nadugi recipe history culture origin

Nadugi is a soft cheese from Georgia. Here, it's served with mint mixed in. Picture from Michael Denner of Stetson University.

Nadugi: Never Too Much (Georgian) Cheese

Published: July 18, 2018

Dr. Michael Denner: You can tell a lot about a cuisine and culture by the way they eat their milkโ€ฆ Thatโ€™s the point I tried to make in our latest Georgian Cooking Club meeting, waving about a gallon of milk, sheathed in its translucent plastic carapace. My students were confused at firstโ€ฆ

nadugi recipe history culture origin
Nadugi, a soft cheese, is traditionally served in small wrap made of thinly-sliced semi-hard cheese.

Georgian Milk

Milk. I think a lot about milk when Iโ€™m travelling through Georgia. Does any country consume more milk than Georgia?

Milk is an obligatory part of every Georgian table. Iโ€™ve never seen a Georgian adult drink milkโ€ฆ. But there are always slices of suluguni, Georgian pasta-fillata cheese (like mozzarella), at every meal. Thatโ€™s just the beginningโ€ฆ Matsoni, nadugi, chkinti-kveli, girbzhalo, boranoโ€ฆ So many basic dishes in the Georgian tradition are riffs that start with fresh cowโ€™s milk.

And anyone whoโ€™s travelled to Georgia will tell stories aboutโ€ฆ cows. They are everywhere. Mostly, though, it seems they spend their lives standing in the middle of the highway, in large herds, distractedly swatting at flies, while you uselessly honk and shout from your stopped car. Iโ€™ve seen herds of cows in urban regions, too: right in downtown Zugdidi! And Iโ€™ve made way for a lowing herd to pass me while hiking a trail high up in the isolated Mtirala National Park, between the Black Sea and Achara mountain system. Iโ€™ve seen them eating grass at the edge of glaciers high in the Caucasus Mountains of Svaneti.

Cows. Everywhere.

Each heifer can produce six or seven gallons of milk per day, while itโ€™s milking. And that milk stays good for, maybe, a day or two without refrigeration. And even with refrigeration, what are you going to do with all that milk in a country with fewer than four million residents, a country famous for its mountain passes and difficult roadways? I donโ€™t know what percentage of Georgian milk is consumed domestically, but I guess nearly all of it. So, obviously, Georgians have devised ways to eat their milk, turning that white liquid into something munchable, using varieties of alchemical wizardry.

The easiest trick for turning milk solid is yogurt, which is really nothing but milk solidified by bacteria and yeast. It happens naturally, with the addition of just a little old yogurt to a gallon of milk and a few hours, a process called โ€œbackwashing.โ€ In Georgia, yogurt is called matsoni, and it was Georgiaโ€™s most famous contribution to world food cultures during the twentieth centuryโ€ฆ โ€œIn Soviet Georgiaโ€ was a Dannon commercial series from the 1970s depicting really old Georgians gobbling up yogurtโ€ฆ These commercials โ€“ I remember them well โ€“ were largely responsible for the popularization of yogurt in the United States, which until the mid-1970s was a niche product. Why a company founded in Catalonia by a Sephardic Jew and based in Paris was advertising yogurt to America using examples from Soviet Georgiaโ€ฆ thatโ€™s a story for another time. Suffice it to say, when I was a kid growing up, everyone knew that โ€œin Soviet Georgiaโ€ they loved yogurt. But I assure you, they did not eat Dannon. They ate matsoni.

Georgian Cheese

In our latest Georgian Cooking Club meeting here at Stetson University, I demonstrated how easy it is to make cheese by making Imeretian cheese, a cheese from the region Imereti, in central-western Georgia. It is easy: heat milk to about 130 degrees fahrenheit, add a few drops of rennet, wait forty-five minutes, scoop out the curds, drain the curds in the refrigerator for a few days, and you haveโ€ฆ Cheese!

Cheese is, essentially, nothing more than curds separated from the whey, using enzymes to coagulate milk solids (fats and proteins). The curds form a solid mass, what in Russian is called โ€œัั‹ั€ะฝะฐั ะผะฐััะฐโ€ โ€œcheese mass.โ€ The cheese maker cuts them with a long thin knife into manageable pieces, harvests them, and drains away the remaining whey. The whey is just whatโ€™s left over: Little Miss Moffet was eating essentially the result and the byproduct of cheesemaking.

