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No Tears Left?
Unique Mastic Tears
If a spice deserves to be labeled “unique” it is mastic, also called mastiha. There is only one place in the world where it is produced, on Chios, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. The rarity and complex production are reflected in a price much higher than most spices.
The Mastic Tears Culinary Spice Kit includes the following spices:
- Small Mastic Tears
- Green cardamom pods (organic)
In case you get hooked on this distinctive spice, your “PEPPER” rewards secure you an attractive offer in our online store.
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The Tears of Chios
The Mastiha tree grows in other parts of Greece and the Mediterranean, but it only “cries” in Chios, as the locals sometimes call the slitting-tearing process the tree must undergo in order to produce its resinous spice.
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Mastiha is produced in 24 specific Mastiha Villages, Mastihohoria, in the southern, coastal area of Chios, Greece.
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Cooking With Mastic Tears
Cooking with mastic tears is very special. Before you start, smell the flavor. How do you like it?
Mastic is a precious, extremely versatile spice that enhances just about every dish. It has a distinctive flavor, fresh and slightly pine-like. A small amount goes a long way. Too much can leave a bitter aftertaste.
Give your favorite dinner dish a new flavor, follow one of our starter recipes, or find your favorite recipe on our website. Important! Decide first how you prefer to use the included Mastic Tears pouch, as a flavored oil or ground powder. Both ways need different preparations.
Choose one of these two preparations for your Mastic Tears and find recipes below:
- Mastic infused olive oil (see recipe below)
- Grind Mastic Tears (see recipe below)
Mastic Infused Olive Oil
SpiceBreezeIngredients
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp small mastic tears
Instructions
- In a small POT, heat olive oil over low heat.
- Add all mastic tears and stir over low heat until they are dissolved.
- Pour oil into a glass container and let cool.
- It keeps fresh in a cool, dark place.
- Always stir or shake oil before using it.
Mastic Recipe Inspirations for Mastic Infused Olive Oil:
- Drizzle 1-2 tbsp mastic oil over salads, vegetables, or feta. Find the recipe for Halloumi Salad below.
- Reheat cooked broccoli or another firm vegetable in 1 tbsp mastic oil and garlic. Serve as a side.
- Roasted Pepper, Mastiha and Goat Cheese Spread – recipe
- Warm Spinach-Orange Salad with Mastiha Scented Olive Oil – recipe (the recipe refers to 1/3 tbsp mastic infused olive oil)
- Warm Vegetable Taboule Seasoned with Chios Mastiha – recipe
Grind Mastic Tears
SpiceBreezeIngredients
- 1 tsp small mastic tears
Instructions
Freeze
- Place pouch with mastic tears for 1 hour in the freezer.
Grind with mortar and pestle
- Grind with a mortar and pestle half or all mastic tears with 1 tsp salt or sugar, depending on your recipe. For sweet recipes use 1 tsp sugar, for savory recipes 1 tsp salt.
Grind without mortar and pestle
- Place mastic tears on a flat surface.
- Cover mastic tears with a large piece of plastic wrap.
- Roll over the plastic wrap with a baking pin until all mastic tears are pulverized.
Mastic Recipe Inspirations for Ground Mastic:
- In a PAN, fry cardamom 1 minute in 2 tbsp oil. Add ground meat and/or small vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, and ground mastic to taste. Fry until done.
- Savory rice porridge (see recipe below).
- Spaghetti with Fresh Mastiha-Tomato Sauce and Bocconcini – recipe
- Greek Fries with Homemade Mastiha Scented Ketchup – recipe
- Plum and Purslane Salad with Mastiha-Lemon Vinaigrette – recipe
- Orange Chicken with Cinnamon, Ginger and Mastiha – recipe (make half of the recipe for 4 servings)
- Asparagus Sautéed with Mastiha-Butter. Optional: Double all ingredients, except the asparagus, and add 1 lb shrimps. – recipe
- Skilled-Seared Lamb Chops Rubbed with Mastiha – recipe
- Greek cake recipes with ground mastic tears (see recipes below).
- Orange Poached Pears Dipped in Dark Chocolate and Mastiha – recipe (make half of the recipe for 5 desserts).
- Greek rice pudding (see recipe below).
Rizogalo Rice Pudding
SpiceBreezeIngredients
Shopping list
- 1/2 cup rice rinsed with cold water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar use less or more to taste
- 1/2-1 tsp small mastic tears ground
Optional
- 1 stick stick cinnamon or cinnamon powder
- 3 pods cardamom
Instructions
- 1/2 cup rice, rinsed with cold water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar (use less or more to taste)
- 1/2-1 tsp mastic (ground)
- Optional:
- 1 stick cinnamon or cinnamon powder
- 3 pods cardamom
- In a POT, add rice and 1 cup cold water with a pinch of salt.
