The Cuisine and the local products of Kythnos

During your stay in the magnificent island of Kythnos, make sure you enjoy the traditional products of the island, which stand out for their fine taste and excellent quality. By all means, try the cheese products of Kythnos and accompany them with the local wine. To acquire the ultimate taste of sweetness, try the famous almond sweets that have a long tradition in most of the Cycladic islands. Also, the honey of Kythnos is noted for its supreme quality.

In Kythnos, in addition to meat and fresh fish, you will find products from the local cottage industry, such as sausages, rusks, white grated cheese, or Kopanisti cheese, thyme honey which is considered to be one of the best, capers and earthenware (clay pots) since the island has a long tradition in pottery, pasteli (nougat with sesame seeds and honey), traditional pies and the famous wine of Thermia.

Try the famous cheese pie of Thermia, a traditional dish called “sfouggato” (is a simple one-pot summer dish using eggs and garden vegetables. The word ‘sfouggato’ is derived from the same word for ‘sponge’; the dish sometimes turns out like an omelet, while other times it comes out looking like scrambled eggs, depending on the amount of liquid the final dish contains), and if you happen to attend a wedding, try the traditional broiled meat with potatoes which is usually served at the wedding table. Keep in mind that whatever food you try, you must accompany it with some of the local cheeses, especially with the savory Kopanisti cheese.

As for the sfouggato, it is a type of cheese omelet. It is made either with the “sour“, traditional, soft, unsalted cheese of Thermia or alternatively with the salted “cheese” that has a sour taste. Know that no one leaves Kythnos without having tried the pork meat of the island, the lamb chops, the scrambled eggs with zucchinis (strapatsada) and the local wine.

Local Products

The rich land of Kythnos, apart from its beautiful landscapes, offers you unique culinary experiences. You can and you should taste the local cuisine so as to acquire new and unique tastes for yourself.

It is worth tasting the cheese products of the island, the feta, the kopanisti and the grated cheese. The grated cheese is used to make sfouggato, a kind of cheese croquet or omelet that you can find in all the taverns of the island. Besides, the cheese and the wine of Kythnos have been known since antiquity for their quality and taste.

Other products of the local cottage industry are sausages and rusks and of course the honey of Thermia containing a very high amount of thyme and is considered one of the best in the world!

Do not forget to taste the “spoon sweets” as well as pastel (sesame &v honey nougat), which is specially served during wedding ceremonies at Thermia. Pies and “kolopia” (spinach & herb pies) are also tastes of the tradition of the island.

Finally, you can buy caper for your salad, which grows on the steep rocks of the island! All these types of food are available in every house of Thermia and can be purchased from rural cooperatives, as well as from shops that sell traditional products.