Gastronomy
Lemnos has not only been blessed with its wine. Actually, it is a fertile island and particularly self-sufficient. Consequently, its gastronomy is mainly based on the abundance of the local products.
The island is famous for the good quality of its cereals, especially wheat and barley. The wheat is used to prepare different types of bread, as well as the famous pasta of Lemnos, the flomaria.
With an economy based mainly on agriculture and farming and a long tradition in breeding sheep and goats, Lemnos is known for the variety of very distinct white and yellow cheeses that are produced here: kalathaki Limnou (PDO), melichloro, feta, kaskavali as well as fresh cheeses
The sesame that is grown in Lemnos is also of a special quality, and therefore, the highly nutritious tahini and the traditional halva, its products. Lately, the cultivation of local varieties of legumes has grown, such as the local fava called afkos. At the same time, apiculture (bee keeping) is also growing, and particularly the production of honey from thyme. Recently there’s been an advance in the production of olive oil, too.
The land of Lemnos also offers a wide variety of wild greens and herbs: wild asparagus, capers, thyme, oregano, chamomile, etc.
The local gastronomy combines the local products in an interesting way in several kinds of pies with homemade pastry, such as pumpkin pies and cheese pies, casseroles with tomato sauce and flomaria on the side, recipes cooked in the oven, etc. The meat that is used here is mainly pork, lamb, goat, poultry, rabbit and only a little veal. And of course, with Lemnos being such a fish place, the cuisine could not but include some very interesting fish dishes.
The ingenuity of the local gastronomy is also reflected in the traditional sweets. Besides the wide range of the so called sweets by the spoon, the unique venizelika are made here (chocolate fondants covered in vanilla icing), as well as the similarly unique samsades, sweets with crispy pastry and sesame.
