It may be known in some places as Turkish Delight, but much to the dismay of our neighbours to the north, the town of Geroskipou in the greater Pafos region is the proud and legal, owner of the name “Loukoumi Geroskipou” which while the same thing as the Turkish Delight sweet, is guaranteed by the European Union’s Protected Geographical Indication.
Not only was it the first Cypriot made product to receive this protection (Halloumi cheese has also since been awarded a PGI) but the town of Geroskipou has also entered the Guinness Book of Records for making the world’s biggest Loukoumi, beating the previous effort made by a Turkish Australian.
When it comes to what the Loukoumi Geroskipou actually is, it is described as a soft, chewy, sugar-powder covered cubical sweet, either with or without nuts, but excluding any additives.
Ingredients include sugar, corn flour, starch, water, almonds and different fruit aromas, with the original loukoumia were rose-flavoured as the makers used to boil the fragrant rose petals which were growing wild in the surrounding fields. The rose petals were then boiled and the resultant moisture was collected; all the while, the ingredients were added together in a large cauldron of boiling water and constantly stirred until for a few hours at least, until it became smooth and creamy. Once the mixture had cooled down, the rose essence was added for flavour and the complete mixture was then poured into wooden boxes where it was left overnight to cool down completely. The final part of making loukoumia involved cutting the slabs into sugary cubes and packing them into boxes to be sold.
In today’s production of the Loukoumi Geroskipou, mostly by a family who have been making the sweets for over a hundred years, the flavours extend to more than just rose essence and in fact are primarily the only part of the process which are not original as most are artificial. These flavours include rose as already mentioned, strawberry, mandarin, orange, mint, pineapple, bergamot, banana, lemon, pistachio, mastic, vanilla, chocolate and coconut. While they may be artificial at present, according to the European Union application for product protection, the intention is to replace certain flavours with more natural ingredients.
The procedure to get any product protected as indigenous by the European Union has to be strictly followed and in this case, the Loukoumi Geroskipou application was made by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism for the family company which has been producing these delicious sweets for over a hundred years, Aphrodite Delights in Geroskipou. According to the official application, “since its establishment in 1895, the applicant company has – without interruption – performed all stages of the production process within the boundaries of the Geroskipou Municipality, in accordance with all the obligations imposed by the national regulatory framework. Today the applicant company is the only company producing Loukoumi Geroskipou in the defined area. Any producer in the defined area has the right to produce the product in accordance with the specifications and the obligations imposed by the national regulatory framework.”
Legal language aside, what this really means is that the Loukoumi in Cyprus can only be produced in the Geroskipou region and only according to the method described in the legal application document. It should be understood though that this does not mean that any other country cannot make and sell the way they have been making their versions until now, for example in Turkey, Greece and some of the Balkans. It just means that the Cypriot product must be made in the Cypriot way and in the region in which it originated.
To maintain the high levels and standards which are expected from all ethnic products protected by the European Union, the manufacturing procedure obviously has to be monitored and constantly checked. For the Loukoumi Geroskipou this is undertaken by the Agriculture section of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment which regularly examines the extent to which the specifications are met and checks that the sweet actually comes from the defined geographical area.
Apparently, to ensure that the production methods and quality of the product are adhered to, according to the acceptance specifications, the Agricultural Ministry has to check that the following methods are completed absolutely correctly; the ingredients and their proportions are right, the stirring temperature, the stirring duration and even how many times the mixture is turned.
Once the mixture has been properly stirred, it is poured into the cooling boxes after which it is coated and cut and then placed into its packaging. Again, part of the legal protection process means that all stages of production, cutting and packaging have to be carried out in the producer’s premises, which in this case must also be within the defined geographical area of the Geroskipou Municipality. The primary reason for the insistence of this location specification, is to avoid any risk of contamination, because if the mixture is transported unpackaged it could be susceptible to any kind of germs. The other reason it needs to be made in one place is because the actual journey and a fluctuating temperature would make the loukoumi harder to cut, thereby changing the characteristic texture of the sweet, especially increasing its water content.
Geroskipou’s sweet goes back all the way to 1895 when Sophocles Athanasiou started to make the loukoumi today legally associated with the region and since that day, it has been made in exactly the same way, with the recipe and the sweet secret of its success handed down from generation to generation, with the same family still responsible for Loukoumi Geroskipou.
In fact, if one has to look at evidence in books written from the time production started until the present day, there is enough proof to show that the region is synonymous with the sweet. According to the official European Union documentation, renowned Greek novelist Nikos Kazantzakis (he wrote Zorba the Greek) mentions it in his book “Travelling” which was published in 1926, while 1962 saw Ioannis Panagiatopoulos’ book “Cyprus – a Journey” mention Loukoumi Geroskipou. English author William Forwood talks about ‘this fine produce from Geroskipou’ in his book “Cyprus Invitation.” In fact, Loukoumi Geroskipou was even awarded a certificate of honour at the British Empire Exhibition which was held at Wembley Stadium all the way back in 1925.
The next time you’re having a drink and nibbling on one of Aphrodite’s Delights, savouring the sweet sensation of the soft, chewy pleasure of the Loukoumi Geroskipou, keep in mind that not only are you eating something which is legally protected by the European Union, you are also enjoying something which has been made exactly the same way for over a hundred years.
Another reason to delight in Cyprus.
Weight for me tomorrow. Paul
Paul Lambis is the author of “Where is Home?” – A journey of hilarious contrasts.
For more information on Paul Lambis, and to order his book online,
visit www.paul-lambis.com
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