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| Afghanistan |
| The Ancient Method That Keeps Afghanistan’s Grapes Fresh All Winter |
| 2021-03-29 |
| [AtlasObscura] Ziaulhaq Ahmadi sits on the floor of his small, one-story house, a brown, mud-walled compound at the end of a dusty alley in Aqa Saray. Surrounded by vineyards, fruit trees, and snow-capped mountains, the village is a half hour’s drive north of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital. With great gentleness, he taps on what looks like a sealed mud bowl until it cracks open. Ahmadi, 45, reveals a handful of grapes from inside the mud container. They have been there, he explains, since harvest time, nearly five months ago, and kept for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which is celebrated on the spring equinox. After all these months, his grapes still look perfect, and are perfectly fresh. A proud smile forms on his wrinkled face. “We use an ancient preservation technique,” he says. Afghans developed this method of food preservation, which uses mud-straw containers and is known as kangina, centuries ago in Afghanistan’s rural north. Thanks to the technique, people in remote communities who can’t afford imported produce are able to enjoy fresh fruit in winter months. But even in villages like Ahmadi’s, near the capital, the tradition is kept alive for good reason. “Have you ever seen another method that can keep grapes fresh for nearly half a year?” Ahmadi asks with a laugh. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 My preferred method of grape preservation is to turn it into wine. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2021-03-29 07:05 |