Greece Unpacked

You see them when you go for a walk. You notice them when you drive. You ran into them at the mall. I am talking about those citrus trees that are all over the place in Greece even at the centre of Athens. They are called neratzies (νερατζιές) or bitter orange trees. You might have felt tempted to try one of their beautiful fruits, but I hope you haven't. The trees themselves add a beautiful touch of green and orange but the fruits they bear are very bitter. So, other than being pretty, are these fruits used anywhere else? The answer is yes. 

   

A category of traditional Greek sweets includes the so-called spoon sweets or γλυκά του κουταλιού. These are fruit based sweets made with a good amount of sugar. The final sweet consists of two parts: pieces of the fruit that are now tender as well as the syrup that was produced during the cooking process. Sometimes nuts are added too. Spoon sweets are usually very sweet so they are served in very small dessert plates. They go greatly with Greek yogurt or your afternoon coffee. 

   

Going back to bitter oranges and as you have probably assumed, they can be used to make this kind of sweet. So, if you have neratzies (νερατζιές) in your neighborhood, grab a few oranges and turn them into a dessert!