Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

There is good news for sweet tooth in Azerbaijan. The appetizing 3^rd annual Jam Festival will again be held in country’s northern city of Gabala.

The sweets festival is scheduled for August 29 and will showcase jams from 23 of the country’s regions.

It is noteworthy that this year’s festival has received international status, according to the Jeyran Askarova, the deputy director of the National Cuisine Center.

Gabala will welcome representatives from Russia, Chuvashia, Ingushetia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine.

Some eight types of jams will be put on display during the fragrant festival. Among them will be olive, chestnut, violet, aborigine and tomato jams.

Askarova said that the jury will evaluate the jams according to cooking technique, taste, color and appearance.

The winner of the most delicious jam will be awarded by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Gabala city Executive Power, and the National Cuisine Center.

Every year, the delicious festival attracts thousands of local and foreign tourists, and guests have a chance to taste delicious varieties of Azerbaijani jams, or “murabba.”

Last year, representatives from 20 regions attended the festival, where the strawberry murabba of the representative from Ganja was recognized as the tastiest.

Murabba is the main dessert on the Azerbaijani table that is served at every tea party.

Jam goes very well with bread and Azerbaijanis enjoy it with tea at breakfast time. It is also used as a filling for pies, and added to cakes and pastries.

Besides all of these, murabba is used for treating colds. Various types of murabba like dogwood, blackberries, and currants – rich with vitamin C – usually serve as treatment for the flu in Azerbaijani households.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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