Armenian cuisine

Overview

Armenian cuisine belongs to the family of Caucasian cuisines, and has strong ties with Turkish cuisine, Georgian cuisine, Persian cuisine, and Levantine cuisine in general. Historically, there have been mutual influences with all of the above-listed cuisines, though the exact nature of the influences is nebulous due to the dearth of research, political and nationalistic tensions, and the close co-habitation of the Armenian, Turkish, and Iranian people during the past seven centuries. In addition, the Armenian Genocide of 1915, with the ensuing large-scale transplantation of the survivors to the West, has further muddied the evidence.

Nevertheless, certain qualities may generally be taken to characterize Armenian cuisine:

Typical dishes

There are two de facto national dishes in Armenian cuisine.

The "everyday" Armenian dish is the dzhash (Ճաշ). This is a brothy stew consisting of meat (or a legume, in the meatless version), a vegetable, and spices. The dzhash was typically cooked in the tonir. The dzhash is generally served over a pilaf of rice or bulgur, sometimes accompanied by bread, pickles or fresh vegetables or herbs. A specific variety of dzhash is the porani (պորանի), a stew made with yoghurt, of possibly Persian origin. Examples of dzhash are:

Grilled meats (kabobs) are quite common as well and are omnipresent at market stalls, where they are eaten as fast food, as well as at barbecues and picnic. Also, in modern times, no Armenian banquet is considered complete without an entree of kabob. Kabobs vary from the simple (marinated meat on a skewer interspersed with vegetables) to the more elaborate. Certain regions in Western Armenia developed their local, specialized kabobs. For example, we have

Stuffed dishes are usually served on festive occasions, as they take quite a bit of time to prepare. Almost any vegetable or cut of meat is a candidate for stuffing. Examples are:

Typically, the stuffing consists of rice or bulgur, mixed with ground meat, seasonings, and sometimes dried fruits and nuts. Vegetarian stuffings follow the same pattern but replace the meat with a variety of pulses and legumes.

A common dish of Armenian cuisine is pilaf (եղինց; yeghints). Pilaf is a seasoned rice, bulgur, or shelled wheat dish often served with meats such as lamb or beef. Many pilafs (especially in Western Armenian cuisine) are made with vermicelli in addition to the rice or wheat. Pilafs can also include meats, vegetables, and/or dried fruits to make them more substantial (similar to the Indian biryani). Rice pilaf with dried fruits is part of the Eastern Armenian Christmas Eve tradition. Pilaf made with bulgur and liver is a specialty of Zeitoun (Cilicia, Western Armenia).

Spices and herbs

Armenian cuisine uses spices sparingly but instead relies on the use of fresh herbs.

The primary spices used in Armenian cuisine are salt, garlic, red pepper (particularly Aleppo pepper, which is a spicier variety of paprika), dried mint (in Western Armenia), cumin, coriander, sumac (the powdered dried berry of the Mediterranean sumac bush), cinnamon, cloves, Mahleb (the powdered pit of the black cherry).

The types of herbs used in cuisine are strongly influenced by region. In Eastern Armenia, the following fresh herbs are used liberally: dill, Parsley, Tarragon, Basil, Oregano (particularly wild oregano), Thyme. In Western Armenia, the preferred herbs are: mint, Parsley, Basil, Tarragon, Thyme, and savory. Throughout the country, local herbs are used as well. Many of the herbs that Western Armenians have used have fallen out of use because of lack of availability. In the Republic of Armenia, and particularly in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh), aveluk (Rumex crispus), chrchrok (a water grass similar to water cress), and other herbs are all used.

In addition to the above, various scents and attars commonly used in the Middle-East are also used in the making of sweets; for example, rose water and orange blossom water.

Breakfast

The modern Armenian breakfast consists of coffee or tea, plus a spread of cheeses, jams, jellies, eggs, and breads. Armenians living in the Diaspora often adopt local customs. Thus, Armenians in Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt may include "fool" (stewed fava beans in olive oil).

Traditional Armenian breakfast dishes were hearty. They included:

Appetizers

Meals in Armenia often start with a spread of appetizers served for "the table".

Bread is "de rigueur", particularly flat breads such as lavash.

Salads

Many, if not most, Armenian salads combine a grain or legume with fresh vegetables—often tomato, onions, and fresh herbs. Mayonnaise is used in Western or Russian-inspired salads (e.g., Salade Olivier). Examples of Armenian salads include

Byorek

Grilled meats

Grilling (barbecue) is very popular in Armenia, and grilled meats are often the main course in restaurants and at family gatherings. Grilled meat is also a fast food.

