country Essentials · 12 foods
Cyprus Essentials
A considered first route through Cyprus: the foods that carry its everyday habits, celebrations, ingredients, and memory.
Explore all Cyprus foods →THE
ESSENTIALS
The complete shortlist
12 foods to know.
Each selection includes the reason it belongs here—so this is a guide, not just a pile of names.
Cyprus
Halloumi
Χαλλούμι
Squeaky sheep-and-goat cheese that holds its shape on the grill; the island's export and its identity.
Cyprus
Sheftalia
Σεφταλιά
Minced pork wrapped in caul fat rather than a casing
Cyprus
Kleftiko
Κλέφτικο
Lamb sealed with garlic, lemon and cinnamon in a clay oven until the meat yields to a fork.
Cyprus
Souvla
Σούβλα
Fist-sized chunks of pork turned slowly over charcoal for an hour
Cyprus
Afelia
Αφέλια
Pork braised in red wine with cracked coriander seed until the sauce reduces to a glaze.
Limassol, Cyprus
Commandaria
Κουμανδαρία
Sun-dried grapes made into sweet amber wine in fourteen mountain villages, aged in oak.
Cyprus
Lountza
Λούντζα
Wine-and-coriander cured pork loin is sliced thin or fried into a hot halloumi sandwich.
Cyprus
Flaouna
Φλαούνα
Cheese, mint and raisin pastry baked only in the week before Orthodox Easter.
Cyprus
Koupes
Κούπες
Bulgur cigars filled with cinnamon-spiced pork and fried dark — squeeze lemon before the first bite.
Cyprus
Zivania
Ζιβανία
Clear pomace spirit poured very cold beside the meze, and stronger than it lets on.
Paphos, Cyprus
Loukoumi Geroskipou
Λουκούμι Γεροσκήπου
Soft rose or mastic sugar gel made in Geroskipou, dusted with starch and protected by its village name.
Cyprus
Brandy Sour
Μπράντι σάουρ
Cyprus brandy mixed with lemon squash and bitters makes the island's crisp, bittersweet long drink.