Now, hereโ€™s where it gets interesting. What do you do with all that whey thatโ€™s left over? You boil it and make more cheese! Every cheese making culture has a different word for the product of this second cullingโ€ฆ The Italians call it ricotta, which means โ€œrecooked,โ€ referring to the second cooking that the whey undergoes. In Russian itโ€™s โ€œั‚ะฒะพั€ะพะณโ€ (tvorog). In Georgian, itโ€™s nadugi, which means more or less the same things as ricotta: โ€œcookedโ€ or โ€œboiled.โ€ One gallon of milk makes about a pound of fresh cheese, and another cup or two of nadugi.

When we finished making our Imeretian cheese, our Georgian Cooking Club brought the remaining whey to a boil and produced about a cup of nadugi. You just skim the fine curds from the top of the bubbling whey using a spoon. If the whey after this initial boiling remains white, indicating that there are still a lot of โ€œmilk solidsโ€ left, you can add a tablespoon or two of distilled vinegar to the whey, bring it to a boil again, and harvest the rest of the nadugi that floats to the top.

nadugi recipe history culture origin
Dr. Denner demonstrates how to boil milk to make cheese for students in the Georgian Cooking Club at Stetson University.

How And When to Eat Nadugi

In Georgia, nadugi is the king of cold appetizers. Itโ€™s sometimes mixed with fresh mint, a combination that was a real revelation for me when I first tried it. Itโ€™s often served, a tablespon per serving, wrapped in a cone of thinly-sliced suluguni, another type of Georgian cheese. Imagine a miniature ice cream cone, with the piece of suluguni playing the role of the cone, and the nadugi as ice cream.

My students were reluctantโ€ฆ I mean, mint and cheese? But, trust me, itโ€™s a revelation! For a cup of nadugi, add a heaping tablespoon of finely-chopped mint and a teaspoon of coarse salt. (I like the crunch of salt in the tender texture.) Then, form the nadugi into pretty shapes on plates, as Tina proposes below. (I havenโ€™t tried the orange variation, but I bet itโ€™s lovely.)

Finally, because I wanted to make a point, I made a pile of Russian โ€œะฑะปะธะฝั‹โ€ (bliny) from the remaining whey: โ€œะฑะปะธะฝั‹ ะธะท ัั‹ะฒะพั€ะพั‚ะบะธ,โ€ blini from whey. Georgians eat bliny all the time, but I believe they think of them as a Russian dish, which makes perfect sense: Georgian foodways are global. Russia has exerted, for better or worse, enormous influence on its smaller neighbor on the other side of the Caucasus.

The recipe for bliny couldnโ€™t be simpler: For every cup of whey, use one egg and one cup of flour. Mix well, add a few pinches of salt, a few pinches of sugar, maybe a big pinch of baking soda if you wantโ€ฆ Then make your pancakes! Thereโ€™s something special about whey-based bliny that makes them better.

So, one gallon of milk yielded us a pound of cheese, a cup of nadugi, and a pile of bliny. Thatโ€™s how we ate our milk. Enjoy!

The recipe below is my translation and adaption of the recipe in ะ›ะพะฑะธะพ, ัะฐั†ะธะฒะธ, ั…ะฐั‡ะฐะฟัƒั€ะธ, ะธะปะธ ะ“ั€ัƒะทะธั ัะพ ะฒะบัƒัะพะผ (Lobio, Satsivi, Khatchapuri, or Georgia with Taste) by Tinatin Mzhavanadze.

SRAS: Before moving on to the recipe, I feel the need to interject that, indeed, adults drinking milk is considered an odd thing, it seems, across Eurasia. Although dairy makes up a substantial part of many of the national diets, and although it is common to give kids milk, adults are expected to have grown out of drinking fresh milk and moved on to drinking kefir or any of the fermented milk drinks that Eurasians drink in dizzying variety. The look Iโ€™ve often gotten from locals in Eurasia, seeing me drinking straight milk, especially cold from the refrigerator, is similar to the expression you might develop seeing someone eat sour cream with a spoon straight from the container. PS โ€“ Iโ€™ve seen people here eat sour cream straight from the containerโ€ฆ

nadugi recipe history culture origin
Fresh nadugi on sale at a market in Racha, Georgia.

