Cyprus-Forum.com

[bigOz]

In the middle of another debate, it just occured to me that I am desperate to revive an old Cypriot taste. The fear grows even more when I realise my children would never be able to experience the delicious tasting food I did when I was young. I am quoting what I just asked Pyrpolizer:
[quote]As for "pastelli" - that is not what I am talking about! It has been driving me crazy for many years, trying to find out what the hell this produce was. Maybe it was honey with sesame seeds in but it cannot be! It had a slightly tingy, sweet taste and was runny like honey - it was definitely called "PORTO" by my aunty who always had some on the shelves (I remember because it was the first thing I asked for every time I visited Evdim). No one seems to remember or understand what I am talking about and I know it existed. I am desperate to find out because it is one of those tasty Cyprus food products that I fear has has become "extinct". It would be great to revive it. Old people from that region must know what I am talking about. Hols on - I shall copy and paste this part as another post in General section.[quote]
Anyone from that region (between Limassol and Paphos), please ask your mums and dads and see if we can discover what this was!

[iceman]

Pastelli is made from carob "pekmez"

[kafenes]

Pastelli is made from carob "pekmez"

I thought pekmez was a mixture of carob extract and tahini. Maybe big oz is talking about carob extract syrup (almost black in colour) and a consistency like honey. In Cypriot it's Teratzomilo.

[kafenes]

Please ignore my previous post as it's not correct.
After calling mum she told me the stuff big oz is talking about is a pekmez made with grape juice. She remembers helping her grandmother making it. It was made from grapes (stepped on and squashed) and the juice was then simmered in a big 'gazan' with the addition of a special kind of powder (made from a certain type of a lime stone) until it went thick like honey. Hope this helps a little big oz.

[bigOz]

Please ignore my previous post as it's not correct.
After calling mum she told me the stuff big oz is talking about is a pekmez made with grape juice. She remembers helping her grandmother making it. It was made from grapes (stepped on and squashed) and the juice was then simmered in a big 'gazan' with the addition of a special kind of powder (made from a certain type of a lime stone) until it went thick like honey. Hope this helps a little big oz.

Sorry for noticing this reply late Kefenes! We get so involved with the political arguments in other threads I forgot I asked about this in the general section. I THINK YOUR MUM IS RIGHT! The villages where this was made were all dominated by vineyards and I am absolutely sure grape juice in some form must have been used in the process. It did end up thick like honey and people ate it with toasted bread and cheese just like they would do with honey. The one I used to eat also had sesame seeds or some other kind of seeds mixed in it. I have also realised that the smell and taste was not far off from that of thick "pekmez", and the "tingy taste" must have been the grape juice mixed in!

I can't wait to get back to Cyprus and experiment! We could be on to a good thing here Kefenes!

BTW, a type of lime stone is always used when making most sweets in Cyprus. It hardens the sweets or in the case of things like "paluze" and "sucuk" (sorry I do not know what GCs call them) it helps them solidify when cooled after cooking. So it would have been used to make the pekmez/grape juice mix thicker and less runny!

Thanks to you and your mother for the information.

[devil]

Talking of grape juice and the past, anyone remember the soft drink Keo Vita? This was a fizzy "grapeade" and tasted like cough syrup. Hated the stuff!

[bigOz]

Talking of grape juice and the past, anyone remember the soft drink Keo Vita? This was a fizzy "grapeade" and tasted like cough syrup. Hated the stuff!

No but I remember KEO beer!

[Filitsa]

BTW, a type of lime stone is always used when making most sweets in Cyprus. It hardens the sweets or in the case of things like "paluze" and "sucuk" (sorry I do not know what GCs call them) it helps them solidify when cooled after cooking. So it would have been used to make the pekmez/grape juice mix thicker and less runny!

Indeed it does:

pekmez = pektikos = pectic, which mean coagulating.

[kafenes]

Talking of grape juice and the past, anyone remember the soft drink Keo Vita? This was a fizzy "grapeade" and tasted like cough syrup. Hated the stuff!

I used to love it. I heard they tried to revive it a few ago but failed.

[kafenes]

Big oz, they also used a similar mixture of grape extract to cover a cotton cloth, like brush it on the material and then hang it in the sun to dry. After drying they used to remove the cloth and you have a paper thin piece of dried fruit desert. I have seen a modern version of this in Australia and they call it Roll Ups. I have seen the recipe some time ago on the net but can't seem to find it now. We used to buy them in a tinted cellophane wrapping and after eating the content used to use the plastic to look through it.