A Naxos cooking class teaches the home cooking of Naxos, the farming island of the Cyclades. Students cook with the island’s own cheese, potatoes, meat and herbs. The class is one of the Greece Tours on Greece Ville.
This post covers what a Naxos cooking class includes, the villages that host it and the Naxos potatoes. It also covers graviera cheese, the slow-cooked dishes and kitron.
Herbs, honey and olive oil, the best months and common questions come last. The sections include Naxos cooking classes and related farm and food experiences that can be booked online.
What is a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class teaches visitors to make Naxian dishes with the island’s own produce. The island gives cooks farmland, springs and a long farming past. Cooking is the craft of using heat to make food safe and tasty.
Cooking is very old. Archaeologists have found cooking fires at least 300,000 years old. Potatoes, tomatoes, maize and beans reached the Old World from the Americas and changed cooking there.
A Naxos cooking class puts these ideas to work. Cooking terms such as steaming, simmering, boiling, braising and blanching describe how liquid meets the food. Cooks call the setup of ingredients before cooking mise en place.
Naxos is shaped like an egg. Mountains fill the east and north, and low land fills the west and south. A ridge runs from north to south. The east slopes are steep.
The west slopes of the ridge run gently down to a crowded area with farmland. The coast has no safe natural harbours, so islanders turned to farming and herding more than to fishing.
- Peaks: Mount Koronos reaches 997 m and Mavrovouni 869 m.
- Water: Springs and streams give Naxos the richest plant cover in the Cyclades.
- Waterfall: The only waterfall on Naxos is 6 m high.
Farming on Naxos is old. Small societies of farmers, herders and fishers lived there from 5300 to 3200 BC. Today, a Naxos cooking class starts from the same fields and flocks.
Which villages host a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class suits villages with farmland, water and old stone towers. Halki, Kaloxylos and Damarionas lie in or beside the Tragaia basin. Kinidaros stands higher, in the hills. Glinado lies in the Livadi basin near Chora.
The village of Halki is made up of four settlements: Halki, Akadimoi, Kaloxylos and Kerami. Together they had 179 permanent residents at the 2021 census. Kaloxylos stands at about 300 m.
A Naxos cooking class near Kaloxylos reaches a village with old roots. The oldest written mention of Kaloxylos is a document of 9 March 1539. Streams from Mount Fanari cross its valley.
Damarionas stands at 300 to 330 m at the foot of Mount Rachi, 16 km from Chora. Kinidaros stands at 380 to 440 m and had 441 residents at the 2021 census.
People in Moni grow the best vegetables on the island in garden plots called mesonisia. A Naxos cooking class can draw on them. Melanes and nearby villages fed the mountain villages of Kinidaros, Keramoti and Koronos in the Second World War.
- Height: Glinado stands at 70 to 100 m.
- Residents: Glinado had 585 people at the 2011 census.
- Start: Glinado grew up around 1650, when older valley villages were left empty.
More than thirty tower complexes stand across Naxos, built from the 13th to the 18th century. A Naxos cooking class in this countryside sits among farms, springs and old towers.
Which Naxos potatoes go into a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class works with the Naxos potato, a name with a protected geographical indication, or PGI. An EU rule of 29 November 2011 put the potato in the EU register. The PGI covers the whole island of Naxos.
The EU file number is EL-PGI-0005-0708-27.06.2008. Sowing, growing, harvest and ripening of the tubers must all happen on the island. A Naxos cooking class therefore uses tubers grown in Naxos fields.
The 2011 file names five potato varieties: Liseta, Spunta, Marfona, Vivaldi and Alaska. A 2020 request to amend the file adds four more varieties: El Beida, Farida, Noha and Burren.
Autumn sowing runs from early August to the first days of September. The spring harvest ends in the first ten days of July. The spring crop is early and sells when early potatoes are scarce.
The file calls the island soil deep and coarse, with no sodium and zero risk of erosion. Growers plant whole seed potatoes, because whole tubers catch fewer diseases and sprout better.
- Area: Autumn potatoes cover 1,500 to 1,700 stremmata, a Greek land measure.
- Spring: The spring crop covers 3,000 stremmata.
