Local delicacies and products well worth sampling
Kos’ traditions are reflected in its cuisine, and your stay on the island will provide unforgettable culinary experiences. Renowned is the aromatic thyme honey, which you can savour at the ‘Honey Festival’ in Antimachia, alongside other products that feature it as a key ingredient. The visitable beekeeping units operating on Kos also offer the opportunity to learn about the production process first-hand.
Amongst the cheeses, be sure to sample the cylindrical tyri tis posas or krasotyro (wine cheese), which matures in red wine sediment (known as “posa”) for a month, acquiring a reddish exterior while remaining white within. Also, savour the kefalotyri, graviera, and myzithra cheeses produced on the island.
Do not miss the pork with bulgur, the pork or beef with chickpeas baked in the oven, the lamb stuffed with rice, the octopus fritters, the dolmadakia yialantzi (stuffed vine leaves without meat), the pie made with tyri tis posas — and if you are on the island at Easter, try the lambropites (Easter cheese pies), with myzithra sprinkled with grated pepper and cinnamon. If you are a fan of pasta, try pitardia (also known as pitaridia), handmade pasta cooked in broth.
Do not depart the island without sampling the domataki (tomato preserve), the exceptional extra virgin olive oil produced from vast olive groves, and the table olives, ranging from the green tsakistes (cracked olives) to the chamades (fully ripened olives), which are salted immediately upon harvesting and offered for direct consumption.
Sample the local wines; "Koan wine" has been celebrated for millennia. It is available in tavernas and restaurants, or you can taste it at one of the island's two visitable wineries.
Amongst the cheeses, be sure to sample the cylindrical tyri tis posas or krasotyro (wine cheese), which matures in red wine sediment (known as “posa”) for a month, acquiring a reddish exterior while remaining white within. Also, savour the kefalotyri, graviera, and myzithra cheeses produced on the island.
Do not miss the pork with bulgur, the pork or beef with chickpeas baked in the oven, the lamb stuffed with rice, the octopus fritters, the dolmadakia yialantzi (stuffed vine leaves without meat), the pie made with tyri tis posas — and if you are on the island at Easter, try the lambropites (Easter cheese pies), with myzithra sprinkled with grated pepper and cinnamon. If you are a fan of pasta, try pitardia (also known as pitaridia), handmade pasta cooked in broth.
Do not depart the island without sampling the domataki (tomato preserve), the exceptional extra virgin olive oil produced from vast olive groves, and the table olives, ranging from the green tsakistes (cracked olives) to the chamades (fully ripened olives), which are salted immediately upon harvesting and offered for direct consumption.
Sample the local wines; "Koan wine" has been celebrated for millennia. It is available in tavernas and restaurants, or you can taste it at one of the island's two visitable wineries.
