What is chacha? How many degrees in the chacha? Recipe chacha from grapes at home

They say that every good, seasoned drink has its own soul! It so happened that their original strong alcoholic beverages exist in many countries of the world. Whiskey, gin, tequila, sake, rum, vodka, cognac - and this is not the whole list of original alcohol, with pleasure used for holidays and just for good mood.

A bowl of grapes

Such beverages can be reliably attributed to this one. Chacha Georgian has all the possible merits. It has a unique taste and rightfully takes a worthy place in the list. One of the symbols of national Georgian cuisine and hospitality is, of course, Chacha. How many degrees in it and how it can be cooked at home by our own hands, we will tell in this article.

A bit of history

This grape strong alcoholic beverage can be considered a family of brandy (analogue is the Italian grappa, and the southern Slavs make a similar drink - rakia). His history goes back to antiquity, and the subtleties of production are transmitted by the local people from generation to generation. According to some sources, cultivation of grapes took place in Georgia already seven thousand years ago! Where vineyards developed, winemaking also developed. And as a consequence - the production of stronger liquors by distilling the process waste (otzhimok and unmasked brushes). Georgians jokingly say that the distillation cubes themselves were invented much later than the chacha. How many degrees "according to the standard" in the drink? Usually, traditionally, it is stronger than its cheerful "fellow", the fortress can reach 60!

A few more historical facts

1. They say that Stalin at the conference in Yalta offered Roosevelt and Churchill this national drink and noted that this is the best vodka of all kinds! True, the leader of the peoples preferred dry wines.
2. In 2011, khachapuri, suluguni and chacha became Georgian national brands, officially patented.

What is chacha? How many degrees are there in it?

Some mistakenly consider the drink as a kind of moonshine, but it is not. It is made without the addition of sugar and yeast, therefore, in fact, it is not moonshine. For the production, most often those clusters of grapes are taken, which do not fit the conditions for winemaking along with the crests. Goes into the business and the cake, left from the production of wine. It is believed that it is unripe grapes that reduce acidity, increasing PH. Thanks to this increased strength of the drink is not so felt, there is a mild taste. The grapes are called "rkatsiteli" (Western Georgia), "Isabella" and "kachich" (Abkhazia and Adzharia). Sometimes chachu is not made from grapes, but uses plum or figs, for example. Such alcoholic beverages usually assume a strict control of the composition of the pulp. In some varieties add a mixture of grape varieties to get a unique bouquet. Sometimes even - not pressed grapes.

With your own hands

Domestic chacha is distilled, as a rule, twice. But there is a product and a triple distillation. Traditionally, it is not diluted, no matter how strong it may be. And to give a noble cognac color can be used oak bark and tincture of husks of walnuts. At the factory forcing, the obtained alcohol (70-80 degrees) is diluted to the desired consistency, sometimes it is kept in oak containers for obtaining a noble taste and bouquet.

Quality checking

An interesting way to check the quality of the drink "in a popular way". In a cup with a chacha, a finger is dipped, pulled out and set on fire. If the chacha is burned and the finger is not burned, then the quality is considered high.

Recipe

In general, according to the rules, you need to take cake and grape waste of certain varieties (see above). And the chacha should wander on its natural yeast, and alcohol should not be added. The classic recipe does not use sugar.

Ingredients: waste (cake) of grapes and immature substandard bunches with crests - 25 kilograms, pure spring water - 50 liters.

Do not wash the grapes in any way! Bones do not remove! But be careful not to crush them.

All cured and pressed berries are placed in a container of the appropriate capacity (up to 100 liters). Add spring water, stirring with a spatula made of wood. In the dishes there should be another 20 percent of the space for the emitted carbon dioxide. We place the capacity in a dark warm place (operating temperature - from 22 to 30 degrees). Install the water seal. Non-yeast fermentation lasts longer than usual. Fermentation occurs sometimes in two to three months. Braga is mixed every three days (if this is not done, the surface may become moldy). When carbon dioxide (bubbles) stops coming out - the breg is ready for further processing. At this point, it tastes slightly bitter, but do not get scared. Subsequently, the bitterness will merge with the general flavors and go away. After some, they prefer to drain the liquid through the filter. And some do not do this, believing that the special taste of the future drink will give solid parts of the brag. As a filter, if desired, you can use the most ordinary gauze.

Chase in the cube, like moonshine. The first grams are separated, since they are considered harmful to health. Then follows the main faction, which is checked constantly on the fortress with an alcohol meter or folk methods (you can drip a few drops in a saucer and set it on fire). When the fortress falls below forty (respectively, the chacha ceases to burn when ignited), stop the intake of the drink. The last fraction is collected separately.

After the first distillation, the liquid is diluted and another distillation is carried out according to the same principle. It turns out a pure drink. You can apply additional cleaning coal or potassium permanganate. So you can make such a homemade delicious grape drink, like chacha. How many degrees will be in its bottling, it's up to you. Some say that it is better not to dilute the home chacha. Others prefer to dilute up to 45 degrees with the help of spring water (the fortress is measured with an alcoholometer). In any case, the chacha is a soft drink and is used quite easily compared to, for example, moonshine.