Local Products of Lesvos

Theophrastus, philosopher and follower of Aristotle, in his work "Botany" he described the pruning techniques, watering and sprinkling, reducing viticulture to science. He was from Lesvos! The Roman general Lefkios Lefkinios Loukoullos, known for its… delicious meals, the 84 e.g. occupied the island and, appreciating its gastronomy, he built his mansion and spent a lot of time there. The Ottomans called it "the orchard of the empire".

The refugees of '22 brought to the island all the culinary culture of the East. And she came and met the French cooks that the lesbian townspeople had in their homes. The island is large and fertile. And the culinary culture of Lesvos was born!

Olive oil

The olive oil, its ouzo and sardines are among the best products in Greece. More than 11.000.000 olive trees cover the island. To the south and east the stump is cultivated, to the north and northeast the Adramytini, while there are also a few oil mills. Whatever their variety, during your wanderings on the island, gaze upon the beautiful silvering olive groves, to the flowers that grow on the roots of the trees and listen to the sounds of the birds that love these trees. The lesbian olive oil and all the turnover related to this blessed product bequeathed the island unique buildings, such as oil mills, oil storage and packing plants, soap factories etc. Some of them give valuable information about her, limited anyway, industrial and craft history of our country. One of them, the old community olive mill of the Municipality of Agia Paraskevi, was transformed into an exemplary Museum of Industrial Olive Production, where one can see the whole olive production process. The old olive warehouses, the bates, they house exhibitions about the man who has been working on the blessed fruit for centuries now, his tools and the changes mechanization brought to the society of Lesvos. Another traditional Olive Mill, in Papados of Gera, one of the most characteristic monuments of the industrial architectural heritage of Lesvos, is expected to welcome visitors on a journey into olive culture.

Ouzo

And next to the oil, the famous Mytilene ouzo. Ouzo blends perfectly with the diet and culture of the island and creates a special culinary experience. To commemorate it, the Lesbians made him a museum. At the Ouzo Museum in Plomari you will see copper cauldrons, made in Istanbul at the end of the 19th century, and a complete reconstruction of the distillation system.

Wine

The wines of Lesbos have been in demand since ancient times, with the poet Aristarchus glorifying the "sweet and fragrant" wine of Lesvos and calling it "ambrosia". Both the quality and quantity of Lesvos wine were impressive, until the gradual replacement of vines with olive trees, mainly due to the destructive phylloxera. The native red variety of the Lesbian grape is grown in the crater of the volcano that created the island's petrified forest. In the northwest part as well, in the Makara region, the varieties with the name Fokiano are cultivated (Ricara), Kalloniatiko and Moscato (Scented). The Mandilaria variety is cultivated in the mountainous area of ​​Megalochori Plomari and in Karyona Skopelos Geras (Ugly & I painted), Athiri, Assyrtiko and Muscat white.

Cheese

The special taste and quality of the cheeses Lean fish products of Lesvos has the result of being internationally recognizable products. It is typical that of the twenty types of PDO cheese that Greece has today, three are made in Lesvos: the oil cheese, Eresou caseri and feta cheese.

Seafood

All kinds of fish and shellfish caught daily by the island's fishing boats have had a prominent place in the culinary habits of Lesvos since ancient times., which, pickled in various ways, is the ideal appetizer for ouzo. The scallops, quinces and salted sardine Kallonis or papalina are the... sushi of the gastronomy of Lesvos.

Sweet

And, besides these, honey, jams, sauces, nuts, from small cottage industries and miraculous women's cooperatives, they will savor the passage to Lesvos. It is worth noting that the first women's cooperative of Greece was created here, in traditional Petra.