That's it trek to Lemnos in the summer of 2018 was provoked by an invitation for the events of the Gastronomy and Wine Festival Lemnos Philema, which took place in the old port of Myrina in Lemnos on July 27, 28 and 29, 2018. At the main event of the Festival, twenty local producers presented their products at the multi-space "Warehouse", while over 600 visitors tasted the local products, met and talked with the producers of the island. The event was honored by the governor of North Aegean Mr. Christiana Kalogirou, as the region was one of the supporters of the event.
It was a unique experience both for the local community and for the visitors / friends of Lemnos as the guests chef Andreas Lagos and Alexandros Papandreou cooked live dishes based solely on the use of local products by the participating producers. Here people had the opportunity to try flavors with flomari, melichloro, kaskavali, melichloro, kalathaki, kavourmades and so many other Lemnian products.
In addition to the main event, the Festival program for the invited bloggers and journalists included visits to local production units and taverns, in order to get to know first hand the gastronomy of the island. Our gastronomic guide was Alexandros Alexandrou, creator of the site and office of gastronomic tourism Taste Lemnos - co - organizer with Limnos experience of Lemnos Philema - as well as the owner of the excellent café in Moudros "Pezoula".
Although very young, Alexandros, exuberant and immovable, with his beautiful bus turned the island from end to end - a job he does with too much passion and love, to all the visitors of Lemnos who trust him. I had searched Lemnos a bit in 2015, when 3 years ago with XEE we had done it Greek breakfast of Lemnos at Hotel Varos and I had met several interesting things, products and producers, where then, but also this year, the Costas Katenidis he was my faithful guide. This year I think I have completed the visit and I am trying to present an exhausting journey on the island. Have a good trip.
Travel to Lemnos - The place
Our journey to the island of Hephaestus, Lemnos, the "Anemoessa", From the strong winds that blow in the area, the"Ampeloessa", From its extensive vineyards, the island with such a rich Mythology, Prehistory and History - similar to no other Aegean island - starts from the island's capital Myrina.
In his port Turkish sea, boats and fishing boats rest, under the gaze of the Venetian Castle that rises proudly and overlooks the sea.
The market street of Myrina, one of the most beautiful in Greece, mostly covered with bougainvillea and climbing plants, with dozens of tasteful shops, connects the two bays of the small peninsula with the impressive castle. A half hour walk from the Turkish coast (south) to the Roman coast (north) is a must a scent from the scent of a city that lives in other times.
The Roman shore has been declared a protected area and is the most noble area of Myrina. Protagonists on the sea, overlooking the North - and the good days Mount Athos - and under the shadow of the castle, its majestic and neoclassical style mansions, bear a strong colonial stigma, since they were built in the late 19th century from wealthy Lemnians, who had settled and excelled in Egypt.
Η Lemnos has one of the largest wetlands of the Aegean islands with the main the Salt, which in winter is filled with birds (flamingos, herons, etc.), a spectacle unrepeatable and in summer it turns white with salt.
In the north of the island near the village Katalakkos and a little further from the beach Eraser, in a place with a sufficient height, which does not seem to justify their existence, spread sand dunes in an area of about 70 acres. An extremely rare and bizarre landscape with minimal vegetation (the Sahara of Europe during the Lemnos), which attracts more and more lovers of the curious nature. In a small kiosk you will see in photos the flora and fauna of the area.
Hundreds of ruined houses with these amazing gray and ocher stones. Here the house is popular and the stones are irregular and only the cornerstones are chipped, without this reducing the beauty of the construction.
The Folklore Museum of the village of Portianos It is museologically very beautifully set up, on the ground floor the life and history of the kechagiads (large breeders), the textiles, the food while on the upper floor the representation of a mansion.
What to admire from this humble stone construction, on the beach. Huge cornerstones made of black porphyry, marble fragments from an ancient temple, red, gray and brown carved stones, a small masterpiece in the unclaimed architecture and life.
No matter how small the grocery store is and now it has the minimum necessary, the super-markets ate it. At his entrance there are traces of his old glory and he is proud of them.
Travel to Lemnos - The products
Η Lemnos is a large island characterized by extensive fertile plains, cultivated with cereals and vines, fields with legumes and vegetables, while vast pastures, start from the sea and reach the highest peak of the island 450 meters high (perhaps the lowest mountain of the islands Aegean).
At the beginning of the 20th century, Italian archaeologists working on the excavations of Lemnos brought to the island seeds of durum wheat grown in Sicily. In the fertile volcanic soil of the island flourished, and due to the black color of the agans (whiskers) the variety named Mavragani. For years this variety as well as the locally called Lemnos were neglected. For some years now, the two varieties have been re-cultivated and hard flours are made from them, creating the famous breads, the coveted flomari (pasta) and the unique rusks of the island.
