Not so long ago, had you been lucky enough to be invited to a Greek’s home in the late afternoon, you would have invariably been offered something special to go with your extremely strong coffee. This would be a small sweet, served in a spoon, and accompanied by a glass of water in which to place the spoon after the last bit of sweet had been licked clean.

This ‘spoon sweet’, or glika tou koutaliou, would have been made by the lady of the house (sorry, feminists). While its ingredients are simple – fruit, sugar and a touch of lemon – exact preparations were well-guarded family secrets. Alas, times have changed and few women today have the time to make it. Happily, though, there are a few artisan producers that still keep the tradition alive. Though similar on the surface and in intention (to preserve), spoon sweets are neither jams nor jellies. The fruit, or nut, or vegetable, or petal of the quality spoon sweet retains its original shape and color, as well as its original flavor and aroma.

There are many different varieties of spoon sweet. Yet one of their central purposes is to capture the essence of a particular season. In this they can be viewed as a sort of culinary progression that starts in early spring and commences in winter. The progression follows like so:

Spring
Karidaki: made with immature, green walnuts.
Fistiki: made with immature pistachios. A specialty of the pistachio-producing island of Aegina.

Summer
Rodopetalo: rose petal, typically from the island of Chios and the Peloponnese.
Karpouzi: made from the rind of young watermelons
Rodakino: peach
Vissino: sour cherry
Kerassi: cherry
Verikoko: apricot
Damaskino: plum
Tomataki: small tomatoes
Siko: made with small, green, immature figs.

Late Summer:
Ahladi: pear
Stafili: grape
Stafida: raisin, traditional to Crete
Melitzanaki: small eggplants
Siko: ripe figs

Fall:
Kidoni: quince
Firiki: small apples, a specialty of Mt. Pilio
Kolokitha: pumpkin, a specialty of Naoussa

Winter:
Neratzi: bitter oranges, preserved whole when immature and in pieces of rind when ripe.
Portokali: orange
Pergamondo: bergamot
Koumkouat: kumquat, a specialty of Corfu

While lovely eaten alone, spoon sweets also make excellent toppings for ice cream or yoghurt. They may also be consumed for breakfast with a nice slice of toast, or tucked inside a crepe. If you are so inclined to make these treats at home, here are some recipes to get you started.

Place cherries and sugar in a large bowl; toss gently to mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Transfer cherries and their syrup to a medium pan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a boil (about 10 minutes). Continue to boil, gently, for an additional 3 minutes. Allow the cherries to cool completely and then transfer them with a slotted spoon to a clean bowl and set aside. Boil the syrup in a pan for one minute over medium heat. Add the lemon juice and beets and continue to boil until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F (soft ball stage) on a candy thermometer (about 15 to 20 minutes). Add the cherries and boil for two minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat again, and stir in the vanilla extract. Cool completely and then discard the beets. Transfer the mixture to a clean quart jar and store in the refrigerator.

Walnut Spoon Sweet
Ingredients
•  2 pounds green unripened walnuts - shells should be soft
•  2 pounds sugar ñ 3 cups water
•  2 vanilla beans
•  1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
•  1 teaspoon lemon zest
•  1/4 pound blanched almonds

Wash the walnuts and then place them in a saucepan. Add water to cover by 2 to 3 inches. Boil until the walnuts are very soft. Remove the walnuts from the water and put them in a large bowl with enough cold water to cover. Leave them in the water for 48 hours, changing the water every 8 hours.

Drain the walnuts and insert an entire blanched almond into the center of each walnut. Place 3 cups of water and the sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil for 8 minutes. Add the walnuts to the water/sugar syrup and boil for 6 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave the walnuts to cool in the syrup for 24 hours.

Put the saucepan back on the fire and bring to a boil again. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla beans. Skim off any foam that develops on the surface. The syrup should be boiled until it thickens. Once thickened, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. Once cool it may be jarred.