Gabala Murabba Festival pleases sweet tooth

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

The 4th International Murabba (Jam) Festival held in Azerbaijan’s picturesque Gabala region on August 27 came to end with a pleasant smile of visitors, who were able to enjoy a delicious samples of jams displayed during the event.

Confectioners from Turkey, Iran, Ghana, Georgia, Russia, North Cyprus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, China as well as jam masters from 30 Azerbaijani regions put on display magnificent samples of sweet jams. 

Every year, the delicious festival draws in thousands of guests who are eager to taste delicious varieties of Azerbaijani jams, or as it called here “murabba”. This year the event attracted over 3,000 local and foreign tourists.

Among the guests of the festival, held under the patronage of the World Association of Culinary Institutions and the World Organization of Folk Art, were senior officials of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Executive Power of Gabala region, the National Cuisine Centre of Azerbaijan, ambassadors of several countries accredited to the country.

The opening ceremony saw speeches of Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfas Garayev, Head of the Executive Power of Gabala region Sabuhi Abdullayev, MP Fattah Heydarov, Director of the Azerbaijan National Cuisine Center Tahir Amiraslanov and Chairman of the festival’s jury, President of the Cooks Association of Uzbekistan Akbar Umarov.

The festival is traditionally held in the form of competition.  This year, some 28 members of the jury, who are experts in this field, evaluated the jams.

Each region was represented by eight cooks, and each team prepared eight kinds of jam.

Jam made from cherry, blackberry, strawberry, quince, walnuts, apricots, rose petals, plum and others were put on display.  Jam of violets, mint, rose hips, corn, wild Alcha, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, yellow raspberries, aubergines and melons aroused a big interest.

Ukraine took the first place among foreign countries for the best presentation; the second place went to Northern Cyprus. In the competition for the best jam Iran took the first place, while China stood second. For the variety of jam kinds Uzbekistan won the first place and Turkey placed second. 

Among Azerbaijani regions Zardab (jam from cherries), Ismayilli (blackberry), Ganja (strawberry), Shaki (quince), Gazakh (nuts), Lankaran (apricot), Gadabey (rose petals) and Gabala (plum) took first places. The winner in “The most unusual jam” nomination was Balakan region (lime blossom). The winner in “The greatest number of jam species” became the team from Baku, and in “The best presentation” -- Khachmaz. Among the enterprises for the production of jams Gilan Holding took the first place.

Following the competition, jams were set for the sale. Companies producing jams, wine, fruit juices, and food products featured their products at the event.

Gabala, which has already turned into a world-famous venue of international cultural events, hosted the first Jam Festival in 2013. Every year the number of participants increases.

The event aims to preserve the intangible cultural heritage of the country, as well as promote tourism in the region.

Murabba in Azerbaijani refers to sweets made by boiling of berries, fruits, nuts, some vegetables and flowers. Murabba is the main dessert on the Azerbaijani table and is served at every tea party.

There are different kinds of murabba in Azerbaijan which provide us with enough material to put together a book on it. Among them are strawberry, quince, cherry, apricot, rose, blackberry, walnut, plum and even tomato and eggplant murabba.

It goes very well with both bread and tea at breakfast. It is also used as a filling for pies and added to cakes and pastries.

In addition, 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.