Tinatin Mzhavanadze Recipe (English)

(as translated and adapted from Russian by Dr. Michael Denner): Thereโ€™s no competition, I think: The champion of cold appetizers is nadugi. In Georgian, the word means something like โ€œboiledโ€ or โ€œcooked.โ€ nadugi looks a bit like old-fashioned cottage cheese or ricotta: a mass, white as snow, with a mild dairy flavor and slightly grainy texture.

It is, however, not exactly cottage cheese, as itโ€™s a whey-cheese, made from boiling the milky whey thatโ€™s left over from cheesemaking, until recently practiced almost universally in home kitchens in Georgia. It is the simplest of milk products, with practically no fat.

Wherever nadugi is sold, youโ€™ll always find thin slices of Georgian suluguni cheese and fresh mintโ€ฆ Mint and nadugi go together like Paris and the Eiffel Tower.

nadugi recipe history culture origin
A slice of suluguni cheese as sold in a market in Racha, Georgia. Itโ€™s sliced so thin as to be almost translucent.

Such a simple, delicious, and versatile appetizer. Itโ€™s best served with corncakes (mchadi), or with corn porridge (gomi)โ€ฆ or whatever you like, so long as they are in bite-sized morsels. Iโ€™ve been on many diets in my day and nadugi was salve for my soul, especially spread on bread and sprinkled with bran.

From the American Kitchen: While you likely wonโ€™t find nadugi outside Georgia, there are a number of perfectly acceptable substitutions, the easiest of which is low-fat ricotta available widely in supermarkets. You can also use homemade yogurt cheese, which has a different texture but a very similar flavor: Line a large, fine strainer with cheesecloth. Add 4 cups of plain, low-fat yogurt, and place the strainer over another bowl to catch the liquid. Refrigerate for 8-10 hours, until reduced by half. (The whey will drain into the second bowl and can be reused.) You should end with about 1 pound.

The suluguni in this preparation is sliced paper thin, and serves mostly as a vehicle to transfer the nadugi to your mouth without the added complication of a utensilโ€ฆ You can really use any mild, white cheese, especially provolone. Ask your deli counter to cut it as thinly as possible.

  • 1 pound nadugi or skim-milk ricotta or yogurt cheese (see above)
  • 10 very thin slices mozzarella or other mild, white cheese
  • 1 small bunch mint roughly chopped (2 1/2 ounces)
  • 1 clove garlic, optional
  • Small piece of cooked carrot, optional

Serves: 8-10 as an appetizer

At the market, buy a pound of nadugi, ten thin round slices of suluguni, and a bunch of mint. Head home, where you carefully wash the mint, shake it thoroughly dry, and place it on the cutting board. Take out the nadugi and, using a spoon, transfer it to a prep bowl. The last tablespoonful goes straight into your mouth. Now lick your lips with the passion of a gourmand.

Using a sharp chefโ€™s knife, mince the mint finely, rendering it into a fine dust. Add it to your mortar along with a pinch of saltโ€”for what itโ€™s worth, I add a clove of garlic to entice the hungry wolves to the tableโ€”and then pound the mix until you have an smooth, even texture. Using a clean spoon or silicone spatula, scrape the mortar clean of all the mint and salt, adding it to the nadugi in the bowl.

nadugi recipe history culture origin
Restaurant-quality โ€œbeggers pursesโ€ made of nadugi (soft cheese) in suluguni (a semi-hard cheese) and, in this case, tied off with chechil (Georgian string cheese).

The skyโ€™s the limit now. Time for pure, unadulterated creativity. You canโ€ฆ

  • Mix the green and white masses together, and end up with a speckled variant;
  • Dump the nadugi and mint into the blender jar, and give it a whizz for a few seconds. Your nadugi will have a fine, light consistency, and it will take on the bright, light green of Expressionism, not unlike the green of fresh lettuce;
  • If you add a bit of cooked carrot on the blender jar, youโ€™ll end up with an orangish accentโ€ฆ the carrot adds no flavor, just vivacious color.
  • You may choose to add some ground black pepper for zing.

