What to bring from Georgia: gift and souvenir ideas | Guides Club

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Georgia is a country with a unique culture and preserved old customs. There are many souvenirs associated with local traditions and lifestyle. They keep a piece of the country from which they were brought. We will tell you what you can bring from Georgia, except wine. The list is long: it contains sweets and spices, textiles and ceramics, jewelry with colored enamel and much more. All this is sold in abundance and, with rare exceptions, is inexpensive. Plan your purchases in advance to bring something interesting home from Georgia and please your loved ones.

The most delicious gifts from Georgia

Georgian cuisine is one of the good reasons to spend a vacation in this country. To prolong the pleasure, you can bring some goodies with you. Other dishes can be prepared at home if you buy the necessary ingredients. We tell you what products can be brought from Georgia.

Spices and sauces

The best way to repeat your favorite Georgian dishes at home is to use seasonings and sauces. You can buy them for yourself or as a gift. What spices should I bring from Georgia? The easiest way is to choose a ready-made hop-suneli mixture that is suitable for all kinds of dishes. It usually contains five spices, but housewives have their own recipes. Among the herbs, pay attention to the blue fenugreek, a fragrant plant that is harvested in the mountains. In dried form, it is called utsho-suneli. Barberry and dried marigolds are also useful, which are often replaced by more expensive saffron. Spices are conveniently transported in sealed foil bags. They are compact, lightweight and retain their smell well.

The real queen of Georgian spices is Svan salt, which can be added to any unsweetened dish. Half of it consists of ordinary salt, and the other half consists of various spices. This salt was originally made in Upper Svaneti, cut off from the world for 10 months a year due to snow. There might not be enough salt for such a long period, so it was diluted with local herbs. The classic recipe includes 12 additives. Although now everyone has enough ordinary salt, the Svan mixture is still in demand and loved. She is often brought from Georgia as a gift.

In addition to spices, pay attention to sauces. They are added to a variety of dishes in Georgia, so there are many recipes.

• Satsebeli. Tomato-based sauce with herbs, nuts and sour fruits. A good substitute for regular ketchup.
• Tkemali. It is made from sour plums of the same variety or from cherry plums. The sauce is good for meat, fish and poultry, you can add it to soups.
• Narsharab. The sauce with a sweet and sour taste is made from boiled pomegranate juice with spices. This is an excellent marinade for meat, suitable for ready-made dishes.
• Adjika. The “fiery” seasoning, beloved by many, is made from a mixture of different vegetables and herbs, but the main ingredients are garlic and red pepper.

Spices and sauces can be bought in supermarkets or at the market. You can bargain with traders in the market, prices are lower, and there is usually more choice. But in the supermarket, the shelf life is more strictly observed.

Nuts and fruits

Due to the sunny weather and fertile soil, sweet and juicy fruits are grown in Georgia. Their variety is impressive: figs, apricots, pomegranates, grapes, cherry plum, persimmon, quince — it’s impossible to list everything. It is convenient to bring hard fruits to Russia. You can choose dried fruits, which are sold as often as fresh ones. You can find them in shops, markets and in individual stalls.

In addition to fruits, Georgia is famous for nuts. Especially walnuts, but there are others: cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia. A kilogram of nuts in a beautiful package is a good gift from Georgia. Nuts can be bought in the form of mixtures, there are nut pastes and sweets.

Sweets

The most obvious advice that children should bring from Georgia is sweets. Georgian desserts are useful because they are made from nuts and fruits. Most often, tourists bring churchkhela with them. It is a candle-like candy made of strung walnut halves covered with thick grape juice. The color of the churchkhela depends on which grape variety is used. Sometimes grape juice is replaced with another one, for example, pomegranate or plum. Hazelnuts can be used instead of walnuts.

In the past, the churchkhela was prepared for warriors who could quickly restore their strength with its help. Now these sweet souvenirs are being sold at every turn. They are especially delicious fresh, as long as they remain soft. But when the candy hardens over time, it can be stored for a long time.

In addition to churchkhela, delicious baklava is made in Georgia from thin layers of dough, nuts and honey or sugar syrup. There are other delicious sweets:

• Jam. Many types of jam are sold in Georgia, including those that are unusual for us. For example, jam made from unripe walnuts has a pleasant unusual taste. You can buy jam made from figs, tangerines, dogwood, quince, feijoa or pine cones. It’s a good idea to bring something from Georgia as a gift.
• Honey. Beekeeping is well developed in Georgia and there are many honey producers. They compete with each other and offer a high-quality product. The choice is very wide. You can buy lime, acacia or dark green spruce honey. But chestnut honey is especially appreciated, which only Caucasian bees are able to collect. It is considered the most useful.
• Tklapi. This is the name of the Georgian pastille — thin layers of fruit puree dried in the sun. It is prepared without sugar, so it is useful, but sometimes it is sour. Tklapi is made from plums, cherry plums, apricots, apples, figs and other fruits. A variety of sour plums is added to kharcho soup.
• Kozinaki. In Georgia, they are called “gozinaki” — from the Persian word “goz”, that is, “nut”. They are usually made from walnuts, less often from almonds or hazelnuts. The nuts are mixed with melted honey, then the mass is dried. This is a traditional Georgian treat for the New Year. Gozinaki can be bought in supermarkets or at the market. Homemade ones are usually softer.

