Yield is a forgotten word that referred to a transaction of the past. The reason for the private postmen, those who were a bridge between the places and the capital and replaced the suffering at that time ELTA, something like today's couriers. These postmen distributed "hand in hand", letters, coffins covered with burlap, parcels, goodies of cheese, dried figs, honey with plenty of love and wishes from the countryside to the loved ones of the capital. The senders were mostly miners who sent to their children, students or employees, something of their backwardness.

Yields are a word derived from him our lexicographer people, and was the rendering of some things through a messenger, which in addition to transporting items would contain the warmth of human intercourse and the transmission of wishes, warm greetings and all the information but also the gossip of the village.

Such a return arrived at my house yesterday in the traditional way and filled me with surprise, emotion and joy because it was a noble and symbolic act by a small but special business.

The return came from Babouni cheese factory of Naxos and had the form of a dora, which was traditionally the small cloth bag that accompanied the shepherd of Axios, as he placed the necessary things with the daily breakfast.

The content of yesterday's performance contained the wishes and:

A head male of Naxos PDO 4 months of maturation (goat and sheep milk, rennet and salt.

Fresh sweet mizithra (whey, sheep and goat milk, salt)

Bread with sourdough and walnuts, guided by Easter customs

Raki (grape distillate, 40% degrees).

A big thank you to the Babouni family that honors Naxos with its products and on this occasion let us say a few words about its history Naxian cheese-making, one of the most dynamic in our country:

Legend has it that the god Apollo, who was especially worshiped in Naxos, left his son there Excellent, great cheesemaker, to teach the inhabitants the art of cheese-making.

Decades later, Naxos, thanks to the fertile plains, the abundant waters, the mountains rich in vegetation and the endless pastures, maintains a highly developed livestock, and its cheeses are one of the most famous in Greece. In Naxos, as in other Cycladic islands, there is also a long tradition of cheese based on cow's milk, dating back to the Venetian era of the islands, when the Catholic rulers introduced these foods and their methods of preparation. The Cyclades is the only region of Greece that has had dairy cows since the 16th century, and therefore has long cheese making of cow's milk.

Today more than 10.000 cows graze in Naxos meadows and more than 100.000 sheep and goats are raised freely in pastures of the island and especially in the mountainous part of the island, producing about 1.500 tons of cheese per year.

The most famous cheese and ambassador of the island is Naxos gruyere, PDO product since 1996, which requires at least 80% cow's milk and at most 20% goat's and sheep's and aged for at least three months. Gruyeres are usually produced in heads of nine kilos, but are also available in other versions.

Another famous cheese of Naxos is male, which according to our folk tradition, is known at least since the 19th century. It got its name for its properties (hard and strong cheese) and to distinguish it from cheese makers from mizithra, the τυ female cheese that is also made from goat's and sheep's milk. In Naxos the male is made from a combination of sheep's and goat's milk that is heated and coagulated with rennet. This mass is then drained into basket molds, from which it takes its final shape. Once the cheese has drained and acquired the necessary consistency, it is dipped again in whey, smeared with salt (others smear it with the oil morgue) and left to mature for at least three months and then used for table or rubbing on spaghetti.

From 2020, Arseniko Naxos was granted the protected designation of origin (PDO) and in fact from sterile milk, as the European Commission approved the application for the registration of "Arsenikos Naxos" in the register of protected designations of origin (PDO).

Yesterday's performance, which reached my home from the Babouni family, made me think that, no matter how much companies today try to promote their products with state-of-the-art marketing rules, the classic and effective way of communication will always remain every personal expression of offer and kindness, which mobilizes emotion and recalls memories of a life that contained more care and humanity.