Iโ€™ve heard some people even add ground walnutsโ€ฆ oh, these days! People have no respect for traditionโ€ฆ And so on. Letโ€™s not go too far. The original, authentic recipe has stood the test of time.

Your nadugi is finished, but your art has only just begunโ€ฆ Here are some ideas: You can place it prettily on little plates and style it into waves, swirling it with the back of a spoon. Or make parallel marks on the surface using a knife, and then decorate it with some sprigs of mint. You can wrap the nadugi in the thin slices of cheese, and then the magic really starts: How about jellyrolls? Or stuffed envelopes? And beggarโ€™s purses, like they serve in fancy restaurants? Tied neatly with a single chive. Very elegant!

SRAS: The above translation and adaptation differs from the original not only in converting the measurements from metric to imperial units (as used by Americans), but also in codifying and more distinctly spelling out the processes that the original author more breezily lays out for an audience more familiar with the food. While giving less instruction, she does give more discussion of variations on the food, for instance. The adaptation by Dr. Denner relies on both the original text and experience traveling to meet the original author and make the recipes with her โ€“ making this particular translation and adaptation effort extraordinarily collaborative. We include the original text below for comparison.

Tinatin Mzhavanadze Recipe (Russian)

ะะฐ ะผะพะน ะฒะทะณะปัะด, ะฝะฐ ะณั€ัƒะทะธะฝัะบะพะผ ัั‚ะพะปะต ัั€ะตะดะธ ั…ะพะปะพะดะฝั‹ั… ะทะฐะบัƒัะพะบ ะฑะตััะฟะพั€ะฝั‹ะน ั‡ะตะผะฟะธะพะฝ โ€“ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ. ะ’ ะฑัƒะบะฒะฐะปัŒะฝะพะผ ะฟะตั€ะตะฒะพะดะต ัั‚ะพ ัะปะพะฒะพ ะพะทะฝะฐั‡ะฐะตั‚ ยซะบะธะฟัั‡ะตะฝั‹ะน, ัƒะฒะตั€ะตะฝะฝั‹ะนยป.

ะะฐ ะฒะธะด ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ ะฒั‹ะณะปัะดะธั‚, ะบะฐะบ ะดะตั€ะตะฒะตะฝัะบะธะน ั‚ะฒะพั€ะพะณ: ะฑะตะปะพัะฝะตะถะฝะฐั ะผะฐััะฐ ั ะฝะตะถะฝั‹ะผ ัะปะธะฒะพั‡ะฝั‹ะผ ะฒะบัƒัะพะผ ะธ ะผะตะปะบะพะทะตั€ะฝะธัั‚ะพะน ั‚ะตะบัั‚ัƒั€ะพะน. ะžะดะฝะฐะบะพ ัั‚ะพ ะฝะต ัะพะฒัะตะผ ั‚ะฒะพั€ะพะณ, ะฟะพั‚ะพะผัƒ ั‡ั‚ะพ ะฟะพะปัƒั‡ะฐะตั‚ัั ะพะฝ ะฟัƒั‚ั‘ะผ ะบะธะฟัั‡ะตะฝะธั ัั‹ะฒะพั€ะพั‚ะบะธ, ะพัั‚ะฐะฒัˆะตะนัั ะพั‚ ะผะพะปะพะบะฐ ะฟะพัะปะต ะธะทะณะพั‚ะพะฒะปะตะฝะธั ัั‹ั€ะฐ. ะขะฐะบะธะผ ะพะฑั€ะฐะทะพะผ, ัั‚ะพ ะปะตะณั‡ะฐะนัˆะธะน ะผะพะปะพั‡ะฝั‹ะน ะฟั€ะพะดัƒะบั‚, ะฒ ะบะพั‚ะพั€ะพะผ ะฟะพั‡ั‚ะธ ะฝะตั‚ ะถะธั€ะฐ.

