A type of melted raisins.
Name - Origin
It is a sweet and sour preparation made from melted red grapes (Yangoullis 2009, entry μάτσ̆ες,οι, 276), which are placed in jars and subjected to fermentation (Petrou-Poeitou 2013, entry Μάτσιες, 85). They are used as a substitute for jam (Yangoullis 2009, entry μάτσ̆ες,οι, 276).
"They were grapes, which were dried on the vine (raisins). They were stored in jars" (Testimony of Xenophon Lazarou, 74 years old, Politiko - Nicosia).
Women and children would remove the melted grapes from the bunches during the harvest and collect them in a jar to make mats̆es, a kind of jam that was made with no boiling, after evaporation and partial fermentation. Their taste was sweet and sour and pleasant. They were stored in small jars (Ionas 2001, 102).
Functional and symbolic role
They were used as a topping on bulgur pilaf. They were considered much tastier than raisins prepared using the conventional drying method (Testimony of Xenophon Lazarou, 74 years old, Politiko - Nicosia).
They were like jam with a sweet and sour and pleasant taste. Usually, they were consumed by Cypriots in winter on fasting days. They were often a children's snack at school (Ionas 2001, 102).
Additional information and bibliography
Yangoullis K. G. (2009), Θησαυρός Κυπριακής Διαλέκτου. Ερμηνευτικό, Ετυμολογικό, Φρασεολογικό και Ονοματολογικό Λεξικό της Μεσαιωνικής και Νεότερης Κυπριακής Διαλέκτου, Βιβλιοθήκη Κυπρίων Λαϊκών Ποιητών, 70, Theopress Publications, Nicosia.
Ionas, I. (2001). Παραδοσιακά επαγγέλματα της Κύπρου (Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research XXXVII), Centre for Scientific Research, Nicosia.
Petrou-Poeitou E. (2013), Από πού κρατάει η σκούφια τους. Λέξεις και ιστορίες από τον κόσμο της γεύσης, Epiphaniou Publications, Nicosia.
Oral testimony: Xenophon Lazarou, 74 years old, politiko - Nicosia. Recording: Stalo Lazarou, October 2010. Editor. Stalo Lazarou.
Stalo Lazarou, Dimitra Demetriou, Argyro Xenophontos, Tonia Ioakim
Foods
Sweeteners in the 18th century
Report of Archim. Kyprianos (1788) in his book " Chronological History of the Island of Cyprus" on the types of crops used to produce sweetening substances in the 18th century