Tsamarella ( gr, τσαμαρέλλα, tr, samarella) is a
traditional food
Traditional foods are foods and dishes that are passed on through generations or which have been consumed for many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national dish, regio ...
and one of
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
' main
lunch meat
Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on ...
s
which is common in both
Greek Cypriot
Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...
and
Turkish Cypriot
Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,0 ...
communities.
Preparation
It consists usually of
goat's meat
Goat meat or goat's meat is the meat of the domestic goat ''(Capra aegagrus hircus)''. The common name for goat meat is simply "goat", while that from young goats can be called ''capretto'' (It.), ''cabrito'' (Sp. and Por.) or ''kid''. In South ...
(the whole animal without its bones) that is salted and cured for preservation. The process of preparation traditionally involves drying in the sun for few days. After that, the meat was placed in boiled water and it was filled with condiment (usually
oregano) and then producers put it again in the sun for one more day. Tsamarella is soft, it has salty taste and it is served with
alcoholic beverages (
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
,
zivania
Zivania or zivana ( el, ζιβανία, ζιβάνα Turkish: Zivaniya) is a Cypriot pomace brandy produced from the distillation of a mixture of grape pomace and local dry wines made from Xynisteri and Mavro grapes. The name of zivania is de ...
etc.) as a
meze
Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levantine cuisine, Levant, Turkish cuisine, Turkey, Greek cuisine, Greece, the Balkan cuisine, Balkans, the Caucasian cuisine, Caucasus and Iranian cuisine, Iran. It i ...
.
Historical facts
Like the vast majority of Cyprus' dried meats ( lountza, loukaniko
Loukaniko (Greek: λουκάνικο) is a type of Greek sausage made from pork or lamb and typically flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and various other dried herbs and seeds, and sometimes smoked over aromatic woods. They are also often ...
, apohtin, zalatina etc.), tsamarella is a traditional product of Marathasa Valley, Pitsilia
and Pafos' agricultural areas. Moreover, in the past it was placed in special wooden lockers and it was used as a way to maintain food.[
]
See also
* Jerky
Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...
* List of dried foods
This is a list of dried foods. Food drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of bacteria and has been practiced worldwide since ancient times to preserve food. Where or when d ...
* List of goat dishes
This is a list of notable goat dishes, which use goat meat as a primary ingredient. Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat ''(Capra aegagrus hircus)''. It is often called chevon or mutton when the meat comes from adults, and cabrito, capretto ...
References
External links
Description from Cyprus tourist information site
{{Cuisine of Cyprus
Dried meat
Cypriot cuisine
Goat dishes