Greek grape must pudding: the harvest dessert that has survived four thousand years unchanged
Origin: Athens, Greece
From the journey of Grapes.
Moustalevria is one of the oldest continuously made desserts in the Western world; a grape must pudding that appears in references to ancient Greek harvest cooking and is made today in essentially the same way it was made 2,500 years ago. Its ingredients are: grape must, a starch thickener, sesame seeds, and cinnamon. Nothing more has ever been necessary, because the must itself; particularly the cloudy, unfermented juice straight from the press during the vendemmia; carries enough complexity, sweetness, and depth to make any additional flavouring redundant. The dish belongs to the category of Greek foods that have survived precisely because they are irreducible: remove any element and the dish collapses. The must used in moustalevria is the first pressing; the 'free run' juice that flows before any pressure is applied to the grape skins. In Attica, Nemea, Crete, and across the Aegean islands, this juice is set aside specifically for moustalevria and for the production of petimezi (Greek grape molasses), which is moustalevria's commercially available year-round equivalent. Fresh must moustalevria, made during the two or three weeks of the Greek harvest in September and October, has a flavour that no jarred product can replicate: cloudy, fragrant, yeasty with the first hints of fermentation, and intensely grapey in a way that bottled juice is not. The pudding's texture is a matter of significant regional and domestic variation. Some Greek households make it very firm, almost sliceable, like a set panna cotta, while others prefer it looser, served in a bowl with a spoon like a thick porridge. The starch used also varies: semolina (fine wheat semolina) is most common in mainland Greece and gives a slightly grainy texture that many prefer; cornstarch produces a smoother, more translucent result. Both are correct. What is not negotiable is the sesame seed topping; toasted sesame seeds pressed into the surface while the pudding is still hot, adhering permanently as it sets. The seeds provide crunch, nuttiness, and a faint bitterness that counterbalances the sweetness of the must. Moustalevria is harvest food in the deepest sense: it exists only because of an abundance that lasts only a few weeks, and its making is inseparable from the sights and smells of the Greek autumn; the scent of fermenting must from the winery, the sound of the grape press, the purple-stained hands of the harvesters. Modern Greek pastry shops sell it in September and October, and every Greek who grew up in a wine-producing family associates its flavour with childhood, with grandmothers' kitchens, and with the specific sweetness of the harvest season.
Moustalevria is traditionally made only in September and October using fresh grape must from the harvest. Year-round, petimezi (Greek grape molasses, available in Greek and Middle Eastern grocers) can be used; dilute with water to the consistency of grape juice (roughly 1 part petimezi to 3 parts water) and proceed as above. The semolina version is grainier and more rustic; the cornstarch version is smoother and more refined; both are authentic. Some households add a small amount of rosewater to the finished pudding. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; the texture firms further over time.
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