Locals in the villages of Diyarbakır and Batman in southeastern Türkiye are working feverishly in order to make molasses, walnut sausage and fruit pulp from grapes they collect from their vineyards to consume and sell during the winter months.
In the Akbaşak village of Diyarbakır's Çüngüş district, locals – in preparations for winter – make walnut sausages and fruit pulp on the earthen roofs of centuries-old stone houses lined up on the slopes of the mountains.
Residents in the village of about 100 households, 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from the district, are working tirelessly to prepare winter products. These are dried by hanging them on clotheslines on the roofs lined up on top of each other in the village.
One of the villagers, Ilhami Şimşek, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they make walnut sausages from two types of grapes. Şimşek stated that the walnut sausage made of grape slurry, which they made with completely organic materials, was very delicious.
"We first make the products for our homes, then for friends, and we sell the rest in the market."
Cemil Kaya, who settled in the village after his retirement, stated that the preparation for the winter began in September and lasted for two months with intense overtime.
"We collect the grapes early in the morning, we carry them to the village with the animals. We boil the grape juice in a cauldron. After boiling for at least three to four hours, we add flour and make slurry. After that, we dip the walnuts into the slurry and (put them out) to dry. This process takes about 10 days. "
Halime Karatemur also stated that the work in the village is difficult and tiring, and noted that she sends the winter products she makes to her children living outside the city.
In the Gercüş district of Batman, at the beginning of the winter, the grapes the villagers collect are turned into molasses after being crushed in squeezing pools and boiled for hours in cauldrons.
The molasses obtained from the grapes grown in the Gercüş Plain is both a source of food for families and an additional income for the farmers.
Gercüş Agriculture and Forestry District Manager Metin Kaplan said that the grape harvest has started in the district as of October.
Stating that the mezrone variety, which is what Gercüş is famous for, is used in the production of molasses, pulp and walnut sausages, Kaplan said that molasses production has started in many villages and neighborhoods.
Noting that there are 45,000 decares of vineyard area in the district and that on 30,000 decares of this land, mezrone is grown, Kaplan said that it is preferred by the farmers for making molasses because it has an economic return.
Eyüp Çetin from Yüceler village stated that the mezrone variety grapes are ripe and the vintage has begun.
