A Culinary History

Mykonos might be all about the glamour and nightlife, but when elements of local history and tradition come into play, the experience becomes truly unique. Take gastronomy, for example. Typical Mykonian products blend together with other Greek delicacies to create a sumptuous gastronomic paradise. Sea urchins collected from Mykonos’ shores, sea bass and squid, octopus and vlita greens seasoned with local vinegar instead of the traditional lemon juice (bearing in mind the scarcity of lemon trees -as most other trees- on the island)... these are the wonders of the local cuisine.

But what did life and food on the island look like a few centuries ago? It is obvious to anyone who visits that the land is rocky, barren and wind-scorched, like most of the Cycladic islands. However, you need to look beyond the hip crowds to understand the way the weather conditions and landscape affected local life in the past. If you ask any local about the island’s typical products, they will refer to louza cured pork fillet, pork sausages with herbs and to kopanisti, the spicy soft cheese. And that’s about it.

But what the island lacks in produce, it has in wind power. With about 60 windmills, 17th century Mykonos was home to a milling industry that even the Russian navy relied on to turn its wheat into rusks that would feed the crews. You can still taste the original flavor of traditional bread and rusks by taking a walk to Yora’s wood-oven bakery, the oldest one still going strong in Mykonos town.

If you are visiting the island in October, you might also catch a glimpse of the herds of pigs walking the town’s alleys before being slaughtered at the annual Hirosfagia, a tradition once crucial to local economy. Half of the money earned by selling the pig meat was invested in buying a new pig, while the other half paid off the year’s debts. Today, pig slaughter remains a reason for festivity and celebrations. It starts at one of Mykonos’ hundreds of chapels, continues with an all-night feast and ends with morning mass. As brutal as it may seem to modern civilization, it is an experience that reveals quite a different… flavor of Mykonos.

Have a true taste of local culture at a villa in Mykonos!