Food, Food and More Food

Author: 
Lucy Strazis, Pitt Plus3-Cyprus: Crossroads of Global Industries on a Mediterranean Island

One of my all-time favorite ways to experience a new culture is through food, so you can bet that I ate a lot of Cyprian meals. I always made an effort to go to local restaurants for meals rather than chains. A lot of Cyprian cuisine is determined by the resources available on the island. Despite being an island, Cyprian cuisine does not include a lot of seafood. The water surrounding Cyprus has a lot of invasive species that diminish the fish population. We still went to a fish tavern and despite hating seafood I made it a goal to try everything they served. I even ate a fisheye! Mostly, I ate a lot of pita, fresh vegetables, souvlaki, and cheese. There is not a lot of variety in Cyprian cuisine because of the limitations of it being an island so I did get a little bored with the same flavors all the time. My favorite food discovery of the trip was halloumi, which is a hard, salty, Cyprian cheese that is traditionally made with goat's and sheep's milk. Interestingly, we witnessed a halloumi protest while in Cyprus. In more recent years, dairy farmers have been making halloumi with cow's milk as well. While we were there, just recently the Cyprian government passed a law that stated that cheese had to contain a certain level of sheep's/goat's milk in order to be labeled as halloumi. The cow's milk farmers were upset by this since it meant that they accumulated an excess of milk that couldn't be used and thus were losing profits and the government was not providing financial aid. So, while we were in a business meeting, the dairy farmers were pouring their surplus milk onto the road in protest. Who would've thought that we would see a protest about cheese? One of our guides from the University of Nicosia took us on a tour of Nicosia and pointed out his favorite places for food that aren't touristy. I made sure to check out every single one he showed us! There was one street food place he mentioned that had the most delicious Khachapuri which is essentially a boat of bread filled with delicious cheese and an egg. It tasted heavenly. Another of my favorite places he pointed out was a bakery at the end of the main street. Everything was written in Greek so I couldn't understand anything I was ordering, but whatever I ordered was super good. It was flaky and had a very eggy custard. Overall, eating Cyprian food was one of my favorite parts of the trip and it introduced me to my new favorite cheese, halloumi, and the wondrous simplicity of just pita and hummus.

Term: