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Thanks to excellent climatic conditions combined with traditional irrigation and cultivation
methods, Messinia offers a rich variety of fruits, vegetables and other food products. Visitors who are interested in the
food culture of Messinia should visit one of the traditional packaging workshops. There you can taste and purchase
olives, olive oil and other traditional food products, such as honey, vinegar, honey eyed figs, home made marmalades, herbs,
and other local delicacies.
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Olive oil and olives
In the Messinian land the most beloved tree of all is
the olive tree, which has found the best soil to develop in the fertile valleys. In contrast to modern irrigation techniques,
the harvesting of the olive fruit is still done in the traditional way; by hand. This results in the most upscale quality
and flavour both of the juice and fruits of the olive tree. It's a gift of nature with great pharmaceutical value and the
main ingredient of the Mediterranean diet.
Because of the quality and characteristics of the Messinian olive oil, the
name of its place of origin is protected. The edible olives of Kalamata, famous for its crunchy fruit, are famous worldwide.
Wine
Messinia has shown increased activity in wine making during the last
few years. Wine however, has been a part of the Messinian culture for centuries. Archaeological research has shown that the
cultivation of wine has been known in the region for thousands years. Today this tradition, in combination with the knowledge
and taste of the local producers, as well as the excellent climatic conditions of the area, has lead to the production of
quality grapes, which give exceptional wines. The local wines have fruity scents, full flavour and live colour.
The wines
of the area find the ideal conditions to mature and age in the cellars of local companies, and bring into light the hidden
scent and the "jovial" bouquet of the grapes of this blessed land.
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Figs
The fig tree is among the first fruit-bearing trees which were cultivated
in ancient Greece, together with the olive tree and the vineyard. It constituted one of the most important forms of nutrition.
The culitivation of fig tree is favoured in the area by the climate which is semi-dry and the area produces about 6.000
tons of dried figs annually. During harvest, from the 15th August to the 30th September there are temperatures of 30 C which
favour the ripening and the drying of the fruit.
The fig has a special place among the fruit because it is natural, tasty,
nutritious and healthy while its qualities as an emollient and a mild laxative establish it as an important remedy. The fig
is consumed fresh and can be eaten unripe as a sweet. It is also served as a dried fruit accompanying alcoholic drinks.
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Fruits and vegetables In Messinia, because of the climate, there are early vegetables produced
like potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, squash (marrows), watermelons, melons, aubergines and pepers along the coastal areas
of Petalidi, Chrani, Logga, Finikounda, Methoni, Koryfasio, Romanou etc. Especially the Spring Potato is cultivated in the
wider coastal areas of the municipalities of Kalamata and Messini and other smaller towns in an area of 12.000 hectares and
a production that reaches 40.000 tons from which 5.000 are (mainly) exported to Germany and England, while the rest are offered
to the domestic market. The transportation and the trade of the products takes place with the help of private exporters and
unions. It is the earliest production all over Greece and starts in the first week of April. Pasteli Pasteli
is a traditional Mediterranean snack consisting of a mixture of sesame and honey. It has a wonderful taste and pasteli is
the ideal solution for moments when you feel like having something sweet, but healthy and nutricious.
Thanks to the coexistence
of sesame and honey, Pasteli is considered as one of the most nutritive delicacies, full of useful vitamins for the human
organism. For that reason especially in Messinia, is very popular among children and adults.
The superiority of the Messinian
Pasteli, comes from the indisputable superiority of its ingredients. It is well known that Greek sesame and Greek honey are
of the best in the world. Thus, it is no surprse that the Messinian Pasteli is one of top quality products internationaly.
Raisins Raisin is the fruit of vineyard which can be consumed in dried form. Its cultivation
had been known to the ancient Greeks who used raisins to decorate places of worship and awarded raisins as a prize for the
winners after athletic events.
The Corinthean raisin is cultivated in the areas of Pylia, Messini and Trifylia. Harvest,
which is around the 15th of August, is followed by the drying and the manufacturing processes, so that the final product is
dark, soft and has a mild taste.
The dried fruit of the raisin is rich in iron, potassium and kyttarinium and is used
in bakery and confectionery, in the reception of glucose (a substitute for sugar), in the production of spirits and in the
production of vinegar.
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