Spinial is called the technique of preserving some shells (pins, bubbles) in seawater. In Kalymnos due to the sponge, the spinal cord has been identified mainly with bubble.

The divers of the island as they dived for the sponges met the bubbles, shells that are difficult to catch, because they are well camouflaged on rocks. The people of Kalymnos could easily distinguish them and together with the sponges they brought them to the boat. There, soft as a hard sponge like the bubbles, they opened them with a transverse knife and there their wonderful yellow-orange contents were revealed.

During their trip, the sponges took with them the bottles full of commercial resin (Kourtakis, Malamatina) to accompany their daily food and returned them full with the bubble spin.

They sterilized the bottles and placed the contents of the bubble in them, after slicing it, together with seawater from the bubbles themselves, a little extra salt and a little olive oil, which covered the zoumaki and did not let the air come in contact with the seafood. water and alter the bubbles, and watered hermetically (the so-called spinal).

Of interest is always the art with which the cork was sealed - with the two-tone rope, and the cross-knitting - to secure the contents.

Her meze bubble spin with oil and onion is unbeatable, although very special due to the special intense iodine and slightly bitter taste that differentiates it from all marine relatives in the category of shellfish.

Remember that the bubble spinal cord - like all seafood, oysters, mussels, combs, glitters, horseshoes, pins, bubbles - belongs to the category of so-called "aphrodisiac foods", the etymology of which has its roots in the goddess of beauty Venus and are thought to contain zinc, which boosts testosterone production and libido!

Over the years, the Kalymnos divers of the Libyan became the best fishermen in the Aegean and feed the islands in the summer with fresh fish, they did not forget their art of collecting bubbles and, thus, spinal bubbles are widely found only in Kalymnos.

It appears today an important chef of Kos, originally from Kalymnos, The Dimitris Koulias, to bring the taste of spinach in a more noble and familiar form, in the form of paste, or as we call it a la Thessaloniki, in the form of ointment. So Dimitris writes poetically in the letter he sent us along with the samples of his work:

"The first one who opened and ate a bubble must have been very hungry, the one who put it in a bottle in order to preserve it, must have fallen in love with it!

We never stopped being grateful and remembering both…

In Kalymnos it is considered a gift from the sea and an excellent meze, but almost everyone else sees her perhaps with disgust, classifying her as unclassified.

As a genuine product, its taste is pure iodine and salt for many, but for some it is a unique taste, with a strong smell of deep sea and something else that breaks the radar of the four flavors, perhaps the metallic taste of fear in the diver's mouth…

What you hold in your hands is one puff salad, is the bold processing of the spinal bubble…"

This recipe was provided by Dimitris Koulias, at Kalymnos Sea Food, the Kalymnos Women's Social Cooperative Enterprise - we have written a relevant article about her, her important work, and her products from 2018, as well as the famous whole paste (octopus ink) - to include her in its rich range.

May all modern chefs follow the example of Dimitris and experiment with local products and local flavors, renew them and place them in the field of modern gastronomy that is so in need of flavors that enrich the gastronomic biodiversity, and give identity in the gastronomic destinations of the country!

Dimitris Koulias, thank you very much… good luck in the project!