Byzantine cuisine

Traditional meeting places with quality seafood, ouzo, and tsipouro

Cyprus' iconic halloumi cheese remains a protected designation of origin (PDO) product after the European Union granted a crucial five-year grace period to comply with production specifications.

The decision, published in a new European regulation, provides Cypriot producers with breathing room until 2029 to adjust their practices to meet PDO requirements.

Cyprus' main exports for 2023 included mineral fuels and oil, halloumi and pharmaceutical products, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat).

In an infographic published on Tuesday, CyStat shows that Cyprus exported 508.39 million euros of domestically produced goods to EU countries and another €1.84 billion to third countries.

At the top of the list is Speyside Scotch – What positions do tsikoudia, tsipouro, Metaxa brandy, zivania & ouzo hold?

On a cold winter evening in a car park in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, queues are already forming before former airline pilot Pantelis Panteli arrives in a small van to sell his produce.

After being made redundant following the closure of Cyprus Airways in 2013, Panteli decided to try his hand at cheese-making. He hasn't looked back.

The Cyprus Cheesemakers Association has made a unanimous decision to shutter all cheese dairies starting January 10, 2024, following a protracted disagreement with government authorities over regulatory changes.

Wine-drinking vessels, bowls, and animal bones were found inside it.

Cyprus' Minister for Agriculture Petros Xenophontos told the European Union's Agriculture and Fisheries Council on Tuesday that halloumi cheese should be exported to Australia duty-free. He was participating in a discussion on negotiations toward an EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

A traditional Turkish seafood dish called "Sinop lakerda," which reflects thousands of years of marine and fishing culture of the northern province of Sinop, has become the first seafood product ever to receive a geographical indication.

"Sinop lakerda" is a pickled dish prepared by slicing toric or large bonito fish, native to the Black Sea region.

Greece lost a fight to set a lower excise tax on two traditional spirits tsipouro and tsikoudia versus imported products after Europe's top court on Thursday backed the European Commission's view that such preferential treatment would breach EU laws.