Tsikouda: A nut that the people of Chios love eating in the autumn! Featured
If you take a stroll on the Chios commercial streets these days you will notice that the locals are selling “tsikouda”. They are miniscule green nuts that Chians love to eat every year in September.
Tsikouda, the fruits of the Terevinthos tree Tsikoudia) a tree resembles the pistachio (Pistacia vera) and the mastiha tree (Pistacia lentiscus), are ripe in autumn. They are particularly tasty: their sweet and spicy taste makes the locals love them. You'll find them this period in the nuts shops and if you're lucky you'll find on the main streets of the city street vendors selling them out while shouting “I sell great tsikouda, the size of chickpeas” (this is not exactry right but the truth is that the bigger they are the tastier) Tsikouda are also very good for the health and in the past the locals have traditionally made a very healthy oil, tsikoudolado. Today this oil is difficult to find since most locals stopped making it because of the difficulty of the making process. So if you are in Chios in the autumn season you should definetelly taste them. But chew them carefully as their small hard core, which the Chians have learned since they were kids to break properly, can cause problems for your teeth!
