「经济学人」The antidote to urban life

It’s notching up billions of YouTube views

“THIS IS A balm for the soul, this is real relaxation,” reads a comment on YouTube under Country Life Vlog. But can cooking pilaf with beef and pumpkin or baking bread on a barrel really have a transforming effect? With nearly 7m subscribers and 2bn views, to say it is boring is to miss the point. Those tuning in from London, Sydney, Yekaterinburg and Kyiv do so for a glimpse of a tiny arcadia on the southern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains. Five years in, there are no special effects, plot twists or suspense. What the almost 500 episodes (around 25 minutes each) unapologetically provide is a dollop of tranquillity and harmony with nature. The echo is of a bygone era where summer fruit was canned for the winter months and simple agricultural chores were part of food preparation.

The Azerbaijani matron, in housedress and apron, works outdoors quietly chopping vegetables and seasoning meat surrounded by foliage, flower pots and running water. There is an economy of motion—only cats and puppies frolicking nearby, mountain ridges covered in fog. Her son chops wood for the stove and harvests almonds from the trees. The ancient recipe of “duck in the mud” is followed by quince and dogwood preserve, pickled cabbage and other traditional dishes, most cooked in cauldrons before being transferred into big metallic vats. The setting is bucolic; there is no sound except birdsong, the pouring of tea (freshly brewed from rose petals and wild flowers) and the occasional fragment of dialogue, which is never translated.

Bounded by Russia and Georgia to the north, the Caspian Sea on the east, Armenia on the west and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan seems an unlikely place to find a pocket of calm. Yet the pristine life it evokes somewhere on the slopes of Mount Shahdag rings true. The filming of unhurried preparation and cooking, unaided by modern kitchen gadgets, has struck a chord; what emerges is a feeling of relaxation vicariously absorbed through Azerbaijani cuisine and the outdoors. Similar niche shows have sprung up in Turkey and Uzbekistan. Although they are not to be underestimated, this Azerbaijani channel is the best. Long on turmeric, saffron and onions; short on stress.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The antidote to urban life”(Oct 24th 2024)

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