Kut: The Mystery of Khachapuri and and Its Relationship with Plantago

Abstract

In Svaneti, "diar" remains the term for everyday bread, while the functionally and conceptually distinct ritual bread is called "le-mzir," or the bread of "mzir." "Le-mzir" exhibits remarkable diversity, among which is "kut/kutv" – khachapuri, cheese-filled bread.

This study examines the preparation technology of cheese, a significant attribute of ritual culture. To demonstrate that humans in the Georgian territory used plant-based rennet before animal enzymes for curdling milk, an experiment was conducted which confirmed that cheese production using plants is possible without animal stomach enzymes, and that this plant is the plantago, distinguished by its medicinal properties and bearing the name of bread and khachapuri – "kut- ḳvax" ("kut" – khachapuri, "ḳvax" – bread without filling).