Mastiha, an edible fragrant resin from the pistachio tree, has been harvested from the Greek island of Chios since before Christ. Here is my report for an exciting new site The Malcontent created by Mic Wright otherwise known as @brokenbottleboy. Read the rest of my story…
Mesta village, a ‘mastiha’ village.
Drying tomatoes strung up on the walls.
Chian taverna owner with Greek basil tucked above his ear
George the potter at the ceramic village of Armolia
The black pebbled beach at Mavra Vollia which are used in pathways of posh Genovese architecture below
Seafood with mastiha liqueur.
Meltamaki restaurant ‘sea breeze’, which is literally at the edge of the Aegean, at Katarraktis.
Spoon sweets: a ‘submarine’ – a spoon of fondant with mastiha which is licked then dipped in a glass of water; the water retaining the flavour of the mastiha.
More info:
I stayed at Medieval Castle Suites in the mastiha village of Mesta, as their guest.
I flew via Aegean, in Business Class, which features a hand picked Greek wine menu.
I visited the Citrus Estate and Museum in Kambos, famed for the Chios tangerine.
To find out more about Chios, visit the Tourist Office in Chios.
For more information on visiting Greece, go to Discover Greece, a non profit organisation aimed at promoting Greece.
I absolutely love your writing and photographs.Will check out the Malcontent
Wow, thank you for these pictures! Was wondering if this stuff is related to that flavouring "mastic," which is something I've been curious about.
This is very interesting – a friend from Cyprus was telling us about this, saying it really helps with stomach and food intolerances… so I need to locate some. great photos