Soups

Armenian soups include spas, made from matzoon, hulled wheat and herbs (usually cilantro), and aveluk, made from lentils, walnuts, and wild mountain sorrel (which gives the soup its name). Kiufta soup is made with large balls of strained boiled meat (kiufta) and greens.

Another soup, khash, is considered an Armenian institution. Songs and poems have been written about this one dish, which is made from cow's feet and herbs made into a clear broth. Tradition holds that khash can only be cooked by men, who spend the entire night cooking, and can be eaten only in the early morning in the dead of winter, where it served with heaps of fresh garlic and dried lavash.

T'ghit is a very special and old traditional food, made from t'tu lavash (fruit leather, thin roll-up sheets of sour plum purée), which are cut into small pieces and boiled in water. Fried onions are added and the mixture is cooked into a purée. Pieces of lavash bread are placed on top of the mixture, and it is eaten hot with fresh lavash used to scoop up the mixture by hand.

Karshm is a local soup made in the town of Vaik in the Vayots Dzor Province. This is a walnut based soup with red and green beans, chick peas and spices, served garnished with red pepper and fresh garlic. Soups of Russian heritage include borscht, a beet root soup with meat and vegetables (served hot in Armenia, with fresh sour cream) and okroshka, a matzoon or kefir based soup with chopped cucumber, green onion, and garlic.

Fish

For a relatively land-locked country, Armenian cuisine includes a surprising number of fish dishes. Typically, fish is either broiled, fried, or sometimes poached. A few recipes direct the fish to be stuffed. Fish may have been used to stuff vegetables in ancient times, though that is not common anymore.

There are several varieties of fish in the Republic of Armenia:

Main courses

Meat products

Dairy products

Dairies form an important part of the Armenian diet, especially in the cold winter months where, in past times, the only available vegetables were dried or pickled.

Yogurt (մածուն) and yogurt-derived products are of particular importance in the cuisine. In past times, villagers made a distinction between different types of yogurt, such as the yogurt made with the first milk of spring, etc. From yogurt is made tahn, a refreshing drink made from yogurt, water, and salt. Yogurt is also strained (քամված մածուն) and, thus prepared, may be used as a dip or mixed with broth in soups or stews (since the strained yogurt does not curdle as easily as plain yogurt). As a mean of long-term preservation, yogurt was also strained, formed into balls that were allowed to dry in the sun. This preparation is known as չորթան ("dry" yogurt) and is a relative of the Iranian Kashk.

An interesting preparation is the use of yogurt and bulgur to make թարխանա (tarkhana). The bulgur is kneaded with yogurt (and sometimes dried mint), dried in the sun, then broken into pieces that are stored in jars (or, traditionally, cloth sacks that were hung from the rafters). The preserved product could then be used in the winter to make soup or stews.

Yogurt forms the base of many stews and sauces. Պորանի (porani) is a stew with many variants but with the common characteristic of using yogurt. Many Armenian soups are made with yogurt. Generally, rice, bulgur, or vermicelli is boiled, and yogurt, or strained yogurt, is mixed to make soup. There are of course many variants involving the addition of legumes, herbs, spices, etc. In Western Armenian cuisine, a common side dish or dip is սխտոր մածուն ("garlic yogurt"), made by beating raw mashed garlic and salt into yogurt.

In addition to yogurt, Armenians use all the typical dairy products, from milk itself, to milk cream, sour cream (թթվասեր, t'tvaser), etc. Clotted cream, known as սերուցք (serootsk, also known by the Turkish word Kaymak), is a staple of Western Armenian sweets.

Bread

Sweets

Ritual foods

Drinks

Beer

Beer (Armenian: գարեջուր gareǰur)

Armenian produced beer is considered to be one of the favorite drinks of Armenian men. The beer industry is developing barley malt and producing beer from it. The preparation of beer in Armenia was known from ancient times. According to the Greek historian Xenophon the manufacture of beer in Armenia has begun from BC V-IV centuries. Armenians used beer grains for brewing (barley, millet, hops).

In 1913 there were 3 factories of beer, there was produced 54 thousand deciliters of beer. In 1952-78 there were built new factories in Yerevan, Goris, Alaverdi, Abovyan, existing factories expanded and technically equipped. For providing raw materials for beer production in Gyumri was launched large malt plant, based in the production of barley melt of Shirak valley farms (with the capacity of 10 thousand tons of production). In 1985 was produced 6 million deciliters of beer.

