Grapes of Karpathos
The rich vineyards of Northern Karpathos produce outstanding grapes, from which the famous wine of the island is produced.
Wine of Karpathos
The wine of Karpathos is of excellent quality, tasty and quite different. The most popular is the demi-sec red wine produced mainly in the highlands of Karpathos, Othos and Volada. The most known grape varieties of the island are athiri (white grape), fokiano (red grape) as well as the Cretan thrapsathiri (white grape) and gaidouria of the Cyclades (another grape variety). The majority of the white varieties are unknown, such as stroggylathiro, karato, kolokithato, kotiko and syriggi.
Manouli of Karpathos
It is a kind of fresh, very soft, lean goat cheese.
Armyrotyri of Karpathos
It is a very salty hard cheese used by the locals in pasta.
Honey of Karpathos
Alochorta of Karpathos
Are small greens usually served as a salad, which grow on cliffs among thorns.
Makarounes of Karpathos
The specialty of the Karpathian gastronomy is makarounes, pasta, like tagliatelle, served with the noted sitaka, a dairy product like yogurt.
Kousoumas of Karpathos
It is a small bread baked in the oven and left for hours to harden like a rusk.
Lazaros of Karpathos
On Lazarus Saturday all the housewives have prepared round rolls with chestnut in the middle.
Tourtes of Karpathos
It is a pie with flaky pastry, which look like kourou (wrapped in thick pastry), stuffed with mytzithra and sprinkled with sesame.
Kopeles of Karpathos
Are Greenpies, whose stuffing varies depending on the season (stuffed with spinach and leek in the winter and with blites and vegetable marrows in the summer).
Gra of Karpathos
Is a greenpie with thick pastry baked in a tin roasting pan in the wood oven.
Baklavas of Karpathos
The Karpathian baklava is quite special, since it resembles the Cretan diples (fried pastry with honey) and is sprinkled with chestnut crumb.
Olive oil of Karpathos
Olive oil, it’s a key component of the healthy world-renowned Mediterranean Diet, and an irreplaceable staple in Greek cooking. Olive trees have been cultivated around Olympus for centuries. A distinctive, almost bitter tasting oil is made locally from the Koroneiki olives.
Dryla of Karpathos
Dryla is a yogurt made of goat's milk usually served with ofto.
Sitaka of Karpathos
It is made mainly from sheep's milk or goat's milk, depending on the season, but after they first let it sour. Then the shepherd bakes it in a large cauldron stirring continuously with a wood for several hours (8-10) until the liquid evaporates and remains a solid white balance which is like cream and is the so-called "sour" wheat. If the sour milk is added fresh, then the "sweet" wheat comes out. It is eaten purely on bread for breakfast but also has many uses in cooking, especially in recipes with traditional macarounes.
Meriari of Karpathos
The meriari is goat's milk cheese.
Sisamomeli of Karpathos
They are sweet made of sesame and honey and are served at weddings.
Psilokouloura of Karpathos
These are large round buns. Inside, twelve dough strips are placed vertically and horizontally so that they cross each other by forming small squares between them. Before cooking, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Weav of Karpathos
The weaving craft of Olympos showcases many great examples of artistic sensitivity, like household articles such as sheets, small carpets called “hremia”, various textiles and other traditional household articles such as the “giples” and the “stiliomantiles” and items for agricultural and pastoral use such as satchels of various sizes and cloaks. Many women of the village still weave to this day.
The traditional stivania of Karpathos
The stivania (a type of boots) are part of the traditional outfit of the Olympos village. The bright red color that the women’s stivania have, along with their ornate embroidery make them distinct works of art. There are many steps between the initial leather processing and the binding and the embroidery. All of them are made by hand. First of all, the boot maker draws all the parts of a foot on paper, i.e. the length, the width, the calf. There are footprint drawings for all sizes. Then, he places the drawings on the leather and cuts accordingly. Parts of a shoe include the so-called bastardeli (at the heels), the kalami (around the calves), the kores and the psidi (where the ornaments are placed). Cutting begins from the heels and the bastardeli. The next steps include the embroidery by hand or on a machine, the mending and the sewing of the sole. The edging is sewn using a string and another piece of leather is placed under it to cover the gaps and the seams. There is no doubt that weaving requires skill. There are different kinds of boots for the single women (with more ornaments), like the so-called “myrtia”, and for the married ones. Shoes worn on special occasions are different than the ones used every day. Giannis Prearis is the last stivania maker in Karpathos and his shop is located on the central path running through Olympos.
Zimbilia of Karpathos
Zimbilia are a sweet Christmas pie, which, together with nutmeg, is wrapped in the dough sheet that they make at that time, passed through white and black sesame mixture and baked in the wood ovens.
Moschomboukia of Karpathos
Moschomboukia are stuffed sweet in the shape of a moose, very common in all the Dodecanese. With variations in the filling, which contains mainly walnuts, almonds and sesame, sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Takakia of Karpathos
The takakia are a fake fake, which is made in small pieces and syrups.