Soutzoukos (Greek: σουτζούκος) is a popular tradional sweet of the island of Cyprus. The main ingredients which are used to make soutzoukos include grape must, almonds or in some cases walnuts and flour.
Preparation
The process of making soutzoukos involves two basic steps. The first step is to make the must jelly. First, must is extracted from good quality grapes. As soon as the must is extracted, it is placed in a large bronze container (called chartzin or kazani) which resembles a big cauldron. The must is then heated slowly.
A special kind of white soil, which is called asproi, is then added to the boiling must in order to assist in the removal of impurities from the must. A very small amount of asproi is added in the boiling must, causing the impurities to rise on the surface where they are collected and removed.
Once the cleansing process is complete the must is left to cool down. Next, the flour is added to the must while stirring and heating the mixture. When the mixture gets the right consistency, judging from the rate of steam bubbles and the fluency of the mixture, is removed from the heat. The mix, called palouzes, is now ready for dipping the almond strings and make soutzoukos.
The next step is the making of soutzoukos involves the creation of strings of almonds (or walnuts), which are dipped in the palouzes mixture and are then left to dry. Firstly, the nuts are shelled and dipped into water in order to become softer. Once soft enough they are stringed using threads of about 2-3 meters length.
The strings are dipped in the palouzes mixture until completely covered. This process is repeated several times (usually three to four times) until soutzoukos has the desired thickness. Soutzoukos strings are then left to dry for 5-6 days. It is then ready for consumption or storage, although some people like to eat soutzoukos fresh.
Consumption
Soutzoukos is eaten as is it, or to accompany wine and zivania.
