Falling into lekvar in Hecha (PHOTOS)

A colorful village in Beregovo district, known for its winter meat festival of butchers, in the summer invites to taste jam.

The festival in honor of the extra-thick plum jam – the legendary lekvar – took place in the village for the ninth time. This year, 6 teams took part in it, including one from Hungary. The participants started washing and picking plums and cooking lekvar soon after dawn. Because plum jam is cooked in pots on fire for at least 12 hours. It should be stirred constantly to prevent it from burning.     It has long been a favorite process in Transcarpathian villages: people gather in the yard, cook plums, cut wood, keep their watch near pots, talk to each other and have a feast.

Of course, there was another famous plum product at the holiday – plum vodka. Guests were also treated with pastries with lekvar and a large assortment of other jams. Since lekvar is a component for desserts, other traditional dishes of the Transcarpathian Hungarians were also made at the festival.

Hecha is considered the Transcarpathian capital of the lekvar, local masters make up to 100 kilograms of this product per season and sell it to tourists at about 100 hryvnias per kilo.