Karpaty Nasolodzhuisia juices & jams, Perechyn

“Karpaty Nasolodzhuisia” (Carpathians, Enjoy) is a brand of the company Dzherela Karpat from Perechyn, a small town in the Uzh valley. Its story is one of revival: the plant occupies the site of an old juice factory abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The new owners restored the buildings, launched canning and juice lines, and started full production in March 2016. Since then the brand has focused on what the Carpathians have in abundance — berries, birch sap, mushrooms and fruit from a clean mountain environment.

Why look for this brand

“Karpaty Nasolodzhuisia” is a way to take home the taste of the Carpathian forest: a jar of lingonberry jam, a bottle of birch sap or berry drink. The plant is a production site and does not publicly offer tours, so this is mainly about buying. The products are sold in shops and supermarkets and through the producer’s online store; for availability, bulk orders or buying directly in Perechyn, get in touch by phone or e-mail. Note that the brand’s social-media activity has dropped noticeably in recent years, so before travelling be sure to check that production is still running at the listed address.

What to try and buy

The company specialises in juices, fruit drinks, syrups, jams and preserved vegetables. Part of the range is made from wild berries and forest produce:

• birch sap and lingonberry drink;
• bilberry, lingonberry and blackberry jams;
• drinks — uzvar (dried-fruit compote), rosehip and acacia-blossom drinks, including large three-litre bag-in-box packs;
• porcini mushrooms and preserved vegetables — for example sweet peppers in brine.

According to the regional tourism department, some products — lingonberry drink, lingonberry, bilberry and blackberry jams, birch sap and porcini — meet organic production standards; the producer stresses that it adds no preservatives, colourings or artificial flavourings. Gathering berries and mushrooms is an age-old occupation in the mountain villages of the Uzh valley: in late summer locals head into the forests for bilberries and lingonberries, in autumn for mushrooms, and in spring they tap birch sap. Uzvar made from dried apples, pears and plums is a familiar drink in Zakarpattia homes, and the acacia blossom that fills the region’s valleys has long been used for syrups and honey.

Practical information

• Address: 26 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St, Perechyn (as given by the producer; check that it is current).
• Phones: +38 050 610 15 96, +38 050 914 63 47.
• E-mail: [email protected].
• Website: carpaty-enjoy.ua; the brand also has Instagram and Facebook pages.
• Hours: not published — this is a factory, not a shop, so arrange any visit in advance.

Getting there. Perechyn lies about 20 km from Uzhhorod on the road that follows the Uzh valley to Velykyi Bereznyi and the Uzhok Pass. Buses run here from Uzhhorod, as do local trains on the Uzhhorod–Sambir line (Perechyn station). By car the drive takes about half an hour.

Website and social media: carpaty-enjoy.ua · instagram.com · facebook.com

Photos: zaktour.gov.ua; instagram.com; carpaty-enjoy.ua.