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Syra…a place full of surprises and aromas…
A small island on the Aegean’s Sea, endowed with sun and salt, with honey and thyme, with cloves and jasmine…
And why not, since centuries now, especially after the Greek Revolution with the arrival of Greek refugees from the eastern islands, Syra was fortunate to become a very important crossroad of peoples, cultures, languages and an undeniable point of exchange of ideas and local products as well, brought from West and East, from North and South.
In this small place, different languages, cultures, customs, origins mixed up for good and for a long time, but also colors, aromas and tastes also merged with them. Exotic and outstanding products, combined with the sweetness and flavours of the Syrian land, came together and created an explosive fusion of tastes and sensations, what we now call \u201cSyra’s Gastronomy”.
Looking back on my childhood, many images of flavors and aromas come to mind that now constitute the culinary identity of Syra…
…The completely authentic Syra’s barley nut (only with barley flour and no other admixture), soaked in the fresh milk that the grandmother prepared for the grandfather every morning flavored with a pinch of unroasted coffee..
…The unbelievably delicious eggplants and fresh zucchini in the summer for my favorite tirititim, (omelet with zucchini and eggs), but also the aroma of the fragrant Syra’s dehydrated tomatoes!!
We\u00a0were dehydrating tomatoes during the summer by laying them out in a row under the sun\u00a0well sprinkled with salt so that we could also have them in the winter by frying them in batter.
…Also the tomato salad with onion, with Syra’s capers, (I was also following the picking of it in the end of May or the beginning of June) and crushed olives – a little bitter, a little vinegary – was a complete meal, fresh and vitamin-rich for the summer evenings.
…The mountain greens (alendrides, galachides, karydes,) bitter and aromatic, which perfectly accompanied the savoring pan-fried atherina (very small fish) with onions, \u201catherinopita\u201d or the fresh fried squid…….The unforgettable taste of the fish Savore, ala yiayia (grandmother), with the thick porridge that was smelling of garlic and rosemary…
…The famous Syra’s sausages made from local pork meat with excess of fennel that was melting in the orange and purple flame of the mini gas stove spreading a diabolical smell which, being joined with the lemony \u201cpichti\u201d (pork meat with fat flavored with lemon) and the spicy \u201clouza” (traditional salted aromatic meat with spices) were becoming some really rich appetizers to drink your ouzo…
…Foods that would undoubtedly lose their \u201chonor\u201d if they did not have a sufficient amount of spices such as cumin, cloves, allspice and cinnamon..
…Sweet sauces that turned into an elixir of culinary bliss in the homemade macaroni sprinkled with a generous amount of dried handmade goat cheese (now we call it gronthotirayki).
…Our good cheese has always been Sa Michali. It was being spicier and\u00a0it was making an incredible snack with a slice of warm bread!!!
\u00a0But also the Syria’s kopanisti…. I was dying for it in combination with grapes or watermelon or a juicy tomato.
…What sweetness and what an unforgettable aroma – which you can’t taste anymore – had the fig when we were eating it straight from the fig tree or the ripe bunches of grapes from the vineyard!!
…The spoon sweets from fig, grape or small eggplant and the sweet cheese pies from Syra’s \u201cmyzithra\u201d (cheese from sheep’s and goat’s milk, with added milk) and our own Syra’s thyme honey…
…Greek coffee in the afternoon, served in a small cup, designed with small pink flowers and on the plate, on the side, a delicious Syra’s loukoumi with rose flavor wait for you..
…The ambrosia of Syra’s sweets, the halvadopita with its thin crusty sheet that hides a rich chewy cream filled with roasted crunchy almonds, a pure pleasure…when you go to the last bite you realize that you hadn’t enjoyed it as much as you wanted and you want to eat another…
…And of course, it was out of the question not to eat the sesame pie on Shrove Monday, (Syra’s traditional sweet of the first day of Lent!!), with the three comfits stuck to it, one pink and two white,… Yes
…yes. that one which was both sweet and addictive as much as hard when you were biting\u00a0into it, to the point where it was becoming dangerous to break a tooth…
…Pastelaries, (that is dried figs split in half from the inside, pressed into sesame, cinnamon and chopped almonds between in layers of bay leaves), were becoming the best dessert together with grandma’s rose liqueur at the Sunday’s family gatherings…
…And in the evenings, the adults were drinking their own local wine fermented with resin whose the smell was fighting with that of the jasmine in the yard…
\u00a0Syra is a blessed place since ancient times as Homer testifies in his verses referring to Syra. \u201cA land abounding in vines and flocks, where neither hunger nor poverty afflicted the people…\u201d but everything was in abundance. Although most of it is rocky and does not have much agricultural production, with very limited types of cultivation, with prudence and sense of economy, Syra managed to utilize all the innovative elements that came to its door, not only accepted them but with a commendable wisdom and mastery made them its property and integrated them so harmoniously that they all together constitute now its culinary tradition and its special identity, by creating the conditions for this tradition to be continued in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Syra…a place full of surprises and aromas…A small island on the Aegean’s Sea, endowed with sun and salt, with honey and thyme, with cloves and jasmine… And why not, since centuries now, especially after the Greek Revolution with the arrival of Greek refugees from the eastern islands, Syra was fortunate to become a very\u2026