Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Sweet Cyprus traditional foods

If you are anything like me, i love sweet foods... i cant get enough!!! Thats why Cyprus is a delight... because there are many things available all over the island.

Honey, nuts and yogurt is a refreshing morning meal and very light but filling at the same time. An after dinner offering could be "Glyko" which translates as "sweet" which are preserves, usually every type of fruit, green walnuts, small eggplants and thick peels of all citrus fruits, water melon peel and also citrus blossoms. You will hear a traditional saying in Cyprus "my mum makes this different to yours" thats why every recipe is always different and the recipe is passed down from generation to generation. In local villages such as Kapparis, Paralimni, Xylofagou, Sotera, Dherinia and other villages all over Cyprus you may be served this after dinner. However, if you visit the mountains of Cyprus, Troodos mountains and areas such as Lofou you can buy these preserves in jars.

Bakeries are not a good idea to visit but are really really worth it. There are lots of finger foods both sweet and savory. One of my favorites is "Bourekia", made with anari cheese which is sweet and fresh milk and looks like a pastry. Another favorite of mine is "Ladies fingers" very sweet and covered in honey... bakeries have lots of delights to make your mouth water. when you live in Cyprus long term you will certainly become accustom to the bakeries!!!

At Christmas there are two types of cakes, a Christmas cake and a new years eve cake. The Christmas cake is the same as most cakes and is usually home made, decorated with icing and decorations and shared between the family. However the new years cake is made with a coin inside... the person who receives the coin is traditionally going to have good luck all the new year.

On a children's party, each member of the guests (one from the family) will bring a cake, it is polite to bring a sweet if visiting someone in Cyprus but it doesn't matter if it is home made or bought from the bakery. There are some amazing cakes that are made by each member of the family and a great way to learn new recipes, i visited a birthday party in Paralimni, the little boy was four, it was an amazing event, the children played and the adults sat together eating and laughing and joking.

If you decide to go to Cyprus on holiday or are thinking to live in Cyprus permanently, it is a great idea to visit the local places, one word of advice "if a place is full with local people, then it is probably a great place to eat". If you are renting in Cyprus for holidays, try http://www.spotonvillarentals.com/ and then visit orphanidies or Kokinos the local supermarkets and pick up some of the Cyprus specials that i have been talking about... wow, my mouth is watering now!!!

Enjoy!!!
See also my Traditional Cyprus foods.

2 comments:

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Unknown said...

It would be great to taste the yummy traditional foods of Cyprus, while having a great time during luxury Cyprus holidays.