Glyko Koutaliou Fistiki

Aegina's jewel of a spoon sweet: tender unripe green pistachios, gathered before the shell hardens, simmered slowly in a lemon-scented syrup until glossy and translucent, set before guests by the spoonful with a glass of cold water in the Greek ritual of welcome

Origin: Aegina, Greece

From the journey of Pistachio.

The glyko koutaliou, the 'spoon sweet', is one of the most characteristic and ancient expressions of Greek hospitality: a fruit or nut preserved whole in syrup and offered to a visitor on a small spoon, set on a saucer beside a glass of cold water and, often, a cup of coffee. To refuse it is unthinkable; to offer it is the first gesture of welcome in any Greek home. The island of Aegina, the pistachio capital of Greece, makes its spoon sweet from its own most famous crop, and uniquely from the tender, unripe green pistachios gathered in early summer before the shell has hardened, when the whole soft kernel can be eaten. The young nuts are blanched, peeled of their thin skins, and simmered gently in a syrup of sugar, water, and lemon until the syrup thickens and the pistachios turn glossy and faintly translucent, their vivid green deepening against the clear amber of the syrup. Sealed in jars, the sweet keeps through the year, and a single spoonful, intensely pistachio and gently lemony, is the taste of Aegina distilled. It is the proudest spoon sweet of the Saronic Gulf and a fixture of the island's celebrated Fistiki Fest.

Ingredients

The Sweet

  • 500 g young unripe green pistachios, shelled (or shelled raw pistachio kernels; see notes)

Syrup

  • 650 g caster sugar
  • 500 ml water
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 strip of lemon peel, or a scented geranium leaf (arbaroriza), optional

Method

  1. Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the shelled pistachios for 2 minutes. Drain, and while still warm rub them in a clean cloth to slip off as much of the thin papery skin as you can, so the bright green kernel shows.
  2. If using young unripe pistachios, soak the peeled kernels in cold water for a few hours, changing the water once or twice, to soften them and draw off any bitterness. Drain well. (Mature shelled kernels need no soaking.)
  3. Put the sugar and water in a wide, heavy pan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon peel or geranium leaf, if using, and simmer for 5 minutes to a light syrup.
  4. Add the pistachios and simmer gently, skimming any foam, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the syrup has thickened and the pistachios are glossy and slightly translucent. The syrup is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and a drop holds its shape on a cold plate.
  5. Stir in the lemon juice and simmer for a further 2 minutes. Remove the lemon peel or geranium leaf. Take off the heat and leave to cool completely.
  6. Spoon the pistachios and syrup into a sterilised jar. Serve a spoonful at a time, on a small spoon with a glass of cold water, as the Greek gesture of welcome, or over thick Greek yoghurt or vanilla ice cream.

Notes

The authentic Aegina version uses the young, unripe, soft green pistachios picked in early summer, which are sold fresh or frozen by Greek and Cypriot suppliers; they give the most tender, jewel-like result. Shelled raw mature pistachio kernels make an excellent and far more available substitute, giving a firmer, nuttier spoon sweet. Do not use roasted or salted pistachios. A scented geranium leaf (arbaroriza) is the classic Aegina perfume, but a strip of lemon peel or a little rose water works beautifully too.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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