ะŸั€ะพะธะทะฝะพัะธั‚ัั ัะปะพะฒะพ ั‚ะฐะบ: ะฟั€ะตะดัั‚ะฐะฒัŒั‚ะต ัะตะฑั ะฟะฐั€ะธะถะฐะฝะธะฝะพะผ ะธ ะณั€ะฐััะธั€ัƒะนั‚ะต ยซะณยป (ะฝะพ ัƒะดะฐั€ะตะฝะธะต ะฒัะต-ั‚ะฐะบะธ ะฝะฐ ะฒั‚ะพั€ะพะผ ัะปะพะณะต). ะะฐ ะปัŽะฑะพะผ ะฑะฐะทะฐั€ะต ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ ะฟั€ะพะดะฐะตั‚ัั ะฒะผะตัั‚ะต ั ั‚ะพะฝะบะธะผะธ ะปะตะฟะตัˆะบะฐะผะธ ััƒะปัƒะณัƒะฝะธ ะธ ัะฒะตะถะตะน ะผัั‚ะพะน: ะผัั‚ะฐ ะธ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ ะฝะตั€ะฐะทะดะตะปะธะผั‹, ะบะฐะบ ะŸะฐั€ะธะถ ะธ ะญะนั„ะตะปะตะฒะฐ ะฑะฐัˆะฝั. ะ’ั‹ ะฟะพะบัƒะฟะฐะตั‚ะต ะฟะพะปะบะธะปะพะณั€ะฐะผะผะฐ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ, ัˆั‚ัƒะบ ะดะตััั‚ัŒ ัั‹ั€ะฝั‹ั… ะปะตะฟะตัˆะตะบ (ัั‚ะพ ััƒะปัƒะณัƒะฝะธ, ั‚ะพะปัŒะบะพ ัะดะตะปะฐะฝะฝั‹ะน ะฒ ะพะดะธะฝ ัะปะพะน ั‚ะพะปั‰ะธะฝะพะน ะฒ ะฟะพะปะธะผะธะปะปะธะผะตั‚ั€ะฐ), ะฟัƒั‡ะพะบ ะผัั‚ั‹ ะธ ั‚ะพะฟะฐะตั‚ะต ะดะพะผะพะน.

ะขะฐะผ ะฒั‹ ั‚ั‰ะฐั‚ะตะปัŒะฝะพ ะผะพะตั‚ะต ะทะตะปะตะฝัŒ, ะฒัั‚ั€ัั…ะธะฒะฐะตั‚ะต, ะบะปะฐะดั‘ั‚ะต ะฝะฐ ะดะพัะบัƒ ะดะปั ะฝะฐั€ะตะทะฐะฝะธั, ะฟะพั‚ะพะผ ะฒั‹ั‚ะฐัะบะธะฒะฐะตั‚ะต ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ, ะทะฐะดัƒะผั‡ะธะฒะพ ะฟะตั€ะตะบะปะฐะดั‹ะฒะฐะตั‚ะต ะตะณะพ ะธะท ะฟะฐะบะตั‚ะฐ ะปะพะถะบะพะน ะฒ ะผะธัะบัƒ, ะฟะพัะปะตะดะฝัŽัŽ ะฟะพะปะฝัƒัŽ ะปะพะถะบัƒ ะพั‚ะฟั€ะฐะฒะปัะตั‚ะต ะฒ ั€ะพั‚ ะธ ะพะฑะปะธะทั‹ะฒะฐะตั‚ะต ัะพ ะฒัะตะผ ะฟั‹ะปะพะผ ะณัƒั€ะผะฐะฝะฐ.

ะžัั‚ั€ั‹ะผ ะฝะพะถะธั‡ะบะพะผ ะบั€ะพะผัะฐะตั‚ะต ะฒ ะฟั‹ะปัŒ ะผัั‚ัƒ, ะฟะตั€ะตัั‹ะฟะฐะตั‚ะต ะตั‘ ะฒ ัั‚ัƒะฟะบัƒ ะธ ะดะพะฑะฐะฒะปัะตั‚ะต ะบั€ะพัˆะตั‡ะบัƒ ัะพะปะธ (ั, ะบ ะฟั€ะธะผะตั€ัƒ, ะดะพะฑะฐะฒะปััŽ ะตั‰ั‘ ะทัƒะฑั‡ะธะบ ั‡ะตัะฝะพะบะฐ โ€“ ะดะปั ะดะพะฟะพะปะฝะธั‚ะตะปัŒะฝะพะณะพ ะฒะพะทะฑัƒะถะดะตะฝะธั ะธ ะฑะตะท ั‚ะพะณะพ ะฒะพะปั‡ัŒะตะณะพ ะฐะฟะฟะตั‚ะธั‚ะฐ), ะฟะพั‚ะพะผ ั‚ะพะปั‡ั‘ั‚ะต ะธ ั€ะฐัั‚ะธั€ะฐะตั‚ะต ะดะพ ะฟะพะปัƒั‡ะตะฝะธั ะพะดะฝะพั€ะพะดะฝะพะน ะบะฐัˆะธั†ั‹.