Georgian cheeses

Cheese is a national Georgian product. In rural areas, it is as important as bread — it is the main food. Most often, tourists bring young cheeses from Georgia — “Imereti” and “Suluguni”. They are sold in saline solution or in vacuum packaging, in this form they can be stored for a long time. Hard cheeses are also good. For example, sheep’s “Guda” or “Kalti” in a crust of spices, there are varieties with nuts and herbs. They are even easier to carry.

Cheeses can be bought at the store, where they are already conveniently packed and ready for transportation. There is more choice in bazaars and stalls, you can buy unusual homemade cheese. But you need to pack it yourself.

Lemonades and mineral water

Delicious lemonades based on spring water and fruit syrups are sold in Georgia. There is a lot of variety, try drinks with different flavors. Lemonades with pear, lemon and grape flavors are especially popular. But you can try other types: with feijoa, tarragon, strawberries. There’s even chocolate lemonade. There is not as much sugar in these drinks as in regular soda.

In addition to lemonades, Georgia is famous for its mineral water. Borjomi is easy to buy in Russia, but in Georgia it is possible to collect it directly from the source and compare it with the one that is sold at home. You can bring other water: Nabeglavi, Likani, Sairme. All of them are known for their medicinal properties. Plastic bottles are convenient for transportation. They weigh less and don’t fight.

Johnjoli

Canned and pickled vegetables can be brought from Georgia — they are as diverse as jam. But the jonjoli snack is especially interesting — there is nothing like it in Russia. To prepare this snack, in April, buds are harvested from the wild shrub klekachka Colchis. Then these kidneys are marinated with spices for 1.5 months. It turns out to be a delicious addition to meat or a base for a salad. Pickled jonjoli are delicious, but also healthy. They contain almost all vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium and other trace elements. And there are almost no calories, so this is a suitable product for proper nutrition. If you choose what to bring from Georgia from food, pay attention to it.

National clothes

What kind of souvenir should I bring from Georgia as a gift to surprise and impress someone? An interesting idea is the national costume of the highlanders. Or only the most recognizable part of it is the papakha. This is a black or white fur headdress. The hat is very warm, in the past it was worn in winter in the mountains and did not freeze. Nowadays, even in villages, papakhas are no longer worn, but they continue to be sewn as a souvenir and one of the symbols of Georgia. In addition to the papakha, you can buy a men’s or women’s Georgian belt with silver or brass ornaments. Take a closer look at other leather products. Good shoes, bags, and purses are made in Georgia.

If you choose what to bring from Georgia as a gift to a woman, buy patterned scarves and shawls. Especially beautiful are the products in the silk batik technique, which became popular in Georgia in the 1980s. In addition to clothes, decorative pillowcases and wall panels are made in the batik technique, such work can decorate the house.

If you want to make a practical gift, you can bring socks and slippers made of natural sheep wool from Georgia to Russia. They are very warm, so they will definitely come in handy in winter. Socks knitted by local grandmothers are sold in bazaars. But there are also factory items of modern brands.

Dolls in national costumes

The national costumes of the peoples of Georgia are very beautiful, but expensive. If you do not want to spend a significant amount on things that will be in the closet, buy a miniature version in the form of a doll in national clothes. Dolls are sold in bazaars and souvenir shops, they come in different quality. More expensive ones accurately convey the features of the costume — embroidery, patterns, cut. This is an unusual interior decoration or a good gift for those who collect dolls. There are simple products that can be brought to the child. Some souvenir dolls hold a tray with khachapuri, kebabs, khinkali in their hands — a reminder of Georgian cuisine.

Carpets

All the peoples of the Caucasus region are famous for carpet weaving, and the inhabitants of Georgia are no exception. Once upon a time, wool carpets on the floor and walls helped to keep warm in a mountain dwelling. Now it is a bright decorative element. In Georgia, you can buy a traditional handmade carpet with geometric or floral patterns. You can also choose a more affordable factory product. There are especially many carpets in Adjara, where there are most sheep, but they are also common in other regions of Georgia.

