«Πορτός» Πηγή: Στάλω Λαζάρου
A sweet pulp made from boiled grape must, coarsely ground wheat and sesame.
Name - Recipe
A sweet made from boiled grape must, coarsely ground wheat, sesame and spices (Yangoullis 2009, entry πορτός - πολτός,ο, 379).
G. Babiniotis notes the following: a soft and viscous mass, porridge (Babiniotis 2005, article πολτός,ο, 1442).
10 glasses of grape must
1 glass of wheat
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Bring the must along with the wheat to a boil over low heat until it is reduced. Ten minutes before it is done, add the sesame seeds and stir. The colour of the portos (pulp) should be dark (oral testimony: Marina Koiliari, Kyperounda - Limassol, in Kourris and Lazarou 2007, unpublished data).
Ioannis Ionas in his 'Traditional occupations of Cyprus' notes that in order to make this pulp the same procedure was followed as in the preparation of espima. “The housekeeper would coarsely grind wheat using a hand-mill and would separate it from the bran. Then she would put the juice back in the pot and when it had boiled she would add the coarsely ground wheat and stir continuously. The wheat and the juice would turn into a very thick mixture which would then be poured into an opennecked pitcher. Roasted sesame would be added and mixed until it would turn into a pulp” (Ionas 2001, 102-103).
Boiling.
Functional and symbolic role
Poltós was very nutritious. It was consumed by farmers mainly in winter, after heating it. They used to eat it with pieces of bread (Ionas 2001, 103).
Additional information and bibliography
Gennadios P. G. (1914), Phytological Dictionary: Containing the names, nativity and life of more than a thousand plants, including those cultivated for their usefulness and of which the history, cultivation, products and diseases are also described, From the Printing House of Paraskeva Leoni, Athens.
Yangoullis K. G. (2009), Thesaurus of the Cypriot Dialect. Interpretative, Etymological, Phraseological and Nomenclatural Dictionary of the Medieval and Modern Cypriot Dialect. Library of Cypriot Folk Poets,70, Theopress Publications, Nicosia.
Kourri P. and Lazarou S. (eds.) (2007), Traditional recipes of the village of Kyperounda (unpublished data).
Ionas I. (2001), The traditional occupations of Cyprus, Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research, XXXVII, Nicosia.
Babiniotis G. (2005), Dictionary of Modern Greek Language. With comments on the correct use of words. Interpretative, Orthographic, Etymological, Synonyms-Ansonyms, Main Names, Scientific Terms, Acronyms, Centre for Lexicology, Athens, Greece.
Stalo Lazarou, Dimitra Demetriou, Savvas Polyviou, Argyro Xenophontos, Tonia Ioakim
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