«Έψημαν» Πηγή: Στάλω Λαζάρου
Natural syrup from grape must.
Name - Origin
Πετιμέζι.
Νatural syrup from grape must (Kythraiotou 2007, 159) / sweetener from must (Petrou-Poeitou 2013, entry Έψημα, 42)
petimezi < turkish pekmez [pekmez = boiled grape juice] (Petrou-Poeitou 2013, entry Έψημα, 114)
Pekmezin is a Perso-Turkiση word, from pek [pek = very tasty] and mezam [mezam = taste], meaning very tasty. Petmezin is epsiman, i.e. boiled and refined must (Mirianthopoulos 1949, 113).
Konstantinos C. Yangoullis notes in this entry the variants of its name: epsimon and opsiman (Yangoullis 2009, entry έψημαν - έψημον - όψημαν,το, 151).
Epsiman is a natural syrup made by boiling and condensing the must. It "binds" when 1/3 (even 1/4) of the original volume is left in the boiling pot. In the Marathasa region, they flavour it with rose geranium or even basil leaves (Kythraiotou 2013, 47).
Functional and symbolic role
Sireon or epsiman is a delicious natural syrup made from grape must. Until the mid-20th century, it was one of the main sweeteners.
Epsiman was stored in clay (and in later times in glass) containers and kept all year round. It was essential for the winter months and was a key ingredient in the preparation of many sweets, particularly in vine villages, such as:
- grouta
- halvas kouvarkastos, which is prepared with epsima and semolina or flour
- koullourouthkia or tertz̆ellouthkia
- kaikanas, which was common in Pitsilia and was a batter made of flour, water and eggs, fried with diluted epsiman
- souppouthkia, which are small pieces of bread mixed with epsima dissolved in water
- pappous, a ground pourkourin, water and epsima dish.
Rets̆ellia, which some describe as a precursor of spoon sweets, are also related to epsiman (Kythraiotou 2007, 159).
In the region of Marathasa, epsiman was the main sweetener for centuries. It was poured over sweets such as kaikanas, tertz̆ellouthkia or pittes (Kythraiotou 2013, 47).
One of the main products that we find in the elders' testimonies, in terms of the preparation of the foods consumed before and during the hard and long days of agricultural work of sowing and harvesting, is epsima. Pourkourin, was also prepared which they consumed at noon in the fields (Ionas 2001, 63-64, 73-75).
Additional information and bibliography
Yangoullis K. G. (2009), Thesaurus of the Cypriot dialect. Interpretative, Etymological, Phraseological and Nomenclatural Dictionary of the Medieval and Modern Cypriot Dialect, Theopress Publications, Nicosia.
Ionas I. (2001), Τα παραδοσιακά επαγγέλματα της Κύπρου, Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research, XXVII, Nicosia.
Kythraiotou F. (2013), Γαστρονομικός οδηγός Μαραθάσας, Ministry of Education and Culture - Pedagogical Institute, Nicosia.
Mirianthopoulos K. (1949), «Ξενικαί λέξεις εν Κύπρω», Cypriot Studies IB', 113-121.
Petrou-Poeitou E. (2013), Where do they come from. Words and stories from the world of taste, Epiphaniou Publications, Nicosia.
Tonia Ioakim, Ivi Michael / Petroula Hadjittofi, Argyro Xenophontos
Έψημα προς πώληση, συσκευασμένο σε μπουκάλια. Πηγή: Στάλω Λαζάρου.
Traditional Recipes
Epsima
Dark coloured thick syrup, ”honey" with a sweet and sour taste. Prepared from grape must by prolonged boiling, without prior fermentation, until it becomes dark and syrupy. Used as a sugar substitute…
Traditional Recipes
Grouta with epsima
Easy and quick sweet porridge recipe with espima (grape syrup).
Traditional Recipes
Halouvás with epsima
In Dora village, Limassol this preparation was made during the feast of Apostle Andreas (Aristi Yiannakou, Dora Limassol).
Traditional Recipes
Katsoures with epsima (grape syrup)
Slices of bread fried in olive oil and drizzled with epsima (grape syrup).
Traditional Recipes
Lalagouthkia with anari
Traditionally, lalagouthkia were made without filling and served sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with honey or epsima. In this newer version, anari filling is added to lalagouthkia.
Traditional Recipes
Loullouthkia
A version from Rizokarpaso of a popular Cypriot recipe for "tertžellouthkia" or "koullourouthkia with honey". The tertžellouthkia, just like the loullouthkia, were baked either in teratsomelo (carob…
Traditional Recipes
Moustari
Moustari is used to prepare traditional sweets, such as ppalouzes, shoushoukkos, poltos and kkiofterka.
Traditional Recipes
Pishíes from Marathasa
In Marathasa, fried pishíes are served with honey or epsima (petimezi).
Traditional Recipes
Portós-Poltós
A sweet pulp made from boiled grape must, coarsely ground wheat and sesame.
Traditional Recipes
Portós-Poltós with epsima
Epsima is made after continuous boiling of the must, i.e. the juice of grapes. Wheat is boiled in this syrup until the mixture thickens and a pulp is formed.
Traditional Recipes
Ppalouzés
A thin cream made of reduced grape must bound with flour. When ppalouzés is cut into pieces and dried in the sun, we get ‘kkioftérka’ (kioftéria).
Traditional Recipes
Retshellia, rets̆éllia
This recipe uses apples or quinces which are prepared using grape must as a sweetener and originates from Marathasa valley.
Traditional Recipes
Spoon sweets - Grapes
It is prepared using the sultana variety during the months of September and October, before the grapes are completely ripe.
Foods
Stafili - grapes
Grapes were consumed as a fruit and were used to produce sweet wine, especially Commandaria, dry wine (mostly red), zivania and vinegar.
Foods
Sweets made from grape must
Originally, these products were the farmers' essential dry food during the working day. Later, they were consumed by all as a dessert or treat.
Traditional Recipes
Teržellouthkia with epsima
Biscuits, shaped like hoops, boiled in water and dipped in epsima. “In the old days we used to prepare these biscuits when the grapes were ripe. We would collect the grapes from the vineyard and make…
Traditional Recipes
Xerotíana
“When they are golden brown, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a platter. Either sprinkle with sugar or drizzle some honey or epsima. (Sotiroula Kyriakou, Kyperounda)