The flomaria are the most sought after pasta of Lemnos and their fame comes because they are made from local raw materials, hard Lemnian flour, fresh sheep's milk and local village eggs. With such ingredients and their different types of production, a range of pasta is formed that is considered worthy the best in Greece. Many handicrafts standardize felt trees and send them to the markets of the country, while many housewives continue to produce them in the traditional way every summer.
In Lemnos the view of goats and sheep is something everyday. You can find them everywhere, in the pastures, on the beaches, crossing the dirt roads in small and large herds. How to hide the 120.000 animals raised on the island and of course one can not question the abundant milk production. And here there are important dairies that produce the typical local cheeses, the basket (fresh, soft and slightly sour taste), the melichloro (semi-hard, pale yellow, drained in shady and well ventilated areas), kaskavali and feta. Cheese making continues at home and many housewives are proud to make their own cheese.
The basket of Lemnos - the most famous Lemnian cheese, the ambassador cheese of Lemnos, is together with slice the two PDO products of the island - it was named after the baskets (cheese) in which the milk coagulated, and of course it took its form. Modern dairies based on the new hygienic standards, now use molds similar to the traditional baskets, but from plastic produced in standard molds originating in Italy (similar ones are used for ricotta)!
Of course the locals use them traditional boxes which are made from bourla that abound on the island, because they believe that the cheese that drains in the baskets produces more characteristic flavors and aromas. Of course, we do not talk about beauty and grace, when you see both of them together, accompanying each other.
We talked about the art of basket weaving and basket weaving (tyrevan) with George-Raphael Giannelis, a noble 26-year-old lad, philologist, with a master's degree in folklore and an amateur tyrevan. George returned to his island and devoted his time to recording the different types of basket that exist on the island, visiting 28 villages and identifying similarities and differences. Apart from a workshop, his house is also a small museum.
We had the pleasure to visit him at his home and see a sample of his art, as within an hour he knitted a basket, describing to us with ni and sigma, all the phases and the secrets of the correct construction of a basket. We wish him good luck in his dreams!
Concluding the description of the main products of the island does not overlook the vegetables grown in orchards, protected by yards and barbed wire. Their great enemy is the hundreds of wild rabbits, which are systematically cooked on the island, but also cause damage to crops. The local tomatoes, color and taste the summers of Lemnos, but they also become belts to comfort them in the difficult winters.
Journey to Lemnos - The producers
If there is a "gold" company in Lemnos, a company that produces local agri-food products, which is the ambassador of the island in Greece - and timidly abroad - this is definitely the Chrysafi company. In 1984 the first bakery was built, in 1991 the cheese factory in Karpasi, a modern unit of high standards that today produces fennel of Lemnos, basket, melichloro and kaskavali. Today, the Chrysafi company with the emblem the sea lily revives traditional recipes utilizing the unique raw materials of the land of Limnia (goat's and sheep's milk, the flour from the "mavragani" variety and the local eggs) using high technology and distributing its products in stores throughout Lemnos .
In a semi-outdoor area of his winery Agricultural Cooperative of Lemnos, overlooking the bay of Myrina, one can taste the wines and learn the history of viticulture of the island. The facilities of the winery, with an area of 3500 m², reflect the evolution of winemaking in Greece from the middle of the 20th century to the present day. Reinforced concrete tanks used since the winery was built until the late 80s have been replaced by modern stainless steel tanks. And it is here that its fragrant variety was first utilized in the best way muscat of Alexandria and red Limnios, the variety mentioned since its time Aristotle.
The Hadjigeorgiou Estate is the first large private winery on the island. Founder and "soul" of the winery o Petros Chatzigeorgiou, although a businessman in the trade of drinks and wines, he loved the island and decided to settle in Lemnos and become a winemaker. Very quickly, Hadjigeorgiou Estate became the most innovative winery in Lemnos and today produces in its state-of-the-art unit in the area Karpasi over 300.000 bottles of wine.
The company Limnos Organic Wines of Giannis Savvoglou - with extensive experience in winemaking from his previous service in the Union of Cooperatives - and his partner Panteli Tsivola, produces wines from organically grown vines from the local varieties of muscat of Alexandria, Limnio, Kalambaki and recently started the cultivation and production of Assyrtiko. In the visitable winery one will taste interesting labels and of course you will see the prizes from his several distinctions in international competitions,
The tradition in the preparation of salt pans is connected with the history of Lemnos. The company "Lemnos Sea" is a family business that for 20 years now travels the Aegean seas with its own fleet fishing with respect for the environment and man. The founder of the company George Koutoukis growing up at sea had a vision, to give the whole world the opportunity to taste the gold of Lemnos… the goods of the sea… From the wide range of the company's products among the frozen, salted, marinated and smoked and the salted anchovies, sardines and abalone stand out, while at the same time it feeds the restaurants Milos all over the world (New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Montreal, Miami, Athens, London) who swear by the company's fresh fish and brine.
