Pasteliers of Syros

The figs is a favorite food of the inhabitants of the Aegean islands. Both fresh and dried, as well as cooked and any fig derivative, from savory figs, the jams, the pasteliers as well as figs, are sought after because figs - like almond trees - are trees that do not require the slightest care and have no need for watering. Many figs are found in gardens, others grow in ruins, others in ravines, nowhere, and they are like capers, unruly and bohemian and most importantly sweeten our bitterness with their delicious fruit.

In the spring the Syros musk wild fennel, while in summer there are countless figs that give us the tiny white maroni, the Mount Athos and Royal Lombardy, "The king of figs", as Markos Vamvakaris characterized it in his autobiography.

Syrians love figs, they collect them and spread them in pans or hang them on strings to dry them while the fanatics make them pastellaria.

Ο Costas Prekas described the production to us:

"Leave the figs in the sun for 20 days to dry. Wash them with water and dry them again in the sun, protected with tulle. We open them in four and sprinkle them on roasted sesame, cinnamon and almond, mix them in pairs and bake them in the oven. When they cool, we press them, one on top of the other, to let the air go and we put bay leaves between them. The laurel leaf, apart from the discreet smell, also functions as a protection against bugs and butterflies, which is why it is also placed in bags with lentils or rice ".

Depending on the tastes, others make the pastels softer and honeyier while others prefer them drier and harder.

In both cases pasteliers They are ready all year round to sweeten us or to accompany our sea bream, setting our mood.