Traditional Skiathos Cuisine

In short stories by Alexandros Papadiamantis its humble protagonists, its farmers Skiathos, in the late 19th century, operate among the "pink beaches", harbors, ravines, hills, mountains and ravines, vineyards and olive groves, orchards and ravines and live without material goods a quiet Zoe.

Guided by the author's work, one discovers them in parallel with nature eating habits of Skiathos. In his stories you discover all the seafood, from the sardines, the squid, the octopuses, the tuna, to the lobsters, the vegetables, the oil, the olives, the macaroons, the kasoumakia (local sweets), the baklavades and so one is revealed treasure, a unique material which is still the living gastronomic reality of the island.

Let's take a look at an anthology of excerpts:

«The clans and the fuss of the women, with their baskets and knives, were scattered all over the hills, and they took out cauliflowers and myrons, and they cut ferns and wild fennel.»

«… With half a lobster tail, with no smoked cephalopod of the lake, with a little roe, with an infused salt, all products of the small beautiful island, barb'-Alexis did his job»(Bribed the commander).

«Or did you suddenly see him squatting, grabbing a small octopus with his palm, biting it in the neck, struggling to pull the sucker from its wrist, running on the sand and kicking it bravely… Philotimon child! He ran all day from shore to shore, making grins, purples and horseshoes for two, crabs for three, octopuses for four. "

«Or, after pouring too much milk into a large cauldron, and pouring plenty of salt into it, from which he himself ate from shore to shore, running on the rocks, where he took out shells and horseshoes, the apollos (shepherd) or was about to boil it…».

«Or they put some firewood, oil and caviar in two keys. He filled two seven-ounce flasks with wine from his harvest. Wrap in paper two or three octopuses and a small box filled with ischada and raisins; two large pieces of meat salad, up to five okadas both».

«God brought the joyful day, and the aipoloi were honored to slaughter and roast two tender goats, while the two lumberjacks had brought from the mountain many dozen salted goats; eggs and cheese of Ainos, half a dozen hens and a small tank with mackerel».

In the short stories of Alexandros Papadiamantis the productive cycle of the diet is present in all its manifestations. Landscapes, production methods, fishing, grass collection, local delicacies and favorite delicacies, but also the feasts and treats in the cafes are described in his stories and complement the magical world of the author, sending us timely messages of the importance of a life in austerity and simplicity.

After the study of Papadiamantis, we sought the memories of the modern Skiathos who lived during the era of self-sufficiency of the islands.

One learns a lot by asking and searching. This is how the history of the local cuisine of each place is formed.

In Skiathos, fishermen take out their fish and their shells (lobsters, crayfish). Nowadays pelagic fish and lobster crayfish may have had a great value, in those years, but the problem was not the gastronomic experience, but the satiety of the large family. And while in other places, in order to "puff" the seafood, they marry it with pasta (spaghetti, barley, cut macaroni, noodles), in Skiathos they mix seafood with vegetables and a unique marriage is created. Peskandritsa stew, lobster with zucchini, crayfish with mountain greens, what Papadiamantis describes so vividly.

And so a unique kitchen is created with special peculiarities, a cuisine that does not exist in any other region of Greece, a kitchen with a unique identity, the traditional cuisine of Skiathos.

After the Asia Minor Catastrophe, refugees from these places arrived in Skiathos and carried along with their culture and customs their gastronomic tradition and so they came to the island with dolmadas and various other stuffed dishes, sauces, syrupy sweets and so on. while there are influences from the kitchens of the surrounding coastal areas (Pelion, Alonissos, Skopelos).

Here are some delicacies that you can enjoy on the island:

The seafood which you can find in other Aegean islands, such as anchovy marinade with kritama, grilled and cooked octopus, grilled and cooked shrimp, grilled sardines, lobster spaghetti.

However, the dishes that represent the cuisine of Skiathos are: shoes (local green pies), h Skiathos cheese pie spiral-shaped - similar to Alonissos and Skopelos -, and fish marriages with mountain grasses or vegetables, such as crayfish with grass, rib stew, grouper mash with tomato and other similar delicious combinations.

The marriage of seafood with "greens", however, does not mean that the Skiathos do not respect meat and especially the goats of the island or the surrounding dry islands. In family taverns we will find egg-lemon goat, "stealing" lamb, braised ibex, local rabbit stew or veal with zucchini.

Family taverns and homemade traditional food is the most suitable recipe to try the authentic flavors of Skiathos.