Η Bright Garali is a shining example of an advanced woman from the Greek countryside. With great experience in the Women's Confectionery Cooperative of Atsiki Lemnos since 1983 and in fact in a leading position, she understood very early the need to utilize the local gastronomy and the promotion of local products of the island. In 2007 Fotini decides to become a nun and sets up her own traditional pasta craft. And since then, apart from the concern of its production, immobile and hyperactive, it travels all over Greece, participates in exhibitions, in TV shows, in cooking shows, acting as ambassador of Lemnos promoting the products of the region in the best way.
Ο Panagiotis Salamoussas, agronomist, and his brother Stergios, economist, 5th generation flours, with Lemnia resurrected seeds, they re-cultivate the variety Lemnos and Mavragani and the production after they grind it, they have it exclusively in the company Chrysafi. At the same time, they have standardized afko, white beans and small-seeded chickpeas and sell them in the markets of Athens.
Η bakery Lemnos of of the Poriazi brothers is the largest and oldest bakery on the island. Its rusks preserve the traditional recipe of the grandmother from 1919 when about a century ago a local traditional wood oven was founded that produced in addition to bread and rusks. Fotini Poriazi, a granddaughter who just graduated as a philologist, took over the communication and marketing of the company. We visited the facilities of 500 meters, from the laboratory, the bakery, to the packaging plant, but we also experienced the rural work in the flour mill.
The varieties Lemnos and Mavragani, local varieties of cereals are ideal for rustic bread, pies and pasta, as well as the famous barley of the Virgin, for the nuts, O Panagiotis Mavroudis, A tireless miller from his youth, he guides us to his flour mill in Karpasi to show us his production. Its mill with 1960s technology, with amazing patents, with mechanical technologies of the last century, with the wooden floors creaking and the ceilings trembling, take you to a pre-war and magical atmosphere that you will not find difficult to leave!
The company Dimitris Katomeritis was founded in Moudros, Lemnos in September 2013 by Dimitris Katomeritis and manufactures and distributes traditional products such as pasta, pies and confectionery, using excellent quality raw materials from Limnia land. Its products are available in selected stores throughout Lemnos and in online shop of the company www.limnosshop.gr. The quality of the products resulted in the award in the London tasting competition Great taste awards 2017, with our traditional pasta MAKARONES / MAKARONES, in the category dried pasta of any shape.
In Myrina, in Roman Gialos, you will find the most interesting sweets, in the extremely well-established service station of the laboratory "Caspian delicacies". Responsible for the sweet feast h Myrsini Chrysokefalou-Dance. Here the friends of sweets often faint!
In Διαπορι ο Tassis Laskaridis, well-known architect of Athens, retired now created the estate "All" in Diapori, where he overturned a tradition that claimed that Lemnos does not produce oil. The truth is that it did not produce oil because it exchanged its wheat with the oil of Lesvos which was plentiful and of very high quality. Various olive trees were cultivated on the 200-acre estate Adramytini, Manaki but also Koroneiki, Excellent oils were produced while the estate can be visited since it has a holistic concept where here you will find that your soul wants a greasy and domestic animal.
On the estate Everything the wife of Mr. Tassi Laskaridis, Rena Laskaridou makes cheese, and in fact in the natural baskets from vourla, makes cooking demonstrations, tasting meals, since he knows, as much as any other on Friday, presentation and narration of the local delicacies of the island.
Travel to Lemnos - Six special taverns
At Lemnos - with such an abundance of cheese, meat, vegetables, pasta and seafood - eat well in most taverns. We chose the 6 that made the biggest impression on us.
Flomari
On the Northeast side of Gomati Beach - 2km after passing the junction to Ammothines in North Lemnos - is the «Flomari» a beautiful tavern, at the top of a hill overlooking the sea. Created 3 years ago, the talented chef Malama Banavou who together with the mother of Mrs. Fotini cook exquisite Lemnian dishes, and with their smiles and kindness complete the amazing scene with a very human and friendly atmosphere. In Flomari the food is better than the other. Among others, dakos with marinated zucchini (a poem), afkos (local fava) with sun-dried octopus, seafood with flomari, avoudi with must, cheese cheese with fresh cheese and spices, rooster with flomari, wild rabbit and omelet with ka -Light.
Mandela
The gastronomic wandering of Lemnos necessarily passes through them Sardines, from Mandella tavern. And this is because here you do not eat despite the Lemnian flavors as the locals eat them in their homes without frills and the rest, but with raw materials unique. Rooster with florets, wild rabbit stew, goat with potatoes, hare braised, donuts with must, traditional dishes in hearty portions served by the owner, Mandella, a name that stuck to him - he lived for many years in Africa - by his fellow villagers, who they called him "Mandellas", after the well-known African revolutionary leader.
