Cyprus-Forum.com

[phoenix]

The Loukoumia are just a taste of things to come .....

..... which reminds me I had an erotic dream full of Loukoumi ice cream last night

[EPSILON]

As Turkey pursues its dream of joining the European Union, its most famous sweet is already set to win coveted EU recognition.

But instead of causing Turkish delight, it has all left a bitter aftertaste.

The reason is that the gooey, sugar-coated cubes the Turks call Lokum will soon be granted EU trademark protection under the Greek-Cypriot name Loukoumi, the result of a campaign by Cypriot confectioners to boost their version's international profile.

Cypriot Turkish Delight looks and tastes like its more famous Turkish cousin. But Cyprus, an EU member since 2004, put in its bid for trademark protection before it occurred to Turkey to do so, and will therefore get the official recognition.

A six-month period during which Turkey could have challenged Cyprus' claim to the Loukoumi name has lapsed.

It's a done deal," said Michael Mann, a spokesman for the EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner. "Basically, it's just a formality."

Turks are mortified.

"Turkish Lokum has been known as Turkish Delight in the world market for years," Adnan Ozdogru, who runs a Lokum firm in the southern Turkish city of Adana, told Turkish TV. "The Greek Cypriots don't know anything about how Lokum is made."

Nonsense, says George Gabriel, head of Aphrodite Delights, a leading Cypriot Loukoumi maker.

"No one can claim Loukoumi as their own," said Gabriel, arguing that the same core recipe is used by producers in Turkey, Cyprus, Greece and Lebanon.

For Turks, the stakes are national pride rather than Loukoumi lucre: Turkish producers will still be able to sell their sweets under the name Turkish Delight or Lokum.

And Turkey could still seek an EU designation for the sweet under a different name, whether it joins the bloc or not.

What rankles is that Cyprus will always be able to boast it got there first.

Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines into a Greek-Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish-Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded after a short-lived coup aiming to unite the island with Greece. The rivalry remains intense.

Gabriel's company, founded in 1895 in the southwestern village of Yeroskipou, filed a Protected Geographical Indication application for Loukoumi just before Cyprus entered the EU in May 2004.

"My grandfather started this company and handed it down through the generations," he said. "Our loukoumi quickly became a favorite with Cypriots and foreign visitors alike."

Gabriel said his company makes 400 tons of Loukoumi each year, or about half the island's annual production. His target is to double output in a year.

The sweet's primary ingredients are corn starch and sugar, boiled in vats at high heat to ensure gelatinous consistency and chewy texture.

Yeroskipou plans to mark EU recognition by ramping up celebrations at its traditional loukoumi festival held each year in June, said Mayor Tasos Kouzoupos.

Government officials see PGI designation as a seal of quality that would boost sales of the sweet on this tourism-reliant island.

"Consumers trust products with these designations," said senior Agriculture Ministry official Takis Fotiou.

Solving the problem i can suggest that Turkish/Greek cousine is a copy of cousine of Greeks of Asia Minor.

This is the reason many names are similar in Tuerkey and Greece.

My surprise was that the Turkish issue of the copy is more light than the Greek one.

[Simon]

So what does this mean? In our shops in the UK is it now going to be called loukoumi?

[EPSILON]

So what does this mean? In our shops in the UK is it now going to be called loukoumi?

No the name will be loukoumasion - like Gcs in London calling Kitshouin for kitchen.

[DINOS SKALIOTIS]

The Loukoumia are just a taste of things to come .....

..... which reminds me I had an erotic dream full of Loukoumi ice cream last night

a bit more info than required there really! what next do you think from the e.u? cyprus kolokassi?

[DINOS SKALIOTIS]

So what does this mean? In our shops in the UK is it now going to be called loukoumi?

No the name will be loukoumasion - like Gcs in London calling Kitshouin for kitchen.

not in the part of london i come from!

[EPSILON]

So what does this mean? In our shops in the UK is it now going to be called loukoumi?

No the name will be loukoumasion - like Gcs in London calling Kitshouin for kitchen.

not in the part of london i come from!

Then you can call it loukoumi of high society or princess loukoumi

[Nikitas]

This is so funny!!!!

But let us be honest, the recipe is Arab, like many other delicacies in both our national cuisines. The system seems to be to steal it from the Arabs and then quarrel with each other about whose it is!

In addition to Loukoumi think of koupes, mujendra, hoummous, tahini, melntzanosalata (babaganoush), baklava, kataif, molohia, and above all: Greek moussaka! The list goes on but you get the gist, these are all Arab recipes we have stolen, so let us not shout too much about this or else the true owners might wake up and chase us both away!

Re the Loukoumia thing, there was a documentary on RIK the other day about Fini, the village, also famous for its loukoumia, and the major maker said his grandfather had brought the recipe and technique from Alexandria, Egypt, back in 1900.

[EPSILON]

This is so funny!!!!

But let us be honest, the recipe is Arab, like many other delicacies in both our national cuisines. The system seems to be to steal it from the Arabs and then quarrel with each other about whose it is!

In addition to Loukoumi think of koupes, mujendra, hoummous, tahini, melntzanosalata (babaganoush), baklava, kataif, molohia, and above all: Greek moussaka! The list goes on but you get the gist, these are all Arab recipes we have stolen, so let us not shout too much about this or else the true owners might wake up and chase us both away!

Re the Loukoumia thing, there was a documentary on RIK the other day about Fini, the village, also famous for its loukoumia, and the major maker said his grandfather had brought the recipe and technique from Alexandria, Egypt, back in 1900.

Nikita, now you became dangerous!!you start to sell our nation's segrets

[Nikitas]

Oops! Sorry, I thought every one knew!