Fresh fruits are usually served as dessert in Cyprus, while sweets are considered a delicacy in their own right. Their choice is simply huge, and they are all different from the delicacies that we are used to, for example, in Russia. Perhaps it is sweets that carry the brightest National character, because they are all prepared according to ancient recipes exclusively from products that grow and are produced in Cyprus.
The most popular delicacy here is baklava or, as Cypriots call it, baklava. It consists of puff pastries that are soaked in honey or syrup. Baklava can be prepared with various additives, such as nuts or cinnamon. Great choice for coffee.
Cypriot delight (Cypriots call it loukumya) is an inexpensive, but at the same time very tasty delicacy. Turkish delight is a fruit jelly that is generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Can be prepared with the addition of nuts and almonds. Real Cypriot delight has an amazing aroma, it is quite dense and very filling.
Another interesting dish is suzukos, which is very reminiscent of Caucasian churchkhela. Suzukos is prepared only by hand, often done by the farmers who grow almonds and grapes. The delicacy consists of nuts strung on a string and dipped in grape molasses. This is a fragrant, very tasty sweetness, which, moreover, like many other Cypriot delicacies, has a very affordable price.
Those who love baking should pay attention to loukoumades- These are donuts that are prepared according to the national recipe and served in aromatic honey syrup. Baking lovers will also enjoy dactyl. These are cakes and pastries similar to “lady fingers” and prepared with the addition of cinnamon, as well as walnuts or almonds.
In Cyprus, several national recipes for pies have been preserved and are still used. In particular, this shiamishi, a pie filled with orange and semolina, which is usually cut into pieces, bells(pie with pumpkin filling) and galaktoboureko(layer cake filled with delicate cream).
Finally, those with a sweet tooth should definitely try it pastelaki(made from peanuts, sesame seeds and honey-based syrup), glyco(local walnut jam) and Cypriot couscous from raisins.
All sweets in Cyprus have an amazing taste and aroma; they are prepared according to traditional recipes, which are often passed down from generation to generation. And, of course, another secret of local chefs is the use of only locally produced natural ingredients. Therefore, baked goods, desserts and sweets turn out to be fresh, incredibly tasty and at the same time quite unusual.
Traditional Cypriot sweets made from grapes - palouzes and shujukkos, which are included in the Gastronomic Map of Cyprus
Palouzes (in Greek Παλουζές)
This traditional delicacy is made from grapes, or more precisely from grape molasses. The grapes must be ripe and of high quality. First, the grapes are crushed, then the juice is separated from the skins and seeds.
The second stage of processing must begin quickly, without waiting for the juice to begin to ferment and turn into wine. It is poured into a special large cauldron and cooked over high heat, stirring continuously and skimming off the foam.
Then add flour in a certain proportion and continue to cook and stir thoroughly with a large spoon so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the cauldron and does not burn. This is a rather tedious job that requires quite a lot of effort, but otherwise the color and taste of the product will deteriorate. The palouses are ready when large bubbles begin to burst on the surface.
Other natural ingredients, such as rose water or basil, are added to the hot palouses to add different colors and flavors. The palouses are then poured into molds, garnished with walnuts and eaten hot or cold.
It is customary to eat zivania with cold paluzes. If not all paluzes are eaten hot, then they are cut into square or rectangular slices and dried in the sun, and the result is kiofterka (Κκιοφτέρκα). The dried pieces are stored for the winter and used to maintain energy as a source of glucose.
Xoujoukos (in Cypriot Σουτζιούκκος)
Nuts and palouses are used to prepare this delicacy.
Strings with almonds or walnuts strung on them are dipped into a cauldron of hot palouse mixture.
Since the mixture is thick, it completely envelops the nuts, and quite long and thick “sausages” are obtained, which are hung out in the sun to dry.
These "sausages" are then re-dipped into the cauldron the same day or the next. Shudzukos is finally ready in 5-6 days, but you can eat it fresh on the day of preparation.
Many of us, when traveling to a country for the first time, are interested in its cuisine and gastronomic traditions. This is not surprising, since tasteless food can ruin your entire vacation. But rest assured that this will not happen to you in Cyprus, and if you manage to get out of the hotel and go to a traditional tavern located somewhere in a remote Cypriot village, then wonderful memories of the cuisine of Cyprus will remain in your memory for a long time.
By its nature, the cuisine of Cyprus is a kind of kaleidoscope. Some believe that it almost completely reflects Greek traditions, but this is not entirely true. Since Cyprus was for a long time under the rule of a wide variety of conquerors, they brought their own characteristics to the customs local residents and formed new traditions.