Giannakaros
Η fish tavern Giannakaros at Kotsina is the best that Lemnos has to show. Fresh fish and seafood, salads and vegetables from the family orchard, will come to your table in huge portions that satisfy your eyes and your gastronomic requirements. The staff is excellent, friendly with professional training, starring Giannakaros Alexandra's sister. The dishes are plentiful, a portion often satisfies two people. We tried the exuberant rustic, the melichloro saganaki, the roasted eggplant, the zucchini chips very well fried and finally the pasta (the local flomari of Fotini Garali) with the seafood (mussels, shrimp) which was the highlight.
Concept po
The cafe-tavern "Meaning po 'xs" is located in the most interesting part of the village Lamp, on its picturesque square, starring the impressive stone-built church of Ag. Dimitriou, a fountain in the center, and five or six dollhouses around. Here in the middle of nowhere was created a cafe, with tsipoura and cymbaric appetizers, but above all another concept of life, in the spirit and the title of the cafe :. "Meaning po 'χς" which means do not pay attention, do not gallop, to the Lemnian locality. And suddenly the village becomes a sought after hangout for the whole of Lemnos.
Between us
The ouzo-tavern has been operating in “Turkish” glass, in the port in front, since 2017 Between us and within a year he gained the impressions. Its owners are Giota Zouga with the mother of chef Maria Zouga, who have created a very warm and friendly environment. The delicacies are dialectal, mainly seafood, they combine the delicious flavors, with their beautiful presentation in nice ceramic utensils.
Menelaus
The Διαπορι is the port of Tsimandria and is the isthmus of 300 meters of land that connects the peninsula of Fakos with the rest of Lemnos. Here is, a few meters from the beach, and the famous ouzo of Menelaos. If one tried to describe it with a word, one would say: Greece, 60s. The ouzo is housed in a low and humble elongated building parallel to the sea. Its yard is defined by two rows of trees, the first by acacias and the second by mulberries. Far from the typical courtesy, their service is warm and welcoming. Stavros, very sociable, describes the dishes of the day: “black-eyed beans, roasted sardines, married fava, saganaki with their own dark cheese, flomari with grated cheese, zucchini from the garden, cuttlefish cooks and fish every day, whatever fish they bring every day ”.
Journey to Lemnos - The local lentils
Lemnos with its 240 km coast, is famous for its abundant fish, which are eaten on the grill, but also cooked in many versions. The most libidinal version, however, is when they give their taste to local pasta. The shrimp spaghetti and lobster spaghetti with flomari are sought after for their taste and of course for their affordable prices. The bay of Moudros has a rich fish fauna, it is rich in shellfish, such as clams, mussels, pins, scallops and crabs that are also "arranged" properly in the cooking with the flomari.
The flomaria either in their very thin form (reminiscent of vermicelli) or in the more modern one, reminiscent of noodles, they are served alone with grated melichloro or kaskavali, with snails, zarzavatika, but mainly accompany braised roosters, wild rabbits, pork and goats.
When we say "baked lamb" in Greece, we usually mean lamb with potatoes and a little garlic, either lemon lamb or oregano and other times with rosemary.
In Lemnos, when they say lamb, they mean it "Caspakino", as they make it in the village of Kaspakas, that is, with herbs, chives, fennel, tomato, raisins, rice and, of course, with a basket of cheese.
Ο afkos (the local variety of fava beans) is together with the white beans and the small fruit chickpeas, they are the three main legumes that are cultivated on the island. Derived from the seed Lathyrus ocrus and its cultivation and consumption was systematic until the end of the 70's. of the island.
The idiots or whales is a local pasta (it looks a bit like shells) that is usually served with grated melichloro and drizzled with petimezi.
The cork pie is made from thin slices (pumpkin) of pumpkin, which are baked floured in a pan, after being poured with olive oil and sprinkled with almond, raisin, zazari and cinnamon.
The samsades were made by the locals Sesame seeds cultivated on the east side of the island, hence the name. In the west they used the almonds from the almond trees that were in abundance on the island. Today, when distances no longer matter, both materials are used for samsades. They are reminiscent of saragli and similar syrupy sweets!
Fry pies with local honey and cheese, it is a first class breakfast!
Venizelika are small sweets based on almonds, drizzled with icing and were so named when after the liberation of the island, in 1912, they welcomed and treated the prime minister with them. Since then they have remained the typical local dessert of Lemnos.
We say goodbye to the island with two conversations about its inhabitants. Periods of wealth, followed by periods of poverty and tubalin. The people of Lemnos became immigrants to America and Australia, but also accepted the Asia Minor asylum.
Proud, hardworking, fanatics open in the new times carefully with a compass the love in their place who want him to their measure. I'm sure they will succeed.
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