Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
kutalyu
(spoon sweets), are served on tiny plates as a welcome offering, but are also deli-
cious as a topping on yoghurt or ice cream.
Look out for regional specialities such as almond
amygdhalota
from Andros and
Mykonos or Syros' renowned 'Grecian delight' (aka Turkish delight). Mastiha - mastic-
flavoured
ypovryhio
(submarine) sugar confectionary from Chios - is served on a spoon
dipped in a glass of water, or try the chilled mastic liqueur. Thessaloniki's famous
bou-
gatsa
(baked creamy semolina custard-filled pastry sprinkled with icing sugar) can be
found around Greece.
Greek coffee is traditionally brewed in a
briki
(narrow-top pot) on a hot-sand apparatus
called a
hovoli
- and served in a small cup. Order a
metrio
(medium, with one sugar)
and sip slowly until you reach the mudlike grounds (don't drink them).
Festive Food
Greece's religious and cultural celebrations inevitably involve a feast and many have
their own culinary traditions.
The 40-day Lenten fast spawned
nistisima
, foods without meat or dairy (or oil if you
go strictly by the topic). Lenten sweets include
halva
, both the Macedonian-style version
(sold in delis) made from tahini and the semolina dessert often served after a meal.
Red-dyed boiled Easter eggs decorate the
tsoureki
, a brioche-style bread flavoured
with
mahlepi
(mahaleb cherry kernels) and mastic. Saturday night's post-Resurrection
Mass supper includes
mayiritsa
(offal soup), while Easter Sunday sees whole lambs
cooking on spits all over the countryside.
A golden-glazed
vasilopita
cake is cut at midnight on New Year's Eve, giving good
fortune to whoever gets the lucky coin inside.
GREEK WINE
The Greek wine renaissance has been gaining international attention and awards,
with first-class wines being produced from age-old indigenous varietals with
unique character. The latest generation of internationally trained winemakers are
producing great wines from Greece's premiere wine regions, from Nemea in the
Peloponnese to Naoussa in the north.
Greek white varieties includemoschofilero,assyrtiko,athiri,roditis,robolaand
savatiano; the popular reds includexynomavro,agiorgitikoandkotsifali.
