Thursday, April 26, 2012

Georgian Easter, Part 1: Jonjoli


Rustavi, Georgia. Jonjoli. Flowers to be pickled.


Being within the circle of a Georgian family during the Georgian Orthodox Easter was a gift. It was made especially so because two of my friends, Pam and Kate, were here from the U.S. to experience it with me, as was my TLG colleague, Sandy.


On Easter day, Irakli arrived in Rustavi from his and Nely's Kakheti village home in Kardanakhi. Irakli brought with him the sinfully delicious dried persimmons, a supply of chacha, and a huge box of fresh flowers for Nely to pickle.

Rustavi, Georgia. Jonjoli. Flowers to be pickled. Nely.
 
To tell the truth, I'm not a big fan of these flowers once pickled - called jonjoli - but I like the idea of them in the abstract. Until Easter, I had no idea what the flowers looked like when new, as I'd only seen the pickled product.


Nely told me the flowers are cousins to capers. The flowers grow on a tree.

Rustavi, Georgia. Jonjoli. Flowers to be pickled.


 Kate and Nely picked through the flowers, removing the leaves.

Rustavi, Georgia. Jonjoli. Flowers to be pickled. Nely.


The next day, Nely began the pickling process. But here is an example of the finished product:

Jonjoli. Georgia. Photo credit: Helen Graves.


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