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Tushetian Guda Cheese with Shoti Bread

Serve Tushetian Guda, Georgia’s mature highland cheese, with fresh shoti bread in a simple four-person tasting plate

Georgian home recipeGeorgian dish
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Tushetian Guda slices and shoti bread on the right side of a wide wooden table, with Tusheti mountain towers beyond.
Yield1 tasting plate for 4; 200 g cheese and 240 g bread, about 110 g per serving
Preparation10 minutes
Cooking0 minutes
Passive time0 minutes
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The dish

About Tushetian Guda Cheese with Shoti Bread

გუდის ყველი · 4 servings · Easy · 10 minutes

Guda cheese takes its name from the traditional skin bag in which the cheese matures. Tushetian Guda is associated with the highland region of Tusheti in eastern Georgia. Its distinctive character comes from the cheese itself: the protected-appellation specification describes a dense, slightly elastic texture and a salty, piquant, savoury taste.

Georgia Travel names Dedas puri, also called shoti bread, as a classic accompaniment. This simple serving plate keeps the cheese at the centre and lets the bread balance its intensity. Use finished, properly labelled cheese from a traceable producer; this recipe is a serving suggestion, not a home cheesemaking method.

The recipe uses 50 g of cheese and 60 g of bread per person. Guda varies with its milk blend and salting, so taste a small piece before serving and do not add salt. Keep the cheese refrigerated until the platter is ready, then serve it promptly.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

გუდის ყველი · 4 servings · Easy · 10 minutes

For the plate

  • 200 gfinished Tushetian Guda cheese, preferably from a traceable producer
  • 240 gfresh plain shoti bread
Method

Method

  1. Check and chill. Keep the cheese refrigerated until just before serving. Read the package to confirm the milk treatment and follow its storage directions.

  2. Slice the cheese. With a clean knife, cut the Guda into slices about 8–10 mm thick. Divide it into four portions of 50 g.

  3. Prepare the bread. Tear the shoti into four portions of about 60 g each.

  4. Arrange and serve. Place one portion of cheese and bread on each plate or arrange everything on one platter. Serve immediately without added salt.

Excerpt

Excerpt

Serve characterful Tushetian Guda cheese the simple Georgian way: cut it into generous slices and pair it with fresh shoti bread.

Practical guidance

Practical guidance

Guda is strongly flavoured and can be quite salty. Begin with the stated 50 g portion and let each diner take more bread as needed; added salt is unnecessary. If the cheese is very firm from refrigeration, let it stand only while you cut and arrange the bread.

Buy cheese from a producer or seller that identifies the product and its milk treatment. Keep it wrapped and refrigerated between servings, and follow the package for use after opening. Fresh shoti is best the day it is bought; use another plain Georgian-style wheat loaf if shoti is not available.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Serving size: about 110 g (50 g cheese and 60 g bread)
  • Energy: approximately 290 kcal
  • Carbohydrates: 32 g
  • Protein: 12 g
  • Fat: 13 g
  • Fibre: 2 g
  • Sodium: approximately 870 mg; actual Guda can be saltier, so check its label
Allergens and food safety

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk and wheat (gluten). Traditional Tushetian Guda is made from raw milk. Raw-milk dairy can carry harmful germs, even when it is produced carefully. Pasteurized dairy is the lower-risk choice. Do not serve unheated raw-milk cheese to children under 5, adults over 65, pregnant people or anyone with a weakened immune system; offer a pasteurized cheese instead. Keep Guda refrigerated at or below 4 °C, use clean utensils, and do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and follow the package's after-opening directions.

To serve

To serve

  • Bring the platter to the table as soon as the bread is portioned; do not leave the cheese out while preparing other dishes.
  • Pair with fresh shoti bread so each bite can balance the cheese's salty, piquant flavour.
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