Mastic – Tears of Chios

 

 

Mastic (mastika, masticha) is the aromatic resin collected from the small evergreen trees called Schinias (pistacia lentiscus) which grow profusely on the Greek Aegean island of Chios.

Although the Schinias tree is found in other Mediterranean countries it only produces mastic resin on Chios, presumably because of the island’s unique micro-climate.

 

 

 

The mastic resin, which has been harvested in Greece for at least 2,500 years, dries into brittle, translucent droplets on the tree trunks, resembling tears; hence mastic came to be known as “The Tears of Chios”.

Mastic was the first natural chewing gum in the world, in fact, today, in Greece; chewing gum is still called mastica.

When chewed mastic resin softens and turns into a white, opaque gum so it’s no surprise the word mastic derives from the Latin “masticare” (masticate), meaning to chew, which in Greek is “μαστιχάω” (mastichao), literally meaning to gnash one’s teeth!

 

The History of Mastic

 

 

Mastic was first mentioned by the fifth century B.C Greek historian, Herodotus, who mentioned its use in embalming.

Christopher Columbus, who sailed to Chios in 1474 and stayed for about a year, wrote many pages about the island in his journal.

He was particularly impressed with its red soil and astonished with its mastic gum production.

He even believed that mastic could provide the cure for cholera!

The first mention of actual “mastic tears” was by Hippocrates, Greek physician and philosopher of the classical period, known as “The Father of Medicine”, who used mastic for the prevention of digestive problems, colds and as a breath freshener.

As it was thought to have microbial properties mastic was widely used medicinally in the past and chewed to neutralise foul breath.

In the 15th century, Andrés Laguna de Segovia (1499 -1559), a respected Spanish humanist physician, pharmacologist and botanist used mastic gum to treat advanced gum disease and promoted its use in dental care.

Mastic resin was officially approved as a natural remedy in 2015

 

The Uses of Mastic

 

 

Apart from its medical uses, mastic has many other benefits, some functional, for example its use as a stabilizer in paints and making varnishes, notably for musical instruments.

Mastic is a key ingredient of chrism (Greek χρίσμα, meaning ointment or anoint), the holy oil used for anointing during certain services of the Orthodox Church, especially those of baptism and anointing of the sick (unction).

Chrism is sometime referred to as myrrh (from the Greek μύρων), holy oil, or consecrated oil.

Today, mastic, which has a slightly pine or cedar-like taste, is mostly used to flavour many delicious Greek desserts including tsoureki, the sweet Easter bread and the “ypovrichio” (meaning submarine), a chewy sweet and aromatic traditional Greek treat served on a spoon dipped in a tall glass of cold water, as well as ice cream, pastries and puddings.

 

 

However, what is most famously known for its unique Mastic flavour is the digestive liquor, mastica, produced since ancient times on the island of Chios.

 

 

The Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association

 

The mastic production on the island of Chios is controlled by “The Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association”, founded in 1938, and is the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Chios mastic, both in Greece and abroad.

“Masticha Chiou” (“Chios mastic”) is protected by a European Union protected designation of origin (PDO).

The association lists over sixty uses of the mastic which is grown in twenty four villages of southern Chios know as “Mastihohória”, meaning “The Mastic Villages’:

Lithi, Vessa, Elata, Mesta, Olympoi, Pyrgi, Armolia, Kalamoti, Patrika, Flatsia, Nenita, Vouno, Koini, Pagida, Katarraktis, Exo Didyma, Mesa Didyma, Mermigki, Tholo Potami, Kallimasia, Neochori, Thymiana, Vaviloi and  Agios Georgios Sykousis.

 

The Mastic Harvest

 

 

The production of mastic resin is a complicated and laborious year-long process involving the cleaning and leveling the soil in order that any mastic drops that may fall on the ground can be easily gathered.

 After the trunk has been cut in specific places the resin begins to flow.

The harvest, known as kentos, takes place from the beginning of July up until the beginning of October.

After clearing the area, inert calcium carbonate is spread below the trees, this helps the mastic resin harden, without any adverse effects, once it has fallen to the ground.

 

 

Next, around every five days, from five to ten incisions are made in the bark of each tree which allows the release the resin.

(It takes fifteen to twenty days for the first resin crystals to harden and fall to the ground.)

The pieces of dry mastic are then collected and washed, piece by piece, by hand.

Most of the winters are spent separating the mastic resin tears from the sand.

 

 

The Chios Mastic Museum

 

 

 In Pyrgi Village, one of the mastica villages, is the Chios Mastic Museum, surrounded by acres of mastic trees.

 The museum houses a permanent exhibition about mastic production on the island, explaining its history and cultivation techniques as well as demonstrating its different uses today.

 

 

As well as learning about the architecture, history and organisation of the mastic villages, visitors can touch and smell the mastic.

 One section of exhibition is outdoors, which allows visitors to walk around a mastic grove