Sweets are an integral part of the tradition of Greek people. A dessert is what you need for every occasion. Traditional or deconstructed, complex or simpler, every happy moment on our lives is associated with one. That is why there are thousands of recipes either on the internet or passed down from generation to generation.
Greece's confectionery is full of delicious sweets. Different types of candy, in different flavors and many variations. Since ancient times, housewives spent endless hours in the kitchen preparing traditional Greek sweets. Sweet spoons, sweet pies (with or without filo), loukoumia, and sweets with syrup (the so-called siropiasta) are some of the sweets that you should definitely try when visiting Greece.
Sweet spoons
One of the most traditional Greek products is the sweet spoon, made thousands of years ago out of people's need to preserve the abundant fruits and vegetables that were left over from the harvest. In fact, one of the most classic techniques since ancient times has been drying in the sun and, later, special preservation in syrup, cooking the fruit and making it into jam.
Sweet spoon, is an integral part of the Greek gastronomic tradition. In every season of the year, in every corner of Greece, they always proudly offer you a dessert. Jars are an indispensable storage medium if you want the homemade dessert to stay the same for many months or even years. Our grandmothers have always created delicious sweet spoons with sugar being the main ingredient. To this day, they are made the same way. The recipes for sweet spoon are simple, but each fruit has its secrets.
Every fruit is different. There are fleshy fruits, fruits that are used with their peel and others that need to be cleaned. Of course, each season of the year has its own fruits. Winter fruits all turn into a wonderful dessert. Lemon is a great example of making a delicious and special dessert. In autumn we have apples, quinces, tangerines. Mandarin is the first citrus fruit that is suitable for dessert. Oranges, cherry, citrus, bergamot are fruits that can be selected for the preparation of desserts and meet all tastes and preferences. The above fruits can be used for the preparation of jam with a different technique and proportions. Homemade liquors can be made with the same fruits. When the fruits are in season, and especially the winter fruits that have essential oil in their skin, they become wonderful homemade liqueurs.
Syrup sweets
Greek cuisine boasts an abundance of syrup sweets to try. Baklavas (or puff pastry cakes with walnut and syrup), kataif, and galaktoboureko are some of the most popular traditional Greek syrups. When we hear of syrupy sweets, what immediately comes to our mind is lush baklava, fragrant galaktoboureka, thickly filled kadaifi and many other sweets, which give an oriental stigma to our festive table because of their taste and aroma. These sweets have no borders or geographic restrictions as they are a popular choice for many people around the world. There are many stories about their origins so many countries claim this, including Greece.
In any part of Greece, you can find baking sheets full of various syrupy sweets. You can find baklava, kataifi, and other syrupy sweets in a variety of shapes and variations, depending on what geographic area you are in.
Politika & Anatolitika sweets in Greek pastry shops
If you are a fan of syrup, honey, butter and nuts then this is where you must taste the best Greek sweets.
In Greece, baklava comes in many local forms with different names such as samousaden, zournadakia and masourakia. Baklava is made mainly with chopped almonds in southern Greece and walnuts in the north, although some recipes use hazelnuts, sesame seeds or even raisins.
This variant of baklava is wrapped in a crispy nest of kataifi pasta. This ball of thin pastry strands is filled with chopped walnuts, almonds or pistachios, coated with melted butter, baked and then poured with syrup. Kataifi can be sold in pieces or as whole in a round shape.
Ekmek
I'm sure you have heard of Ekmek! There are two options that will surely please you. Ekmek Kataifi is made of crunchy fibers for katafi with mastic-flavored cream, then sprinkled with whipped cream and chopped nuts and cinnamon. Ekmek Politiko is a bread pudding soaked in syrup with traditional ice cream.
Touloumbakia and Kourkoubinia
Fried dough soaked in syrup, crisp on the outside and melting on the inside. These small bites are never enough!
There are many other Politika or Oriental sweets that you can find in a Greek patisserie. Saragli, Ravani, Walnut Pie and the nests with different fillings (eg strawberry, walnut, almond) are among the most popular syrupy sweets of the Greeks.
The famous baklava from Ioannina
Epirus is famous for its syrupy sweets and the traditional way of preparing them. Their reputation is now spreading all over the world and there are many producers who export them. Ioannina (Giannina) is historically famous for its multiculturalism and for many centuries it was the main commercial center of north-west Greece. As a society based on the coexistence of different peoples, it has integrated elements from many cultures into its local cuisine. Gianniotikos Baklava is the syrupy dessert that harmoniously combines the Beirut leaf, the Gadaifi leaf, the pistachio and the almond. Experts claim that the phyllo is cooked better, lighter and crispier and syrups are perfect. The traditional thin baklava phyllo is wrapped in Ioannina by hand and "binds" the different flavors of the filling into an aromatic ensemble that is slightly syrupy. It is then carefully packaged in individual portions so that it is available worldwide.
The traditional Greek sweets are countless and can satisfy even the most demanding palate. The Loukoumia of Syros you can enjoy in various flavors, the Amygdalota of Andros, the Ravani of Veria, the Pasteli of Kalamata and the famous and beloved Bougatsa of Thessaloniki are some of the most favorite Greek sweets!
Greek Flavours gives you the opportunity to order and enjoy the taste of a wide variety of Greek sweets !