ะ˜ะฝะณั€ะตะดะธะตะฝั‚ั‹:

(ะฝะฐ 10 ะฟะพั€ั†ะธะน): ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ (ะธะปะธ ั€ะธะบะพั‚ั‚ะฐ, ะธะปะธ ะฝะตะถะธั€ะฝั‹ะน ั‚ะฒะพั€ะพะณ) โ€“ 0,5 ะบะณ ะปะตะฟั‘ัˆะบะธ ััƒะปัƒะณัƒะฝะธ โ€“ 10 ัˆั‚. (ะฟะพ ะถะตะปะฐะฝะธัŽ), ะผัั‚ะฐ โ€“ ะฟัƒั‡ะพะบ, ัะพะปัŒ, ั‡ะตัะฝะพะบ โ€“ ะฟะพ ะฒะบัƒััƒ

ะ‘ะตั€ั‘ั‚ะต ั‡ะธัั‚ัƒัŽ ะปะพะถะบัƒ, ะฒั‹ัะบั€ะตะฑะฐะตั‚ะต ะธะท ัั‚ัƒะฟะบะธ ะผัั‚ัƒ ั ัะพะปัŒัŽ ะธ ะฒะผะตัˆะธะฒะฐะตั‚ะต ะฒ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ.

ะ”ะฐะปะตะต ะพั‚ะบั€ั‹ะฒะฐะตั‚ัั ะฟั€ะพัั‚ะพั€ ะดะปั ั‡ะธัั‚ะพะณะพ, ะฝะตะทะฐะผัƒั‚ะฝั‘ะฝะฝะพะณะพ ะบะพั€ั‹ัั‚ัŒัŽ ะธัะบัƒััั‚ะฒะฐ:

  • ะฒั‹ ะผะพะถะตั‚ะต ัะบัะฟั€ะตััะธะฒะฝะพ ะฟะตั€ะตะผะตัˆะฐั‚ัŒ ะทะตะปะตะฝัŒ ั ะฑะตะปะพะน ะผะฐััะพะน ะธ ะฟะพะปัƒั‡ะธั‚ัŒ ะฒะฐั€ะธะฐะฝั‚ ะฒ ะบั€ะฐะฟะธะฝะบัƒ;
  • ะฒั‹ ะผะพะถะตั‚ะต ัะผะตัˆะฐั‚ัŒ ะธั… ะฒ ะฑะปะตะฝะดะตั€ะต ะดะพ ั€ะพะฒะฝะพะณะพ ัะฐะปะฐั‚ะพะฒะพะณะพ ะพั‚ั‚ะตะฝะบะฐ โ€“ ะฒ ะดัƒั…ะต ะธะผะฟั€ะตััะธะพะฝะธัั‚ะพ;
  • ะฒั‹ ะผะพะถะตั‚ะต ะดะพะฑะฐะฒะธั‚ัŒ ะพั€ะฐะฝะถะตะฒั‹ะต ะฐะบั†ะตะฝั‚ั‹ ั ะฟะพะผะพั‰ัŒัŽ ะบัƒัะพั‡ะบะพะฒ ะพั‚ะฒะฐั€ะตะฝะฝะพะน ะผะพั€ะบะพะฒะธ โ€“ ะฒะบัƒัะฐ ะฝะธะบะฐะบะพะณะพ, ะทะฐั‚ะพ ัะบะพะปัŒะบะพ ะถะธะฒะพัั‚ะธ!
  • ะฒั‹ ะดะฐะถะต ะผะพะถะตั‚ะต ัั‹ะฟะฐะฝัƒั‚ัŒ ะผะพะปะพั‚ะพะณะพ ั‡ั‘ั€ะฝะพะณะพ ะฟะตั€ั†ะฐ ะดะปั ะณะพั‚ะธั‡ะฝะพัั‚ะธ.

