GREEK RECIPES: BERGAMOT FRUIT TURNED IN SPOON SWEET

by.George Portokalakis

HOME COOKING STEP BY STEP:

Bergamonto Glyko koutaliou.

Bergamot spoon sweet

Bergamonto, Bergamot, a kind of citrus fruit

Bergamot is a citrus which is orange and looks like a lemon.

Bergamot is about the size of an orange but its shape is between an orange and a big lemon and its colour looks more like an orange except Crete that it’s more like a big thick lemon.

Bergamots can be found in Crete, Greece, and other Mediterranean areas.

Carefully selected fresh bergamots are cooked with the sole addition of sugar, water and lemon juice.    

Need:

2  kg Bergamot orange
2 kg s2 springs of “amberosa” (aromatic plant) called rose geranium or if you cannot find this plant vanilla
Juice from 1 lemon

Directions:
Wash the fruit and slightly grate them to get rid of the bitter layer of the peel.

With a knife cut through the skin of bergamots in 2 pieces and using a spoon take off the flesh fruit. In this recipe we use only the peel

With a knife cut through each peel of bergamots to smaller in 6-8 places 

For every kg of peel we need 1 kg sugar, so weigh the peels.

Place the pieces in a pot, Cover them with the sugar and let them stand for 2 hours covered.

Place the pot on the stove, add two cups of water and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let them cook for about an hour until the syrup is thick.
Add the amberossa

We add the lemon juice and remove the pot from the stove. Cover the pot with a marquisette and let it cool.

In Crete, spoon sweets are still homemade in small quantities, according to the kind of fruits available during the year as they follow the seasons.

You can follow same procedure using any similar kind of fruits available in your area and enjoy an absolutely healthy sweet as its just the fruit, sugar and water

Questions? Feel free to contact: info@portoclub.gr