Lefkadite Products | Wine, Salami, Nougat, Pasteli, Soumada and Pies

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Lefkada

International Names:
Lefkas, Lefkada, Lefkáda, Lèucada, Leucade, Leucas, Levkáda, Levkas, Λευκάδα, Левкада, Лефкас

Lefkadite Products

Wine, Salami, Nougat, Pasteli

Wine

Vertzami, Vardea, Giomatari, Keropati, Lagero, black sweet, white moschato and the varieties do not have an end. The wine of Lefkada is known ever since the ancient times, because the residents of the island dealt from that time with the vine culture, working on the mountainous, barren ground and producing white and red wines with sparkling colors and intoxicating aromas. Even ancient writers praised these wines in their work, such as Plinios the Elder and Athenaios in “Dipnosofistes”. Today the visitors as well as the locals enjoy them in bulk or bottled from the many wine factories that operate on the island and produce red, white, pink, dry and semisweet wines.

The basic variety that is cultivated is dark red “Vertzami” that came to the island during the period of the Venetian rule. However Vardea has a large cultivation as well.

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Salami

The fact that the salami is famous and visitors connect it with Lefkada is not by chance. The well-known salami of the island as well as the sausages, are tasty and scented, and this is because the island has a humid climate. The summer sausage is made by delicatessen manufactures and butcheries and during the past few years it travels around Greece, air tightly packed from the industries.

According to history the salami has an Italian tradition and it first came to Lefkada by the residents of Burano in Italy.

Nougat, Pasteli, Soumada and Pies

The nougat and the pasteli have been two of the most famous products of Lefkada for two centuries now and they owe their existence to the barbers. According to history, the barbers kept small laboratories at the back of their barbershops, in which they prepared, with care, their delicacies while they were waiting for someone to come for a haircut or a shave. Then they wrapped them with cellophane and sold them outside the barbershops. The techniques and ingredients would not leave their laboratories. The years passed, the materials became known, but the preparation technique - that was their entire art - remained a secret.

For the traditional nougat they used the whites of the eggs, honey, almonds, sugar and wafer, whereas for the pasteli they used honey, sesame, sugar and almonds. If you wish to see how the nougat and the pasteli are being made do not search at the back sides of modern hairdresser's, because nowadays their production takes place in small factories.

Lefkada is also renowned for its pies as well as its traditional refreshment made of bitter almonds: soumada.

Years ago the pies were a daily food in the villages. The housewives used to roll out pastry, put inside the pan whatever they had in the house and baked the pies in the trivet. With care and imagination they created rare and delicious recipes. Today the pies may not be baked in the same way but they are still an art the women in villages possess since the needs in the city are covered more easily. The cabbage pie with other various wild herbs and the alevin pie with small alevins are the most traditional and special pies of the island. Moreover the macaroni pie, the rice pie, the “briani” with green zucchinis, the oil pie, the petasti as well as many sweet pies such as egg pies, milk pies and pumpkin pies with sweet pumpkins are very famous on the island.