Popular Brands

Brandy

Armenian brandy (Armenian: կոնյակ konyak), known locally as konyak is perhaps Armenia's most popular exported alcoholic drink. It has a long history of production. Armenian brandy made by Yerevan Wine & Brandy Factory was the favorite drink of British statesman Winston Churchill. Stalin used to send him tons of Armenian Brandy during the World War I. It was the favorite alcoholic drink for Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Churchill at the Yalta conference at 1945.

Since 1887, in the winery of Armenian merchant N. Tairov (Yerevan) Brandy production begins. In 1890-1900 Yerevan is becoming a center for the production of brandy, are based Gyozalov (1892), Saradjev (1894), Ter-Mkrtchian (1899), and other factories. In 1899, N. Tairov sold his factory to Nikolay Shustov’s well-known brand in Russia. In 1914, there were 15 factories in the province of Yerevan (the largest the one of Shustov) which produced 210010 deciliters of brandy. In 1921, was state-owned Shustov’s factory, it was renamed to “Ararat” and became the main factory in the wine manufacturing.

Despite the fact that only brandies produced in the Cognac region of France have the copyright to be called “cognac” according to Western trade rules. Armenian brandy is called cognac inside Armenia. Yerevan Wine & Brandy Factory is now negotiating for obtaining an official privilege to market its brandy as cognac.

Armenian brandy is categorized by its age and method of aging. The rated stars indicate the age of brandy since its fermentation starting from 3 stars. The most expensive cognacs have passed additional vintage for more that 6 years and have special names. The brandy is aged in oak barrels and is made from selected local white grapes grown in the Ararat Valley which is giving it a shade of caramel brown.

Popular Brands

Oghi

Oghi (Armenian: օղի òġi) – an Armenian alcoholic beverage, similar to Turkish "rakı" and its distant cousin from the Balkans "rakiya", usually distilled from fruit; also called aragh. Artsakh is a well-known brand name of Armenian mulberry vodka (tuti oghi) produced in Nagorno-Karabakh from local fruit. In the Armenian Diaspora, where fruit vodka is not distilled, oghi refers to the aniseed-flavored distilled alcoholic drink called arak in the Middle East, raki in Turkey, or ouzo in Greece.

Wine

The alcoholic drink with the longest history in Armenia is wine. One of the oldest wineries in the world was discovered in Armenia. Historically, wineries in Armenia were concentrated along the Ararat valley. Of particular note was the district of Koghtn (Գողթն, current Nakhichevan area). Today, Armenian wineries are concentrated in the Areni region (district of Vayots Dzor).

Armenian wine is mostly made from local varietals, such as Areni, Lalvari, Kakhet, etc., though some wineries mix in better known European varietals such as Chardonnay and Cabernet. Winemaking took a downward plunge in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but is undergoing a revival, with the addition of world-class labels such as Zorah Wines. A yearly wine festival, held in Areni, is popular with the locals and features wines from official wineries as well as homemade hooch of varying quality. Armenian wines are predominantly red and are sweet, semi-sweet (Vernashen, Ijevan), or dry (Areni).

Armenian Highland engaged in winemaking since ancient times. It has achieved considerable development of Urartu times (IX - VI centuries. BC). During excavations in the castle of Teyshebaini have been found around 480, and in Toprakkale, Manazkert, Red Hill and Ererbunium 200 pot.

The evidences of high-level and large-scale wine production in Armenia are as foreign (Herodotus, Strabo, Xenophon and others) and Armenian historians of V-XVIII centuries, as well as sculptures of architectural monuments and protocols. Armenia's current area began wine production in the 2nd half of XIX century. At the end of XIX century, next to the small businesses in Yerevan, Ghamarlu (Artashat), Ashtarak, Echmiadzin (Vagharshapat ), there were 4 mill.

In addition to grapes, wines have been made with other fruit, notably pomegranate (Armenian: նռան գինի nran kini), apricot, quince, etc. In some cases, these fruit wines are fortified.

Mineral waters

Among the soft drinks Armenian mineral water is known for its healing specialty and is recommended by doctors. This spring water is originating from the depth of earth and flowing from ancient mountains in the city of Jermuk.

Armenia has rich reserves of mineral water. After the establishment of the Soviet Union the study and development of multilateral disciplines in these waters have begun. First industrial bottling was organized in Arzni, at 1927. In 1949, were put into operation Dilijan and Jermuk mineral water factories. In 1960-1980 were launched “Sevan”, “Hankavan”, “Lichk”, “Bjni”, “Lori”, “Arpi”, “Ararat”, mineral water bottling plants and factories, which are involved in the production unit “mineral water of Armenia”. ASSR in 1985 produced 295 million bottles of mineral water.