Aegean Cuisine in the Cyclades
The Cyclades are a group of islands with exceptional beauty in the Aegean Sea. Their cuisine boasts delectable flavours of unparalleled quality, enhanced by the sea’s saltiness, whose common thread is found in their tradition, the rocky terrain, the sun-dried and windswept products. Their history is long, rich and multicultural, which obviously lead to new appetizing recipes.
Cooking has been a part of their cultural identity for centuries. The most typical ingredients used in recipes around the Cyclades consist of fresh and delicious seafood, local meat and various homegrown vegetables. Fresh local products, full-bodied wines, unusual dishes with a slight twist from island to island are what make the Cycladic cuisine so irresistible.
It is astounding how each island presents a local cuisine diverse enough to excite surprise yet remain faithful to a unified gastronomic culture. Tastes that share the same DNA but are simultaneously unique and distinctive. What is the reason behind this? The produce itself - carefully cultivated by farmers, carefully quality checked and packaged, lovingly prepared and cooked by old-school and new-school chefs in coffee shops, tavernas and restaurants. Numerous local feasts and festivals take place every year highlighting every island’s tastes, habits, products, culture and tradition.
The tourism industry has a long history yet the goal is to preserve the Cycladic identity and the islands’ nature. Anyone who visits and savours the local recipes or products will return home with a strong delightful aftertaste of the Aegean’s scrumptious cuisine and character.
