A variation on the bitter orange spoon sweet calls for the small green unripe fruits to be put up whole in syrup nuts are invariably preserved when immature, their shells still soft and downy flowers, mainly rose petals and lemon blossoms, are two of the rarest, delicious spoon sweets. The spectrum of spoon sweets follows the seasons: quince and apples in the fall bitter oranges, orange rind, lemons or lemon rind, bergamot, citrons, and grapefruits in winter strawberries, apricots, and green, unripe figs in spring watermelon rind, plums, cherries, sour cherries, and grapes in summer. The use of sugar later spread with the Ottoman Empire, as so many foods did spoon sweets are enjoyed all over the Balkans and in Turkey today. The first spoon sweets as we know them, in sugar syrup, appeared in the haute Byzantine kitchen and slowly became more widespread as sugar, brought to Greek shores by Arab traders in the 14th century, also became more readily available and economically accessible. To this day, eggplant and pumpkin rounds are still put up in grape must syrup, especially in wine-producing regions like Naoussa. (Excerpted from my forthcoming book, The Country Cooking of Greece, Chronicle Books, October, 2012)Īncient Greek and Byzantine literature is filled with references to fruits preserved in honey or petimezi-the world’s oldest sweeteners.
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