Co-Geeking

Kangina are traditional, ecological, and effective northern Afghani mud-straw containers for keeping fresh fruit good longer. They work best with a particular type of grapes with thick skins and a late harvest.

Freshly formed bowls are first baked in the sun for a few hours. The fruit is then placed inside, another bowl is placed on top, and the join sealed with more mud.

The kangina are then stored in a cool, dry place for up to five or six months. To open, you gently crack the kangina halves apart. (Seen, for example, in this Voice of America video.)

Definitely not quick or low-effort, but still an impressive way to preserve fruit and introduce variety into your winter diet, isn’t it? Perhaps not the best containers for a party of intrepid D&D adventurers to carry with them, either, but certainly an inspired method of storing food they could run into while resting between quests.

Images: Grapes in a kangina by Voice of America via Wikipedia. A storage pile of kanginas by Stefanie Glinski via Atlas Obscura.

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