Cyprus Cuisine History

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ONCE YOU TRY IT, YOU NEVER FORGET IT… ~ Cypriots trace their gastronomic heritage to their long, turbulent history and to the unique geographic position of the island. ~ Cyprus, the eastern island in the Mediterranean Sea, acts as a hub between three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa and benefits from their culture. ~ The local gastronomy has been influenced over the years by factors such as: ~ The deep rooted Greek civilization and culture with the dominance of the Greek diet and the concept of taverna and meze, ~ History has played an important role in the development of Cyprus Cuisine. Over the centuries this small but strategically placed eastern Mediterranean island has been dominated by many powerful nations. The Phoenicians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Lusignans, Venetians, Ottomans and the British have all ruled over Cyprus and contributed in their various ways to its colorful traditions. ~ The many foreign rulers who brought along their own food habits which were gradually adopted as local, ~ The favorable climate allowing the production of natural food ingredients and ~ The long history of the island in grape and wine production. ~ Today, it is universally accepted that products from Mediterranean countries and the Mediterranean diet, represent an excellent choice in gourmet cuisine. The products of Cyprus represent exactly this diet, bridging together a high quality produce, an excellent taste and offering a much healthier alternative. Nothing is better! For centuries, Cypriots have lived on and enjoyed their version of the Mediterranean diet.

 

GREEK-CYPRIOT CUISINE ~ Cyprus - Mediterranean diet is the same as Greek food which includes basic foods such as Greek olive oil, olives, an abundance of fresh fruits, Greek salads, vegetables and the freshest fish, which comes straight from the sea. ~ If there is one main element that characterizes the Cypriot cuisine, it is its freshness. The other is the variety of dishes that you will find in Cyprus. The Cypriot cuisine due to its Greek, Turkish and Middle Eastern influences offers some unique dishes and culinary experiences. ~ Cyprus food is always accompanied with bread. ~ A slice of crunchy bread, olives, cheese, tomatoes and cucumber, mopped up with olive oil, is a Traditional Mediterranean snack. This tasty snack can also include dips such as Hummus, Taramosalata, Aubergines and Talatouri (yogurt, shredded cucumber, mint and garlic) which are deliciously eaten alone or with some warm pitta bread.	Breakfast by the Sea Greek Coffee
Halloumi Cheese Anari	Halloumi: ~ Fresh or mature, has always been the flagship of Cyprus Authentic Cuisine. For centuries this product is a key constituent of the Cypriot diet and has been closely associated with the culture and traditions of the local people. ~ Halloumi is the unripe, semi hard white cheese with a texture between cottage cheese and mozzarella. Halloumi may well be eaten raw but it tastes best when cooked, fried or barbequed on charcoal. It is this distinctive characteristic that makes halloumi a unique cheese. ~ Hallumi may also be consumed fresh in a salad or a sandwich, grated over pasta, as a stuffing in ravioli and pastries or in a more Cypriot style, as a side to chilled wedges of ripe watermelon, making it an excellent appetizer especially during summertime. ~ Cypriots also use halloumi as a stuffing in making pies, the traditionally known Pourekia.
Lountza: ~ Made from fresh pork fillet, matured in a mixture of village wine and coriander seeds. The maturity period takes about 15 days and is followed by a smoking process. Traditional smoked Lountza is usually served uncooked, sliced or cubed along with a selection of other meat and cheese delicacies.	Lountza-Loukaniko and Fries
Souvlakia-Sheftalia	Sheftalies: ~ Another tasty dish from the charcoal grill are small sausages of minced meat, called Shieftalies.
Trachanas: ~ A traditional soup made of natural ingredients. Trachanas is a porridge made from cracked wheat and soured goat’s milk, Wheat mixed with milk has been used by the Mediterranean people since the Neolithic times. It is probable, that sun-dried porridge's made from milk and grain, is an ancient concept that has taken place in areas other than Cyprus, including Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt.	Trachanas Soup
Kolokasi with Pork and Celety	Kolokasi: ~ This is a strange but delicious vegetable. It looks like a sweet potato type root vegetable. It has a magnificent texture and a fascinating taste. You cannot cut it with a knife, as it becomes slimy, but you have to break it into pieces before cooking. It is often served in a tomato sauce and is well worth trying to find.
Seafood Dishes: ~ The fishing boats bring the freshest of fish and seafood straight to the restaurants of the island. ~ Cyprus of course being a Mediterranean island has a lot of fresh fish dishes to offer including Barbouni (Red Mullet), Octopus cooked in wine, Kalamari, White Bait, Sea Bass and a lot more.	Grilled Seafood
Koupes	Koupes: ~ Koupes have a crispy layer of crushed bulgur wheat and they contain meat and onions. In the fasting periods, you may find Koupes with mushroom filling instead of with meat.
What if you don’t eat meat. ~ Historically meat eating in Cypriot and Greek Cuisine was always a luxury. In the past, meat was expensive, so for many people it would be meat on Sunday, vegetables pulses and grains for the rest of the week. Even today vegetarian dishes such as Yemista (all kinds of stuffed vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, onions zucchini, aubergines etc. or beans, are used in a weekly Cypriot diet. ~ “Mezes”, you can’t ignore it. ~ “Cyprus mezes” is a great introduction to the CyprusCuisine. ~ Mezes: ~ Literally it means small dishes. A style of eating that has many different courses, but each course contains just a little of each item, enough for everyone to have a taste.	Elies Tsakistes Chiromeri
Thaktila (Ladys Fingers) Soutzoukos	CYPRUS TRADITIONAL SWEETS! ~ Desserts: ~ It’s time to order dessert….! ~ Sweet lovers will be impressed! ~ We have a lot of sweet pastry products, some saturated with honey or sugar syrup, mixed with nuts and fruit. ~ There are rose flavoured milk junket type desserts known as mehalebi and cheese filled bourekia made with a very mild soft local cheese and many more local goodies! You may find a good selection in any of the bakeries in the towns or villages! ~ Soujoukos (Grape must rolls) ~ This is the most well-known of all grape juice products. The product contains almonds or walnuts. “Soujoukos” is the favourite sweet at Cyprus festivals and fairs!
CYPRIOT WINES ~ Cyprus is renowned for its good wine. The Cypriot Wine was already in the antiquity famous for its quality and excellent taste. This has of course to do with the superb climate of the island. You find all kinds of wine, white, rose and red; from different regions of Cyprus. The village wines are liked and they go with the traditional food. ~ Commandaria, Cyprus Dessert Wine. ~ It’s a popular sweet dessert wine, which enjoys the distinction of being the oldest wine in continuous production. Hesiod, who lived around 735 B.C., described how this wine was made from sun exposed grapes. Commandaria is probably the most famous dessert wine made from the Nama grape variety and dating back a few tens of hundreds of years: ~ People say it is the oldest wine in the world. It became famous at the time of Richard the Lionhearted and the time when Cyprus was occupied by the Order of the Knights of the Temple. ~ Cyprus wines and wine production is amongst the world’s oldest dating back to around 2000 BC. There are over 100 varieties of grapes cultivated in Cyprus; most of these are in Limassol and Paphos districts and on the foothills of Mount Olympus.	Wines of Cyprus St. John Commandaria,