To do this, heat ½ liter of water and a kilogram of sugar until it is completely dissolved.
Don't forget to stir the syrup constantly. We prepare the pulp. To do this, dilute the cake or grapes with the remaining water, which we warm up a little. Its temperature should not exceed 35 degrees so that the wild yeast does not die. Add syrup to the container and mix thoroughly. We install a water seal. The fermentation process should take place at a temperature of 25 to 28 degrees in a dark place.
Attention! To prevent crushed grapes that float to the surface during fermentation from becoming moldy, the contents of the fermentation container must be stirred every 2 or 3 days.
As soon as carbon dioxide ceases to be released, it is time to proceed to the next stage of preparing chacha - distillation. If distillation is carried out without straining the pulp, the product may burn. Therefore, we strain out the grape skins, seeds and ridges through several layers of gauze, but do not throw them away. Placed in a gauze bag and suspended over a distillation vessel, they will provide chacha with a unique aroma.
Place the strained liquid into a distillation cube. We carry out the first distillation. We finish it when the strength of the distilled liquid becomes less than 30 degrees. Using an alcohol meter, we determine the amount of alcohol in the distilled liquid. Dilute it with water to an alcohol concentration of 20%.Place it back into the distillation apparatus and begin the second distillation.
When 1/10 of it is distilled, remove it. This is the so-called head. We also remove the tail that remains after the temperature in the distillation cube reaches 95 degrees. The head and tail contain many harmful substances such as fusel oils, ethers, and methyl alcohol. To prepare chacha, only the body is used, or, as they say in Georgia, the heart, i.e., the middle part of the distilled liquid. The tail and head are usually added when distilling the next batch of mash, which will be prepared from a new portion of grapes. We dilute the resulting chacha to the required strength and let it mature in barrels or bottles for 3 weeks.
You can prepare chacha according to a traditional Georgian recipe.
You will need:
- 15 kg of grapes of incomplete ripeness;
- 5 and 40 liters of water heated to 35 degrees;
- 8 kg sugar.
You need to carefully crush the grapes along with the ridges. Place it in an enamel bowl, adding 5 liters of water. Let it ferment in warmth and darkness for about 4 days. Remember to cover the container with gauze or a towel, but not with a lid. The appearance of a cap of foam is a signal that it is time to strain the mash.
We do this through gauze. Place the pomace back into the pan, adding the rest of the water and sugar. Leave in a warm place until fermentation is complete, covering with a lid.
We do the first distillation completely, hanging the cake in gauze inside the distillation vessel. Alcohol yield is about 10 liters.We add the same amount of water and carry out a second distillation, cutting off about 300 ml of the “head” and taking the whole body. The strength of the finished product should be about 80 degrees. Infuse chacha for about 3 weeks.
Conclusion
This tasty and healthy drink is a national treasure of Georgia. But nothing prevents you from preparing it at home. By experimenting with additives and wooden barrels for aging chacha, you can achieve the amazing taste of this ancient drink.
