A touch of Greece for breakfast – why not!

It is at about this time of the year when my spirit rises and I start planning for the summer holiday, and my excitement usually hits the richter scale of 10/10 with the thought of the delicious foods that are coming my way once I hit the shores of mainland Greece.

For today’s post I will start with thoughts on the Greek breakfast, and one dish in particular, the wholesome and quite unique in taste and texture, delicious Greek Yoghurt with traditional raisin syrup.

I have yet to source a full traditional recipe from my local Greek friends, who have been quite protective of late, but this holiday I will find one, however, in the meantime I make my own….

So what is raisin syrup all about? Definitely a brief history lesson on queue, as the origins of this renowned Greek sweetener historically date back to the late 1800’s when the Greek government bought surplus raisins to produce cheap alcohol, alcoholic beverages and syrup (stafidine).

Traditionally Stafidine or ΣΤΑΦΙΔΙΝΗ/ black raisin syrup was poured generously over yoghurt or goats cheese (the raisins having been processed to a pulp and sieved leaving only a wonderfully flavoured syrup) but in the early 1960 it became known to the consumer as Threpsine and became a leading part of the staple diet to many Greek families when eaten with the thick slices of the wonderful Greek sourdough bread.

Today, the face of this wonderfully flavoured ancestral sweetener has what I believe become more holistically natural, leaving the whole raisin afloat in its own sweet stickiness, and with this in mind, as the old adage says ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans’ I like to in build up to my ‘Big Fat Greek’ holiday by enticing my tastebuds with a Greek yoghurt breakfast and sweet plump raisins.

So for now, please just enjoy the thought of sunshine and happiness, and of course, my soon to be breakfast.