The dominant majesty of Evrytania’s natural landscape may be captivating, however, it seems that the main feature that attracts visitors who appreciate authenticity and refinement are its high quality local products.
So, in this particularly mountainous region of Greece, where resources are so limited, everything available is used very carefully, generation after generation. Livestock farming yields meat products, mainly pork, which has always been the easiest in terms of rearing; Evrytania’s leek sausages are considered excellent appetizers. The area is also famous for its cheeses – feta cheese, kasseri (semi-hard Greek cheese of premium quality), as well as the creamy tsalafouti (soft Greek spread cheese) with its delicate aroma. All kinds of bush berries – mulberries, houndberries, raspberries- and fruit (wild cherries, sour cherries, quinces, apples, chestnuts, walnuts, pomegranates) are used to make spoon sweets (sweet preserves), jams and even liquors – the berry flavoured liqueur is particularly famous. Well-worth trying is also the local tsipouro (strong distilled spirit of pomace).
So if you find yourself in Evrytania, be sure to buy at least one of the products we recommend, either to take home with you or to give as a gift to your gourmet friends. They will drink tsipouro to your health.
12-month aged kasseri and tsalafouti
All the cheeses at the Gavrilis dairy are excellent. The one that definitely stands out is the 12-month aged kasseri – spicy and aromatic, it’s a very good buy. You’ll also find feta cheese, graviera (Greek style gruyere cheese), tsalafouti (with the right creamy texture and delicate aroma), saganotyri (an excellent cheese made from sheep’s and goat’s milk, traditionally prepared in small blocks and intended to be eaten as saganaki), myzithra (traditional Greek whey cheese). You may sample them before you decide which one to buy.
Gavrilis, Karpenisi, +30 22370 23616 & +30 6976 991630
The famous feta cheese
The most famous product of the Koutromanos dairy is feta cheese. It also produces the traditional Karpenisi barrel cheese (flavourful white cheese), goat’s cheese, tsalafouti, gruyere, excellent kefalograviera (traditional Greek hard cheese with a salty taste and rich aroma), anthotiro (traditional Greek soft cheese with sweet and creamy taste), dried myzithra and very aromatic goat’s butter – all made from milk sourced from Agrafa. You may sample them before you decide which one to buy.
Koutromanos, Karpenisi, +30 22370 23056
Local meat and handmade sausages
Featuring a coffee bar where you may enjoy a nice cup of coffee while you wait for your order to be prepared, this ultra-modern butcher shop has a refrigerator for dry-aging meat. Here you will also find delicious handmade chicken, pork and beef sausages and other meat products (e.g. schnitzel, meatballs).
Evangelos Mavraganis’ Kreopoleio 52, Kefalovryso, +30 22370 25477
Flower and forest honey
In the shop of Karanikas beekeeping family business you will find flower and forest honey, royal jelly, propolis, pollen, honeycomb, wax, but also spoon sweets, jams, hylopites (traditional Greek pasta), orzo, trahana (a type of traditional Greek pasta) and cosmetics with honey. You will also find the famous and relatively rare wild berry liqueur “Mouro”, packaged in an elegant bottle.
To spiti tou meliou (The house of honey), Karpenisi, +30 22370 24624
Greek prosciutto
You should definitely try the handmade, internationally acclaimed Greek prosciutto, which recalls the similar ancient Greek “akrokolion” and adopts this ancient name. Try also the lonza or loutza (one of the finest Greek cold cuts, also made in the Cyclades), classic, spicy and black pig salami, as well as the sausages. You will also find deli meats which honour Evrytania’s great charcuterie tradition. You may sample them before you buy, with the accompaniment of local tsipouro.
Stremenos curing facilities, Proussos, +30 22370 80810
Refined smoked and marinated trout
Smoked and marinated trout with delicate flavour and aroma and silky texture, farmed by the Karpenisiotis river; an exquisite delicatessen product that pairs very well with dry white wine and other spirits such as tsipouro and vodka, can be served as an appetizer, included in salads or as a key ingredient in pasta and vegetable dishes. You can try before you buy.
Fresko, Gavros, +30 22370 41215 & +30 6972 915084
Heavenly galaktoboureko
Crisp, delicate, with caramelized phyllo dough and velvety and aromatic cream. Karvelis’ galaktoboureko is a wonderful treat, a delicious gift, either for yourself or for that one friend with the sweetest tooth.
Karvelis’ galaktoboureko, Megalo Horio, +30 22370 41339
A Social Cooperative Business
Evriti is a social cooperative business based in Megalo Horio village, which carries on the tradition of the workshop that has been there since 1994 with great love and respect, taking it one step further. At their shop “Kai stin korfi kanela” you will find delicious handmade spoon sweets and desserts based on traditional recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation, unique jams with pure ingredients and unique fruit, vegetable and spice combinations, fragrant liqueurs, handmade pasta and herbs collected from the virgin forests of Karpenisi and Agrafa. Embark on a gastronomic journey to the present day, with flavours of a bygone era.
Megalo Horio, +30 22370 41441 & +30 6972 058064
