Name - Origin
Blossom or flowers of fruit trees and horticultural plants. The blossom of the flowers (and the flowers themselves) is usually called ‘fkióron’. (Great Encyclopedia of Cyprus, vol. 1, entry αθθός,ο, 242)
Ioannis Erotokritos in his Glossary notes that it is the flower of plants and trees and metaphorically a good, excellent man. (Kypri 1989, entry αθθός,ο, 313).
The flowers of the bitter orange tree are used to make citrus distilled water or spoon sweet. Zucchini flowers are battered and fried or are stuffed (using koupepia filling).
Additional information and bibliography
Although the stuffing is the same, stuffed zucchini flowers are called anthoí to distinguish them from koupepia (stuffed vine or cabbage leaves). (Great Encyclopedia of Cyprus entry αθθός,ο, 242).
Kypri Th. D. (ed.) (1989), Materials for the compilation of a historical dictionary of the Cypriot dialect, Part C, Glossary of Ioannis Erotokritos, Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research, XIV, Nicosia.
Pavlides A. (ed.) (1984), Great Encyclopedia of Cyprus, vol. 1, Filokypros, Nicosia.
Kyriaki Panteli, Argyro Xenophontos
Traditional Recipes
Stuffed zucchini flowers (vegetarian)
Vegetarian variant of Cypriot stuffed vine leaves. The filling of the flowers is based on rice or a combination of rice and bulgur wheat.
Foods
Ανθόνερο ή ροδόσταγμα - Citrus water or Rose water
Anthónero (citrus water) is a distillate of citrus flowers and rodóstagma (rose water), is a distillate of rose petals of rosa Damascena, both of which are used to flavour traditional sweets.