- Centre: The Greek state set up a seed centre on Naxos in 1953.
A study of 2001 said that two potato crops a year already had a hundred-year tradition on Naxos. Today, a Naxos cooking class draws on that long record of potato growing.
What makes Naxos graviera useful in a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class works with Graviera Naxou, a hard cheese in pale yellow, cylindrical wheels. The name is protected, so only cheese that follows set rules can carry it. Arseniko Naxou and xinomyzithra are two other Naxos cheeses.
In a Naxos cooking class, the cheese has a protected name. Greece recognised Graviera Naxou on 18 January 1994. The EU listed it in Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996.
Milk must come from milkings made 10 or more days after the animal gives birth. It must be set within 48 hours of milking. Powder, colourings, preservatives and antibiotics are banned.
The cheese in a Naxos cooking class starts as milk set at 36 to 37 degrees Celsius. The curd is cut small, then cooked at 50 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes.
The wheels sit in brine at 14 to 15 degrees Celsius for 2 to 5 days. They dry and ripen at about 15 degrees Celsius.
- Paste: It is hard and elastic, with a thin dry rind.
- Limits: Moisture is 38 percent or less, and fat is 40 percent or more of dry matter.
- Weights: Wheels weigh 1 to 2, 3 to 4 or 8 to 9 kilograms.
Arseniko Naxou joined the EU register by Regulation (EU) 2020/41 of 13 January 2020. Xinomyzithra is the sour kind of mizithra, a whey cheese with about 15 percent milk added.
Which slow-cooked dishes does a Naxos cooking class teach?
A Naxos cooking class teaches slow-cooked dishes of rooster, pork, beef and goat. Kokoras krasatos, rosto, kalogeros and patoudo are the Naxian names to learn. Gentle heat does the work, turning tough meat tender in wine and tomato sauces.
Kokoras krasatos is cockerel in red sauce, a classic of Naxos. In a Naxos cooking class, the rooster simmers for hours in red wine and tomatoes. The sauce is spooned over fresh spaghetti.
Naxos roosters roam rugged ground and build tough muscles. Their meat needs longer cooking. Rosto, rolled pork braised in red sauce, is served with macaroni and is typical of the mountain villages.
In a Naxos cooking class, kalogeros joins beef, aubergines and a mix of cheeses. On Naxos, cows graze coastal fields that soak up sea mist. Cyclades cattle include the Tzia, Schwyz and Friesian breeds.
In a Naxos cooking class, patoudo, also spelled batoudo, is stuffed baby goat with potatoes. The stuffing is herbs, onions and rice, with raisins in Apiranthos and liver in Filoti.
- Oven: In the Cyclades, patoudo is slow-roasted in a wood-fired oven.
- Kleftiko: It is marinated lamb or goat, slow-roasted sealed in a parcel.
- Braising: Cooks brown food first, then simmer it in a covered pot.
The klephts, Greek outlaws, cooked meat on coals in a covered hole to avoid detection. Naxos tavernas roast goat as kleftiko, or boil it with wild greens.
How is kitron made for a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class meets kitron, a liqueur flavoured by distilling the leaves of the citron tree. The EU protects the name Kitro of Naxos as a geographical indication for Greece. Makers must make and bottle it on Naxos.
The citron tree behind a Naxos cooking class kitron is a slow-growing shrub or small tree. It has long spines and lemon-scented leaves. It flowers more than once a year and fears frost.
Citron growing on Naxos flourished from at least the 18th century. Vine growers first flavoured pomace spirit with citron leaves. That drink, kitrorako, was common by the early 19th century.
The kitron in a Naxos cooking class starts with leaves, stalks and fruit peel. They soak for at least 12 hours in a copper still. The liquid is at least 40 percent alcohol.
Makers keep the middle part at 75 to 80 percent alcohol. They set the first and last runs aside. A second or third distillation with fresh leaves gives a stronger taste.
- Alcohol: Green holds 25 to 30 percent, colourless 30 to 33 and yellow 33 to 36.
- Sugar: Green holds at least 160 grams per litre, colourless 120 and yellow 105.
- Colour: Makers can colour it only yellow or green.
Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of 15 January 2008 lists the name, and its EU file number is PGI-GR-01941. Early in the 20th century, kitron won prizes at fairs in Marseille, Bordeaux, Liege and Athens.
Which herbs, honey and olive oil flavour a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class works with olive oil, honey and herbs from the island itself. Olive trees give the oil. Bees give the honey. Thyme, oregano, sage and savory give the herb notes that lift the whole pot.
The main olive variety on Naxos is throumpa, and the varieties manaki and koronia also grow there. Close to 100 olive press mills are spread out across the island of Naxos.
Certain old mills were restored as mini museums. They show the tools and machines for pressing olives by hand. This craft stands behind the oil in a Naxos cooking class.
A traditional press had a crushing basin with a big round millstone. A draft animal turned the upper stone. It always wore a blindfold, so it did not get dizzy.
- Thyme: A plant survey on Naxos found conehead thyme in twenty-five of thirty-three plots.
- Sage: Greek sage grows 0.6 m high and wide.
- Savory: Pink savory flowers from March to June.
Oregano holds much more of its scented compounds near the end of the growing season. A fresh sample held 33 g/kg of volatile compounds. Warm-air drying cut that to less than a third.
Which months suit a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class suits months when the island’s food is busy. Early August brings the potato festival. Citron leaves are collected from September, and possibly all winter. Olive oil making falls between late January and early February.
The Cyclades sit in a very warm Mediterranean zone with 125 to 150 dry days a year. The Naxos Island station averaged 375.7 mm of rain a year from 1961 to 1990.
The same station counts 18.9 gale days a year. They peak in February at 3.2 and drop to 0.2 in June. Mean wind speed is 7.8 m/s in February and 4.5 m/s in June.
Zamponi is the cured pork leg of Apiranthos. Locals say the pig must be slaughtered when northerly winds blow. The leg is coated with salt, pepper and cinnamon and ripens for about six months.
- Early spring: Oregano is planted in early spring, in fairly dry soil.
- Summer: Fresh thyme is a summer herb.
- Frozen: Frozen thyme lasts for months, but fresh thyme rarely keeps for more than a week.
In winter, a Naxos cooking class meets damp air. Humidity is 73.5 percent in January and 74.0 percent in December. The village of Damalas hosts a feast in the olive oil season.
What do home cooks ask about a Naxos cooking class?
A Naxos cooking class raises six questions. Home cooks ask what PDO and PGI mean and which other labels exist. They ask how big Naxos is and how to reach it. They also ask what ladera, kokkinisto and giouvetsi are.
What do PDO and PGI mean for a Naxos cooking class?
PDO means protected designation of origin, and PGI means protected geographical indication. Kalamata olive oil PDO is made wholly in the Kalamata region. Westphalian ham PGI is looser. The meat does not all come from animals born and raised in Westphalia.
Which other labels can a Naxos cooking class meet?
A spirit drink’s geographical indication needs at least one stage of distillation or preparation in the region. The raw materials can come from elsewhere. A traditional speciality guaranteed, or TSG, protects a recipe or method and is not tied to a place.
How big is the island of a Naxos cooking class?
Naxos held 14,037 people in the 1981 census and 18,904 in the 2011 census. From 1991 to 2001 the population grew by 3,350 people, a rise of 22.58 percent. The municipal unit of Naxos town had 14,708 residents in 2021, on 126.957 km².
How do travellers reach a Naxos cooking class by sea?
Ferries from Piraeus to Naxos take 5.5 to 6 hours, by timetable. High-speed boats take 3.5 to 4 hours. The airports closest to Naxos are the international airports of Mykonos and Santorini. Travellers from there finish the trip by sea.
How do travellers fly to a Naxos cooking class?
The flight from Athens to Naxos takes about one hour. The runway of Naxos airport is 900 m long. It is too short for a larger propeller plane to take off at full load. An expansion plan adds 300 m toward the south.
What do ladera, kokkinisto and giouvetsi mean in a Naxos cooking class?
Ladera are vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil. Cooks once used lemon juice when tomatoes were out of season. Kokkinisto is meat or pasta braised in tomato sauce. Giouvetsi comes from the Turkish word güveç, and the dish is baked in a clay pot.