ะฏ ัะปั‹ัˆะฐะปะฐ, ั‡ั‚ะพ ะฒ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ ะดะฐะถะต ะฒะผะตัˆะธะฒะฐัŽั‚ ะผะพะปะพะดั‹ะต ะณั€ะตั†ะบะธะต ะพั€ะตั…ะธ โ€“ ะพ ะฒั€ะตะผะตะฝะฐ! ะž ะฝั€ะฐะฒั‹! ะัƒ ะธ ั‚ะฐะบ ะดะฐะปะตะต โ€“ ะฝะพ ัะปะธัˆะบะพะผ ะดะฐะปะตะบะพ ะพั‚ ะพั€ะธะณะธะฝะฐะปะฐ ั‚ะพะถะต ะพั‚ั…ะพะดะธั‚ัŒ ะฝะต ัั‚ะพะธั‚.

ะขะฐะบ ะฒะพั‚, ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะพะฒะฐั (ะธะปะธ ะฝะฐะดัƒะถัŒั) ะผะฐััะฐ ะณะพั‚ะพะฒะฐ, ะฝะพ ั‚ะฒะพั€ั‡ะตัั‚ะฒะพ ะฟั€ะพะดะพะปะถะฐะตั‚ัั.

ะœะพะถะฝะพ ะบั€ะฐัะธะฒะพ ะฒั‹ะปะพะถะธั‚ัŒ ะตะณะพ ะฝะฐ ะผะฐะปะตะฝัŒะบะธะต ั‚ะฐั€ะตะปะพั‡ะบะธ ะธ ัะดะตะปะฐั‚ัŒ ะฒะพะปะฝั‹ ะปะพะถะบะพะน ะธะปะธ ะฝะฐัะตั‡ะบะธ ะฝะพะถะพะผ ะธ ัƒะบั€ะฐัะธั‚ัŒ ะฒะตั‚ะพั‡ะบะพะน ะผัั‚ั‹, ะฐ ะผะพะถะฝะพ ะทะฐะฒะตั€ะฝัƒั‚ัŒ ะฒ ัะฐะปั„ะตั‚ะพั‡ะบะธ-ััƒะปัƒะณัƒะฝะธ! ะ˜ ะบะฐะบ ะทะฐะฒะตั€ะฝัƒั‚ัŒ โ€“ ะพ ะณะพัะฟะพะดะฐ, ัั‚ะพ ั‡ะธัั‚ะฐั ั€ะฐะดะพัั‚ัŒ ะดะธะทะฐะนะฝะตั€ะฐ!

ะ˜ ั€ัƒะปะตั‚ะธะบะพะผ! ะ˜ ะบะพะฝะฒะตั€ั‚ะธะบะพะผ! ะ˜ ะบะพั‚ะพะผะพั‡ะบะพะน!

ะ˜ ะฟะตั€ะตะฒัะทะฐั‚ัŒ ะฟั‘ั€ั‹ัˆะบะพะผ ะปัƒะบะฐ-ั€ะตะทะฐะฝั†ะฐ โ€“ ะธะทัั‰ะฝะพ ะธ ะบะพะบะตั‚ะปะธะฒะพ.

ะ’ั‹ ะฟะพัะผะพั‚ั€ะธั‚ะต, ั‡ั‚ะพ ะทะฐ ะบั€ะฐัะพั‚ะฐ!

