Celebrating All Things Local

When visiting a country, there is no better way to engage with its history, culture and way of life than by celebrating all things local.

And what better way to do this than by engaging with a country’s cuisine, which inhabits all aspects of its development, its agricultural strengths and nuances, its society’s creativity, and the regional influences adopted as its own.

Celebrate all things local in Cyprus by sampling some of these drinks and food products whilst holidaying on the island.

Commandaria

Commandaria is the oldest named wine still in production and betrays Cyprus’ ancient wine-making history and traditions, with the style employed to make this amber-hued sweet dessert wine dating to 800 BC.

Made using indigenous grape varieties, Commandaria was most famously celebrated by King Richard the Lionheart who – whilst in Cyprus during the Crusades in the 12th century and celebrating his wedding to Berengaria of Navarre – proclaimed it as being the “wine of kings and the king of wines”.

Embark on the dedicated Commandaria Wine Route (ask our Guest Services team for details) in journeying through Cyprus’ history.

Pastelli

The humble carob was such an important trading product on the island in antiquity that it became known as ‘black gold’.

Today, it is still celebrated for its rich flavour and potent medicinal benefits (aiding digestion in particular) and is a key ingredient in the creation of a beloved local carob toffee known as ‘pastelli’.

A few minutes from Columbia Beach Resort lies the village of Anogyra. Surrounded by carob orchards, it is also home to three dedicated carob museums through which you can take part in workshops and learn about the traditional pastelli-making process.

Agros Rose Preserve

A beloved traditional sweet, glyko tou koutaliou is cherished island-wide as a light dessert, often served as a gesture of hospitality. The sweet preserve can be made from a variety of fruits and nuts, including oranges and lemons, and unripe walnuts.

Less commonly found is sweet preserve made from rose petals, and yet the village of Agros has perfected this practice to the extent that the European Commission has granted the Agros rose preserve with a Protected Geographical Indication quality label.

Rose water in general is interwoven throughout Cypriot cuisine, used extensively across a variety of desserts, including mahalepi.