Local Delicacies
"Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving, and identity." - Jonathan Safran Foer
Kopanisti
Kopanisti is a thick creamy cheese with a spreadable texture and spicy flavor which usually served as an appetizer, a spread on bread or on a Mostra rusk.
It is made from sheep’s milk, or from a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk, and takes around 4 months in total to produce.
Mostra
Mostra is popularly served as an accompaniment to ouzo. A large barley rusk is spread with a tablespoon of kopanisti and a ripe tomato is diced and placed on top to balance with its sweetness the spicy flavor of the cheese. These are all topped with olive oil, oregano, and capers.
Depending on the season, grapes can be used instead of tomato.
Kremidopita
Kremidopita is an onion pie with a crispy texture on the outside and a creamy texture in the inside. Though the pie contains onion, the tanginess of the onion is balanced with creamy tirovolia cheese. The recipe also includes dill and various wild herbs and spices.
Louza
Louza is a local delicacy that you won’t find anywhere else. This cured pork loin is dried in the Aegean winds, and it has a savory and spicy flavor. It is often thinly sliced and served as part of a meze platter.
Sausages with black-eyed beans
Traditional sausages in Mykonos are exclusively made from pork meat and fat which is sun-dried rather than smoked as there was never much wood on the island to smoke the meat. They contain savory herbs, pepper, spice, salt, and finely chopped oregano and are sometimes served with black-eyed beans which are called “kafematika”.