Trahanas

Τραχανάς σε φέτες, απλωμένος για αποξήρανση. <br/> Πηγή: Ιστοσελίδα Facebook.

"After it cools down, we can divide the trahanas into balls or cut them into slices and spread them on boards in the sun to dry..." (Maria Papaneophytou, Kyperounda)

Name - Recipe

Cypriot name of dish

Τραχανάς. Trahanas.

Greek name - description

Τραχανάς. Pieces of a mixture of boiled, fermented sheep's and goat's milk (sour milk) and bulgur wheat, dried in the sun. They are used in the preparation of trahanas soup (note: Stalo Lazarou).

Ingredients

Version A
10 kg of sheep's milk
1 kg of sheep's yoghurt
16 kg of bulgur wheat

Version B
2 litres of fresh goat's milk
1 kg of ground wheat (konári)
2 pinches of salt
1 clove of garlic

Method

Version A
Put the milk and yoghurt in a pot and stir until they come to a boil. Add the bulgur and stir until they come to a boil three times. Place the mixture in the sun for 6-7 days and stir daily until the mixture thickens. After this process, take the trahana and cut it into strips with a wooden cylindrical tool that is pointed at the top. Place the pieces of trahanas in weave trays (about 10) covered with parchment paper. We usually place the strips of trahanas in the shape of Lefkara embroidery! Leave them in the sun for 2-3 days until they dry out. (Pepa Frixou, 60 years old from Pachna Limassol)

Version B
Put the goat's milk, salt and garlic in a container with a lid. Leave it for 8 days in a cool place. After 8 days, boil the milk and slowly pour in the bulgur. When it starts to boil, turn off the heat and keep stirring. After it has cooled, you can divide the trahanas into balls or cut it into slices and spread them on boards in the sun to dry or in balls in plastic bags and place them in the freezer. (Maria Papaneophytou, 36 years old, Kyperounda)

Cooking method

Boiling.

Comments

In the old days, in order to cook the trahanas, we used to put bricks or wood in the shape of a circle and put wood in the middle. On top of the wood we would put 4 pieces of iron to support a large pot (harjin). We would keep the pieces of trahanas in a pillowcase, in a cool place, with 1-2 cloves of garlic to prevent worms from growing. (Pepa Frixou, 60 years old from Pachna Limassol)

Functional and symbolic role

Nutritional Value and Importance in the Diet of Cypriots

It was a preparation that was usually made in the autumn because there was a lot of sheep's milk production at that time. (Pepa Frixou, 60 years old from Pachna Limassol)

Additional information and bibliography

Time period

19th - 21st c.

Supplementary information

Extract from an interview with Ms. Pepa Frixou: "Question: Did you make any changes - any modifications to the recipe? (ingredients, proportion of ingredients, method (way) of preparation, method of storage, method or means of baking)? Answer: I use cow's milk for the preparation of the trahanas. Also, now I do not dry the trahanas but store it fresh in the freezer. More specifically, when the trahanas come to a boil, I leave it for a day and the next day I knead it with milk in small balls. Then I put the balls in plastic bags and put them in the freezer. I use cow's milk because sheep's milk is no longer available. Also, I don't dry the trahanas but keep it fresh because it is more milky and more tasty." (Pepa Frixou, 60 years old from Pachna Limassol)

Βibliography

Oral testimonies: Maria Papaneophytou, 36 years old, Kyperounda (see. Kourri, P. and Lazarou, S. (eds.) (2007). Traditional recipes of the village of Kyperounda, unpublished data).

Pepa Frixou, 60 years old from Pachna Limassol. Recorded by Christina Grigoriou, October 2010. Edited by Stalo Lazarou.

Researcher / Recorder

Christina Grigoriou, Stalo Lazarou

Photos