In addition, the island has always been a favorite destination for foreigners, and this is also reflected in Cypriot cuisine. Greeks and Turks, Armenians and Lebanese, Italians and French have all contributed to the diversity of Cypriot cuisine. Let’s add to this the fact that generous nature gives the island a large amount of natural products. All this explains why Cyprus is a kind of paradise for gourmets from all over the world.
As the Cypriots themselves believe, their cuisine is based on three pillars:
Probably, someone will be surprised that, although there are a lot of excellent foods in Cyprus, seafood came into use relatively recently. This is explained, in particular, by the fact that in the old days, most local residents, fleeing the attacks of pirates and invaders, lived in mountain villages at a fairly large distance from the sea.
Another feature of Cypriot cuisine can be noted: they use much less fat for cooking than most of their Mediterranean neighbors, which is quite consistent with the principles of a healthy diet. Unless, of course, we are talking about sweets heavily soaked in honey.
Snacks and salads in Cyprus
Greek cuisine predominates among traditional appetizers and salads. These include taramasalata (a pink, creamy fish roe appetizer) and tzatziki – chilled yogurt with finely chopped cucumbers, mint and garlic. Cypriots can simply spread them on fresh bread or use them as sauces. Sometimes taramasalata even becomes an excellent replacement for not so healthy ketchup.
Also, in any establishment in Cyprus you will always find a village salad (horyatiki salata), consisting of tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, feta cheese, seasonings and green olives.
Meat snacks are quite varied: luntza (pork tenderloin, which is soaked in red wine and then dried in the sun for 2 weeks), tsamarella (dry-cured goat meat, which is usually served cut into thin slices), chiromeri (smoked pork leg), loukanika (various types of pork sausages).
Meat dishes in Cyprus
Cypriots are very fond of various meat dishes and cook them superbly. It is extremely difficult to remain a vegetarian on the island. An invariable attribute of any holiday is souvla (large pieces of pork, lamb or chicken, strung on a skewer) or souvlaki (the same thing, only in smaller pieces). As a rule, beef is rarely used in traditional dishes on the island, since the number of cows here is not very large, and the meat itself is not very popular among Cypriots.
Most often, Cypriots cook meat on a grill with a built-in electric drive, so as not to be distracted by turning it over during the preliminary meal, as well as in large clay ovens.
Here are some tips on which meat dishes you should pay special attention to (of course, after you have already tasted Cypriot kebabs). Moussaka is minced meat with potatoes and eggplants, baked with spices and bechamel sauce. It is served straight from the oven in a hot clay pot. Also worth trying is aphelia (pork with coriander in red wine). And, of course, kleftiko is the king of the Cypriot “meat world”: sliced lamb, which is baked in clay ovens and served directly in foil.
Fish dishes in Cyprus
Although Cyprus is surrounded on all sides Mediterranean Sea, the cost of fish and seafood remains quite high. In numerous fish taverns you can try the freshest fish and seafood, and in the villages there are even small fish farms for growing trout. The most popular, but also one of the most expensive representatives of the Cypriot fish world is sea bass (other names are sea bass, sea bass; the cost of 1 kg is about 16-17 euros). You can also find sea bream, sea bream and many other fish and small fish.
Among the seafood, shrimp, small local crabs, mussels in garlic sauce (usually imported from other countries), cuttlefish and squid are very popular. But topping the list of seafood is octopus, which in Cyprus is prepared in a wide variety of ways: marinated for appetizers and salads, stewed in wine and grilled.
You can easily find all these dishes in fish restaurants on the coast. But the best way to try trout grown in Cyprus is in the village, where it is cooked in a sauce of lemon and olive oil. The village is especially famous in this regard Kakopetria, where the Cypriots themselves prefer to go for a “trout meal”.
Sweets and desserts
It is worth saying that sweets in Cyprus are very common and varied - these are preserves, jams, a wide variety of halva, Turkish delight with the addition of almonds, peanuts and other nuts and spices. Perhaps not a single Cypriot feast is complete without dessert; it is customary to serve a lot of sweets in village taverns. You should definitely try tahinopitta, prepared using sesame seeds, or suzukos - an analogue of churchkhela, made from grape molasses and almonds.
A fairly common dessert is anari cheese, similar to Italian ricotta cheese, which is topped with honey or jam and added with nuts.
Conclusion
Concluding the story about Cypriot cuisine, we can say with confidence that not only will you not remain hungry on the hospitable island, but also that the unforgettable taste of a variety of Cypriot dishes will never disappoint you and will make you come back here again and again to try something new.
Among the products of Cyprus, which can sometimes be found on the shelves of Russian stores, you are unlikely to see Cypriot sweets. Most likely, these will be Cypriot wines, the popular Cypriot Muscat with a bare-bellied baby on the label, and halloumi cheese. But even if you have never been to Cyprus, it is possible that you have encountered something very similar to Cypriot sweets. Their main difference: a minimum of chemicals, a maximum of natural products.
