Naxos – Good ol’ times food

The Cycladic island of Naxos is known for four things: exotic beaches, rich history, good food and… the famous Portara, the massive gate-entrance to the temple of Apollo –which was never completed- right by the port.

Even though Naxos is the biggest island in Cyclades, has a modern tourism infrastructure and a fast life pace, it somehow gives the impression of a nostalgic, trapped-somewhere-in-the-Medieval-times, proud but charming place. This is totally reflected on Naxos’ gastronomy. Tasty locally produced ingredients, fresh meat and fish, excellent dairy and livestock products, wine, vegetables, extra virgin olive oil and fruits.

Funny thing is that all the local restaurants and taverns cook in the old fashion way. Dishes are prepared with love and care, based on authentic Naxian recipes. Let’s see, however, the most famous local products, based on which some of these recipes are cooked.

The famous “Kefalotyri” is made of goat and sheep milk from the mountainous villages, which is collected in the farms.

The legendary “Ladotyro” is basically cheese, which is placed in a container filled with olive oil for more than three months. It’s a spicy cheese, ideally served with local raki.

Sweet “Myzithra” is made of goat and sheep milk. “Myzithra” is somewhat soft, usually accompanies Greek salad, it’s salt less and low fat. Try it with ultra fresh bread right from the bakery!

“Anthotyro” is another cheese type, similar to “Myzithra”. The difference is that “Anthotyro” is kept in a dark area, in containers, for more than a year. It’s lightly salted and low fat. Basically it resembles cream cheese.

“Xynogala” is made of virgin cold goat milk, which with the necessary addition of “pytia”, becomes “Xynomyzithra”. If you add a little bit of pepper and accompany it with breadsticks you got yourself a delicious spicy hors d’oeuvre.

“Xynotyro” is basically “Xynomyzithra”, dried on a wooden board for weeks. The older it gets, the better it tastes.

The legendary “Graviera” of Naxos is probably the best kind produced in the entire country. It’s made of cow’s milk, in the plains of Naxos, by the Association of Naxian Cooperatives. Known and famous for its delicious taste, it can be used in salads or as an hors d’oeuvre, it can accompany white wine, raki, ouzo or tsipouro, after dinner or in pies, along with other cheeses and herbs. It can also be fried as “Saganaki”.

Another famous Naxian product is Citron, which is a renowned liqueur made of the homonymous fruit (which is kinda like Grapefruit). The first distillery that produced Citron was Vallindra’s and it’s worth a visit, if you happen to go to the village of Halki.

At this point, we should mention that 14% of Greece’s dairy production comes from Naxos. The island also has numerous beef production units –hence the excellent steaks-, while there are also many vineyards scattered all over the island. You can taste local wine anywhere in the island’s taverns and restaurants. It’s transparent, fruity and dry and it’s served cold in traditional clay carafes.

Other local products are potatoes, tomatoes, onions, olives, olive oil, raki, honey and spices. Finally, from all the fruits produced on the island –grapes, sour cherry, cherry, bigarade orange, bergamot, fig etc-, the locals make excellent teaspoon sweets.

Kali Orexi!