ะ›ั‘ะณะบะฐั, ะฐะฟะฟะตั‚ะธั‚ะฝะฐั, ััั‚ะตั‚ะธั‡ะฝะฐั ั…ะพะปะพะดะฝะฐั ะทะฐะบัƒัะบะฐ, ะบะพั‚ะพั€ัƒัŽ ะฟะพะปะฐะณะฐะตั‚ัั ะตัั‚ัŒ ะปะธะฑะพ ั ะผั‡ะฐะดะธ, ะปะธะฑะพ ั ะณะพะผะธ, ะปะธะฑะพ ะบะฐะบ ั…ะพั‚ะธั‚ะต โ€“ ั…ะพั‚ัŒ ั†ะตะปะธะบะพะผ ะพั‚ะฟั€ะฐะฒะปัั ะฒ ั€ะพั‚. ะ’ะพ ะฒั€ะตะผั ะฝะตัะบะพะฝั‡ะฐะตะผั‹ั… ะดะธะตั‚ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ โ€“ ัƒัะปะฐะดะฐ ะผะพะตะน ะดัƒัˆะธ: ะพัะพะฑะตะฝะฝะพ ะฝะฐะผะฐะทะฐะฝะฝั‹ะน ะฝะฐ ั…ะปะตะฑ ั ะพั‚ั€ัƒะฑัะผะธ ะฝะฐ ะทะฐะฒั‚ั€ะฐะบ.

nadugi recipe history culture origin
Baby potatoes with wild onion and nadugi. The possibilities are endlessโ€ฆ

ะกะฟะตั†ะธะฐะปะธัั‚ั‹ ะณะพะฒะพั€ัั‚, ั‡ั‚ะพ ะธั‚ะฐะปัŒัะฝัะบะฐั ั€ะธะบะพั‚ั‚ะฐ ะบะพะฝั†ะตะฟั‚ัƒะฐะปัŒะฝะพ ะธะทะณะพั‚ะฐะฒะปะธะฒะฐะตั‚ัั ั‚ะฐะบ ะถะต, ะบะฐะบ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ.

ะ•ัะปะธ ะฒ ะฟั€ะตะดะตะปะฐั… ะดะพััะณะฐะตะผะพัั‚ะธ ะฝะตั‚ ะฝะฐะดัƒะณะธ, ะฒะพะทัŒะผะธั‚ะต ะผะพะปะพะบะพ ะธ ะบะฐะปัŒั†ะธะน ะธ ัั‚ะฒะพั€ะพะถัŒั‚ะต ัะฐะผะธ, ั‡ะตะณะพ ัƒะถ ั‚ะฐะผ.

ะฅะพั‚ั ะตัั‚ัŒ ะพั‡ะตะฝัŒ ะฟั€ะพัั‚ะพะน ัะฟะพัะพะฑ ะฟะพะปัƒั‡ะธั‚ัŒ ะฟะพั…ะพะถะธะน ะฟะพ ะฒะบัƒััƒ ะฟั€ะพะดัƒะบั‚, ะดะฐะถะต ะตั‰ั‘ ะฑะพะปะตะต ะฝะตะถะฝั‹ะน: ะฝะฐะดะพ ะฒะทัั‚ัŒ ัะฒะตะถะตะต ะผะฐั†ะพะฝะธ โ€“ ะฟั€ะธะผะตั€ะฝะพ ะฟะพะป-ะปะธั‚ั€ะฐ, ะฝะฐะปะธั‚ัŒ ะฒ ั‡ะธัั‚ัƒัŽ ะผะฐั€ะปะตั‡ะบัƒ ะธ ะฟะพะดะฒะตัะธั‚ัŒ ะบะพั‚ะพะผะบะพะน ัั‚ะตะบะฐั‚ัŒ ะฝะฐ ะฝะพั‡ัŒ ะฝะฐะด ะผะธัะบะพะน.

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A clear video in Russian.

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About the author

Michael Denner

Michael Denner

Dr. Michael Denner is a professor at Stetsonโ€™s Program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES). A food enthusiast, he is currently translating and adapting a cookbook called ะ›ะพะฑะธะพ, ัะฐั†ะธะฒะธ, ั…ะฐั‡ะฐะฟัƒั€ะธ, ะธะปะธ ะ“ั€ัƒะทะธั ัะพ ะฒะบัƒัะพะผ (Lobio, Satsivi, Khachapuri, or Georgia with Taste) for English-speaking audiences. As part of this project, Dr. Denner is leading a Georgian Cooking Club at Stetson to test the recipies with Stetsonโ€™s diverse student group. Dr. Denner will also be leading Georgian Foodways for SRAS a new, two-week study abroad course that will address topics such as climate change and state agricultural policies within the context of broader issues of food security, the place of food in social justice and ethnic identity, and the role of Georgian foodways in the current global tourism economy.

Program attended: Georgian Foodways

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