Let's start with a very common one: uzhukos, or sujukos. This is grape juice boiled until thick with a small amount of flour. While the juice is boiled and evaporated, almond nuts are strung on a harsh thread like beads. The nuts are dipped in grape juice several times, each time before the next immersion they are dried in the shade in the breeze. As a result, after 5-6 days you get almost Georgian churchkhela.
In the next photo there is a bar similar to laundry soap, the same evaporated grape juice with the addition of rose water, only without nuts, called. By the way, pink water- widely used in the manufacture of various sweets and for impregnation of puff pastry products.
A classic oriental sweet with a 500-year history. Made from starch or gelatin, sugar and fruit juices, sometimes with the addition of almonds or other nuts.
In my opinion, the most delicious Turkish delight is made by one family in the village of Fini. Sometimes Turkish delight produced in Fini, if you’re very lucky, can be found in a supermarket, but it’s better to buy it in the village itself, straight from the heat. Turkish delight in Fini is made in two versions: with and without almonds. This delight has a distinct bergamot scent. Bergamot is a citrus, a close relative of oranges and lemons, with a very strong aroma. Earl Gray tea owes its specific smell to bergamot. (By the way, “Earl Grey” is translated into Russian as “Count Grey”. Gray is a surname. That is, this is not a gray count, as English “experts” often translate the name of tea. Sorry, I couldn’t resist, I was boring. This is from sore) So, if you love Turkish delight and you like Earl Gray tea, you can safely buy Turkish delight from Fini. You will not regret. On September 12, 2012, if you buy it in Fini, it cost 3 euros without almonds and 3.50 with almonds for a box weighing 500g.
The whole family pastelaki is closely related to the Kozinaki. This is sesame or a mixture of peanuts and sesame, "cemented" with a honey-based syrup. Simply nuts glazed with honey syrup are also very popular in Cyprus.
I continue my story about our excursion from VK. I talked about the cheese factory. Today we will talk about traditional Cypriot sweets, and specifically about Cypriot kozinaki. They differ from Russian ones in that they are made from large quantities of sesame and nuts, rather than sunflower seeds. There are pastilles made only from sesame, and some made from sesame and nuts. Nuts are mainly peanuts or almonds, with pistachios and pumpkin seeds added less frequently. Sugar or carob syrup is used for gluing (I will definitely tell you what it is in the next posts), but honey is more often used. Honey in Cyprus is specific, not as fragrant as in Russia. It's more like sugar syrup with honey flavor in my opinion. Our favorite lozenges are the pistachio ones from Nutcracker.
When we arrived at the “sweet” factory, the machine for producing pastilles was already in full operation. It was heated up, nuts were swirling and roasting there, and a kind uncle carefully placed honey there, spoon by spoon.
These will be pastilles made from three ingredients: sesame, peanuts and honey. 
While the sweets were being prepared, I decided to wander around the factory. This is more likely not a factory, but a large hangar with production and storage of products in one place. Nuts are stored in large buckets. 
Or in bags, like my favorite pecans. 
And these are units for the production of pastillacs, but only bigger size, so to speak, on an industrial scale. They showed us everything when we were little. 
They are large rotating metal bowls. 
After the pastillas are prepared, they are laid out on these tables for compaction. 
And this is juk-juk. In our opinion, churchkhela is nuts in boiled grape juice. You can watch a wonderful story about their production. 
This is a ready-made juk-juk, waiting to be bought. =) 
Meanwhile, our “test kozinak” is almost ready. The hot honey-nut mass was first poured into a copper basin, and then onto a special rectangular mold. 
Where they began to compact the mass with spatulas and then with a rolling pin. 
It is necessary to compact it firmly so that when the honey hardens, it glues the nut components together and the lozenges become a single whole and do not fall apart and crumble. 
Next, the mold is covered with a lid with parallel slits. 
Through which a large kozinak is first cut lengthwise into equal rectangular parts. 
And then across. 
These are the smooth squares we ended up with. 
Then the pastilles are transferred to the table to cool. 
They cool quickly, about 5 minutes. 
While the sweets were cooling, we were shown how the nuts were roasted in a special oven. 
Before placing the nuts in the oven, it must be thoroughly heated. Meanwhile, the nuts are soaked in concentrated salt syrup 
And only then they are put into the oven. The salt sets there and forms a salt crust on the nut. 
After viewing and gaining knowledge, there was a tasting and purchase of products. Oh, I couldn’t resist and devoured as many as 3 squares of pastillac. Fresh, piping hot.