Among the different types of carpets, “pardagi” are especially famous. These are lint-free products made of sheep’s wool, dyed with vegetable dyes. Such carpets are usually hung on the walls. Since they have no lint, they do not accumulate dust and are easy to clean. Pardagi are made in any size: from a half-meter rug to luxury products of 5 meters in length. They are expensive, but for this price you get a handmade carpet made of natural wool. If you are thinking about what you can bring unique from Georgia, this is a good choice.

Ceramic and earthenware

Georgian pottery making traditions go back a long time, and now products made of red and white clay are still common. A good gift from Georgia to a woman is a ketsi clay frying pan. It can be used on the stove, in the oven or in the oven. Many Georgian dishes are prepared in ketsi, and in restaurants they are sometimes served directly in these pans. Ketsi and other types of dishes are sold along the roads from Tbilisi, you can set aside time to buy them during excursions. Ceramics can also be found in city bazaars and shops.

We recommend giving a man a wine jug covered with glaze and decorated with ornaments. Such a thing will surely be used. Other successful souvenirs from Georgia, made by local potters, are drinking bowls, coffee sets and just sets of plates. Since they are made by hand, this is a good way to fill the house with unique things made with soul.

Traditional wine vessels

One of the most spectacular souvenirs that can be brought from Georgia is the khanzi wine horn. A memorable attribute of the Georgian feast is still used to make important toasts during solemn events such as weddings or christenings. Khanzi usually holds from half to two liters of wine, which must be drunk to the bottom. After all, you can’t just put the horn on the table — the remaining wine will spill. But you don’t have to drink everything yourself: after making a toast, the horn was traditionally passed around in a circle.

The tradition of drinking wine from the horn has been around for about 6 millennia — as long as there has been winemaking. It is believed that the vessel symbolizes the cornucopia. To drink from it means to attract good luck. The horns of sheep, goats, bulls or buffaloes are used to make such a vessel. The horn is cleaned and boiled, then polished and decorated with metal elements or ceramics. In the old days, even precious stones were added. Souvenir khanzi are decorated with silver, a chain or cord is often provided for hanging on the wall, there are products with a wooden stand. There are also paired khantsi. Plastic imitations are often found, they are smoother to the touch.

Besides khanzi, there are other unusual wine vessels in Georgia. For example, small tasi bowls are a substitute for the usual glasses. Or aquani, a vessel in the shape of a baby’s cradle, which is used for toasts on the occasion of the birth of children. You can buy wine scoops — deep ones to pour a drink from large jugs, or flat ones for tasting.

Jewelry

What kind of jewelry do tourists bring from Georgia to Russia? Usually these are products in the technique of cloisonne enamel, or minankari. This technique has existed on the territory of Georgia since the 8th century. After the XV century, it was almost forgotten, but in the XX century it was revived and is now flourishing. Most often, minankari jewelry is made of silver. There are cheaper varieties made of copper and more expensive ones made of gold. The contour of the future pattern and the partitions that form the cells for the enamel are applied to the metal base. Then the master fills the cells with enamel of different shades, polishes the product and burns it. The enamel becomes like hard glass — bright, slightly transparent, with saturated colors.

Minankari is made by hand, it is delicate and painstaking work. The price of such jewelry is quite high. But minankari earrings, pendants and rings turn out to be beautiful and unusual. Traditional Georgian motifs are often used in the design. A collection of antique objects in the technique of cloisonne enamel can be viewed at the Tbilisi Art Museum.

Antique items

What should antique connoisseurs bring from Georgia? There are many flea markets and shops in Tbilisi selling vintage items or modern imitations in retro style. These are medals, coins, stamps, vinyl records, watches, cameras and porcelain from Soviet times. You can also find something rarer: paintings, silverware, antique candlesticks, musical instruments or a khanzi drinking horn. A popular place to buy antiques is the Dry Bridge market. But be careful: fake silver is found here. Please also note that items of historical and artistic value cannot be exported from Georgia without permission.

What cannot be exported from Georgia?

When choosing which souvenirs you can bring from Georgia, you need to remember about the restrictions. There are very few of them. Georgia has a ban on the export of cultural property. Therefore, it is better to buy expensive jewelry, carpets and antiques in a store where you will be provided with documents. Receipts need to be saved. The import of cold steel is prohibited from Russia. If you want to bring a dagger or a saber, it should be a souvenir weapon with documents. Fruits, cheeses and other products can be transported in an amount of up to 5 kg. There are also restrictions on the import of alcoholic beverages.

Now you know what to bring home from Georgia to Russia. The largest selection of shops and goods is presented in the capital. To shop in the best places, you will need the help of an experienced guide. He will advise good sellers and tell you the approximate prices. Interesting tours of Georgia, including time to buy souvenirs, can be found in the catalog of the Guides Club. Choose a timely offer and book it online!

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