Tinos is the 4th in size island of the Cyclades after Naxos, Andros, and Paros.
It has an area of 197 sq.m. and belongs to the northern Cyclades. Its climate is considered the temperate Mediterranean. North winds blow most of the time with characteristics that winds the “meltemia” in the summer. Known mostly as a religious destination due to the Worder Panagia Church near the port. Hundrends of Greek orthodox people arrive to the island even for a day trip to visit this significant religious site every year. Did you know though about it’s gastoronomic tresures?
Thank you for the Food
When traveling to Tinos by boat, the first image one encounters is a rocky and seemingly barren soil of the island. So the first meeting with the island in refers to a place with probably few crops and consequently limited gastronomy, which as we will see below does not apply.
The gastronomy of the island has very special raw materials and largely retains the techniques that housewives cooked in the past. The elderly people of the island continue to this day at home to cook food with which grew up giving the next generations the opportunity to learn and maintain the tradition of Tinian cuisine.
Today, in the house of a local cook we will meet the exceptional quality beef for which the island is famous, sweet tomatoes, french fries, sun-dried batter, the froutalia which is an omelette with a village sausage, the savore with petimezi where are fried fish covered with a traditional sauce which them gives a sweet and sour taste, the squid stuffed, the artichokes cooked with various ways with the most famous artichoke pie and much more.
The most famous sweets you will meet are the macaroons, the Turkish delights, the kontolata, the xerotigana, the sweets cheese pies and much more.
Here we have the “must-tries”:
Capers. It is a native plant that grows in the rocky parts of the island.
Harvesting it is a lot of trouble. Initially left in the sun to dry and then placed in vinegar and salt to get its final taste.
Louza. Cold cut which comes from pork tenderloin. Marinated with mixture of spices and wine, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon. Finally it is passed on beef intestine to dry in the north. Serve cut into thin slices.
Tinos Sausage. Pork sausage with a strong taste of wine and fennel. Used ideal in fruit, local omelets.
Maladouni. Traditional cheese small in size which is placed in baskets from vourla and then hung from tulpan and dried in the air.
Sun-dried tomatoes. Dried tomatoes which are preserved in oil. Special local recipe is sun-dried fried tomatoes.
“Rock”(Petroma). Cow’s milk cheese. Traditional local hard cheese which used either to make other cheeses or the well-known sweet Tinos cheese pie.
Let us Drink
In 2012, the Micro Brewery “Nisos” (Island) was opened on the island after a private initiative. Microbrewery over the years produces different types of beer with some of them have received several distinctions for their quality and taste.
The beer “Nisos” is now available outside the island in selected stores around the world.
Tinos with local grape varieties the “rivers or wine grapes” produces excellent quality wine.
In local cultures we meet black rivers for the black must but also varieties such as Rozakia, their Antirites, Paltania, Strawberries, Roditika, Cretan etc. Its most famous white wines are Aspropotamisio and Askathari.
From the petimezi, raki is produced. In Tinos today there are more than three wineries with several significant recognition worldwide. Next time you travel to Greece and specifically to Tinos, go for beer tasting!
Cheers everybody!
Reference: Zafeirios Gkizis, 2019