- Optional: Add cinnamon and/ or cardamom.
- Cover. Bring to boil.
- Turn heat to low and cook for 15-30 minutes until the rice is cooked. The time depends on the type of rice.
- Add milk and sugar. Mix well.
- Stir in ground mastic. Start with 1/2 tsp. Add more to your taste.
- Cover. Bring to boil.
- Turn heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, until the rice thickens.
- Fill rice pudding in 3-4 dessert dishes.
- Let cool for 30 minutes.
- Let cool in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Enjoy!
Halloumi Salad
SpiceBreezeIngredients
Salad Base
- 1 Frisee lettuce or your lettuce of choice
Soft Ingredients
- 1-2 oranges
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes halved
Protein
- 2 Halloumi cheese or firm mozzarella or firm tofu about 8 oz each
- oil
Salad Dressing
- 1 tbsp mastic olive oil [1] see notes for recipe
- 1 orange for juice
- salt & pepper
Suggested Side
- 1 baguette sliced
Instructions
Prepare Oranges
- Peel the oranges.
- With a sharp knife, remove the peel and white pith from the sections.
Mix Dressing
- In a BOWL, mix mastic olive oil [1] with 1 tbsp orange juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Fry Halloumi
- Cut halloumi into thin slices (8 slices per package).
- In a PAN, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
- Fry halloumi slices for about 2 minutes until they turn golden on both sides and start slightly to melt.
Assemble
- Distribute lettuce on plates.
- Place cherry tomatoes and orange sections on lettuce.
- Drizzle with vinaigrette.
- Place halloumi slices on top.
- Optionally, serve with warm baguette slices.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Savory Rice Porridge
SpiceBreezeIngredients
- 1 lb grilled meat and/or grilled vegetables
- 2 cups rice
- 4 cups broth
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 lemon for juice
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 4 tomato/es chopped
- 1 clove garlic grated
- green cardamom pods
- 1/2-1 tsp ground mastic
- salt
Instructions
Rice
- In a POT, add rice, broth, cardamom and salt to taste.
- Cover. Bring to boil. Turn heat to low. Cook until rice is done.
- Optional: Add 1/2 cup milk and cook about 5 minutes until the rice thickens
- Take cardamom out.
Mastic Butter
- In a small POT, melt butter with ground mastic to taste over low heat.
Serve
- Drizzle butter over plated rice.
- Serve with grilled meat and/or veggies.
- Add a tomato salad seasoned with 1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh parsley, and garlic. No oil.
Orange Semolina Cake
SpiceBreezeIngredients
Shopping list for the batter
- 1.5 cup semolina
- 0.5 cup sugar use to taste: up to 0.25less or more
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 0.25-0.5 tsp ground small mastic tears
- 1.5 cup yogurt
- 0.5 c milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Shopping list for the syrup
- 0.75 cup sugar use to taste: 0.25less or up to 0.75more
- 1 cup orange juice
- 3 green cardamom pods optional
- 1 stick cinnamon optional
Shopping list for garnish (optional)
- 1 orange halved and sliced
- 0.5 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup ice cream vanilla or orange flavor
Instructions
Syrup
- In a small POT, add bring 0.5 cup of water to boil.
- Stir in sugar until dissolved.
- Optional: Add cardamom or cinnamon.
- Mix in orange juice. Return to a boil.
- Turn heat to low and cook slowly for about 10 minutes. The syrup shall have thickened but still be runny.
- Remove and let cool.
Batter
- In a BOWL, mix semolina with sugar, baking soda, and mastic.
- Add yogurt, milk, and lemon juice.
- With an ELECTRIC MIXER, beat until the batter is creamy.
Bake
- Preheat OVEN to 350°F.
- Spread a thinly layer of butter onto a BAKING PAN.
- Pour the batter into the BAKING PAN.
- Bake for about 1 to 1.5 hours until its baked and lightly golden.
- If the top turns brown before it fully baked, cover the pan with aluminum foil for the remaining baking time.
- Take the BAKING PAN out.
- Pour syrup over hot cake.
- Let cool.
Serve
- Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar.
- Serve cake with orange slices and/or ice cream.
Notes
- Portokalopita - Yogurt-orange-cake with phyllo dough
- Ravani - Greek cake with eggs and flour and coconut
- Galatopita - Greek custard pie with semolina
- Yiaourtopita - Greek yogurt cake with eggs and flour
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