Milos is a mysterious and charming island raised from the depths of the sea-goddess Tethys, mother of the Mediterranean. It is a natural laboratory with veins of rare ores and metals. Its numerous small coves feature syrmata, boat shelters carved directly into the rock. Milos’s shore embraces a tranquil interior whose rich soil composition yields few, but very special, products. Sea water and the proliferation of thorny burnett (Sacropoterium spinosa), a plant known since antiquity, transforms the land into a series of small, fertile meadows. Milos sponge-like recess-filled rocks look like a heater that gently warms the land, helping it produce fine wines, sweet figs, delicious melons, squash, and watermelons. High-quality wheat, barley, cotton, pulses, table olives, and vegetables were once cultivated on low plains. Wine was traditionally fermented in casks sealed with a mix of seawater and plaster, while local game, fresh fish, delectable limpets, and a species of tough-shelled salty mussels dubbed gaidouropodara (donkey legs) were part of the traditional diet. Today, you sample delicacies like squash and almond preserves; a cool and juice slice of watermelon pie; skordolazana (pasta covered in a mixture of garlic spread, tomato sauce, and Milos ‘olive oil cheese’ or ladotiri); savory pumpkin and cheese pie made with goat’s milk butter; pork roast in a sauce of red wine, tomato paste, and thyme; and delicious pitarakia, small pies made on Crete and introduced to the island’s cuisine by seamen. Pickled rock samphire sits in jars on windowsills, ready to be made into small savory pies or boiled and eaten with a little olive oil.
