These fried semolina pastries often come hand-in-hand with Loukmades (honey donuts) as they tend to be made by the same vendors, mainly at traditional festivals and fairs.
The dough pockets are filled with a cooked sweet semolina paste, fried to perfection then dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon. As with most recipes, there are variations with some also adding mastic and orange blossom water to the semolina filling.
Soutzoukos is a traditional, chewy sweet made from grape juice that has a unique appearance (it looks similar to a candle!), and is popular at traditional festivals.
The sweet is made using the surplus of grapes after the grape harvest, which is why it is commonly made in the wine producing villages of the Troodos and Pafos regions.
To make Soutzoukos, the hot mixture known as ‘moustalevria’ (a combination of the Greek words ‘must’ and ‘flour’) is used. Almonds (and sometimes walnuts) are dipped into water to soften them, and then threaded onto strings of two to three metres in length. They are dipped into the hot mixture until completely covered, and then hung to dry for a few hours. This dipping process is repeated three to five times over the course of hours or days until the desired thickness is achieved (approximately one inch in diameter). It takes five to six days for the Soutzouko to dry and it can then be stored for months. When served, it is chopped into slices with a nutty centre and a chewy texture, often as an accompaniment to Zivania (a strong local spirit).
Cyprus is famous for its delicious sweets known as ‘delights’, which have been produced on the island for centuries.
Along with a number of other villages, Geroskipou – in the Pafos district – still traditionally produces these soft, chewy sweets made, without the use of preservatives, simply with sugar, cornstarch and flavouring or nuts, then dusted with icing sugar to prevent them from sticking together.
You can find pretty boxes of delights in a number of different flavours. The most traditional is rose, followed by lemon, mastic and bergamot, although you can also find more modern flavours – including chocolate – with or without nuts.
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t leave the island without at least a couple of boxes for friends, or just all for yourself!
The sweet honey donuts called Loukoumades are a very popular treat, enjoyed mainly at festivals, from street vendors and at special coffee shops.
The batter is made from flour, yeast, water and the unusual ingredient of mashed potato or mashed boiled rice. They are deep-fried in very hot oil until golden.
Once the Loukoumades are removed from the oil, they are drained and immediately drenched in sweet syrup or honey and dusted with cinnamon. Best enjoyed hot!
Kiofterka is a thick, jelly-type sweet made from boiled grape juice, thickened with a little flour and then dried in the sun. It is delicately flavoured with rose water.
The nutritional sweet of Pastelli is made with the syrup of carob pods, produced by boiling their pulp until it forms a thick, sticky liquid similar to treacle.
Whilst carobs are in abundance on the island, Pastelli is very special as it is handmade by repeatedly and painstakingly stretching and pulling the carob toffee.
This traditional process is only practised today in the village of Anogyra, and only in the cooler months, between September and May, as the toffee doesn’t shape well in the heat. As such, it is one of the island’s sweeter delicacies.
The carob tree is an indigenous species that has been cultivated on the island for four thousand years. Once the island’s major export, carobs, or ‘black gold’, were prized for their versatility, high nutritional value and hardiness that allowed them to be stored and transported across long distances.
The traditional nut brittle of Pastelaki originated from Ancient Greece and makes good use of the locally grown nuts and sesame seeds, particularly almonds and peanuts.
Resembling a cereal bar, truly authentic Pastelaki binds sesame seeds with carob syrup to make a nutritious and healthy sweet treat, although more commercial versions now use honey or other sugars, and a variety of nuts.
Available in packaged bars, Pastelaki makes a sweet gift or great souvenir to take back and enjoy at home!
The grape jelly of Palouze is a wonderfully traditional Cypriot dessert that takes advantage of the glut of grapes grown in the winemaking villages of the island.
Akin to a blancmange, the dessert is made by collecting the grape juice (must) during the grape harvest and boiling it in a large cauldron (‘kazani’), with a small amount of white soil called ‘asproi’, which brings any impurities to the surface for removal.
Flour is added to the juice in ratios of 8:1 (juice to flour) until it is cooked to the right consistency to produce a jelly. Crushed nuts are added and it is served when set.
Cyprus has a long-standing tradition of honey making, producing a large number of high-quality and award-winning honeys that are known for their pureness.
The variety of honeys – ranging from clear and golden to thick and crunchy – take their distinct flavours from a bouquet of over 1,908 different flora including thyme, eucalyptus, orange blossom and polyflora. There are also many producers of raw honey that has not been heated, and therefore retains its super-nutritious and healing properties.
Honey is readily available to buy in shops and directly from villages where small producers bottle the most delectable kinds, perfect to take home as a souvenir or gift!
As their name indicates, the traditional glyka ‘spoon sweets’ are candied preserves that are typically served on a small spoon and offered to guests as a symbol of hospitality, always with a glass of cold water.
When visiting the island, you may find you are offered one at the end of a meal and although the portion may appear small, you won’t be able to manage a second serving as they are very sweet – and half the time you will be unable to identify exactly which fruit or vegetable has been candied!
Almost any fruit, vegetable, nut or peel can be preserved, and the sweets are often flavoured with vanilla, cinnamon or pelargonium (scented geranium leaves).
The more common sweets are made from figs, cherries, watermelon rind and citrus peel, walnuts, apricots, marrows, grapes, bergamot or almond stuffed baby aubergines. Some are made from fruit that is otherwise inedible, such as the ‘kitromilo’, the bitter Seville orange that cannot be eaten raw.
Preparation is similar to that of marmalade; the ingredient of choice is first soaked in water and cooking lime (calcium hydroxide) to become crispy, then in water and lemon juice to become shiny and preserve its colour, before it is gently boiled in sugar over several days.
In more traditional times, spoon sweets were given as wedding favours, whereby the guests would eat the sweet directly from the spoon, which was then washed for the next well-wisher. Almost every Cypriot home had specially-made delicate serving dishes and tiny silver forks and spoons with which they served the sweets to their guests. The family recipe for making the preserves was traditionally passed down to the daughters.
In today’s modern Cypriot society, it is more common to buy a jar, and you can find a number of different brands that make a lovely gift or a traditional souvenir to remind you of your visit to the island.
