Trahanas

Sour milk is boiled over fire. Then, bulgur wheat is added and left to cook until the mixture thickens. This semi-liquid mixture is then poured into shallow vessels and dried in the sun. In some villages, this semi-liquid mixture is moulded into the shape of oblong meatballs (Kypri 1983 [2003²], entry τραχανάς,ο, 105). 

The preparation of trahanas was usually carried out in the months of August and September. The raw material was sour milk, reserved day after day in special pots (koùzes), and ground wheat. It was cooked until a special paste was formed. The housewife would call on her relatives or neighbours to help with this task, and they would all usually go to the roof in the evening and work until midnight. 

Bulgur was made from good quality wheat, which was cooked in a cauldron and then left in the sun for days to dry out. It would then be taken to the village mill to be ground or it would be milled at home using a hand mill. Then, the skin would be separated from the grain with the aid of the wind and would be stored away from moisture and insects, so that it could be used throughout the year (Leontiou 1983, 135). 

Testimony from the village of Peristeronopigi: the preparation of trahana and its two unique ingredients, sour milk and the pulp of coarsely ground wheat, would require several days of work. Pikártin had to be prepared first, in order to form sour milk. An oka of milk would be placed in a bag together with a spoonful of salt and a piece of trahanas. The bag would be placed in a pot, and hung in the sun. After 5-6 days, when the ingredients were beginning to thicken, the water would be poured out. Then, a glass of milk would be added every day until the pot was full. Then, the mixture (pikártin) would be placed once more under the sun. At this stage, a bunch of sour grapes was squeezed in to strengthen the tartness of the mixture. In the meantime, a bit of milk was gradually poured in every day until the pot was full Once the pot was full, the contents would be transferred to a jar which would be placed on top of a cupboard, the four legs of which would sit in water-filled containers to protect it from ants. A bit of milk wold be added every day until the contents weighted about 5-6 okas. During the last days, as the quantity of yogurt increased, more milk would be added. Towards the end, for 2-3 days, no milk would be poured in, so as the yoghurt would become sour. In the meantime, the pulp would be prepared using the same method as for the bulgur, except that in this case the wheat was uncooked. Once the ingredients were ready, the housewife would light a fire very early in the morning and pour the yoghurt into a cauldron over fire to cook trahanas. It was left to boil for some time, until about some of it had evaporated. Then, she would add salt, garlic and pulp. The normal dosage was one oka of pulp for 2 ½ okas of yoghurt. Once cooked, it was left for several hours to cool. In the afternoon, she would knead it well and shape it (MichalopoulouCharalambous 1998, 333).