In the picturesque villages of Mani, you will find wonderful taverns and you will taste fresh seafood, traditional pies, fine meats, all cooked to create a unique tasting experience that worth remembering! Of course, some of the special products of the Mani cuisine can be obtained before your departure and these are the extra virgin olive oil, the olives, the honey, the "pasteli", the rusks, the "siglino" (smoked pork), the various herbs, the tea and the sea salt collected from the folds of the rocks!
The traditional Mani diet is said to have several benefits and maintains good physical health!
The "synglino" has been made for generations by the families of Mani, traditionally by the male members of the family. They cut the meat into strips and smoke it with various herbs and spices, to be then pickled with olive oil or fat. It started as a way of preserving meat for a long time to remain as a traditional dish. Visitors can taste recipes based on this exquisite "meze" (with eggs and potatoes, legumes, oily, trachana, etc.) and also purchase pork at local industries.
Mani produces one of the best varieties of virgin olive oil in the world! People here love the olive as it is their main local product, and every October and November they pick the olives in the traditional way. "Lalangites" and "tiganides" are fried in fresh olive oil on Christmas and Epiphany days.
Another famous product of Mani is honey, and encloses flavors from all the flowers at its countryside. Honey is the basic component of "pasteli"-sesame seed candy- which is known since Homeric times and is still produced traditionally at local industries.
Spending time in Gythio, one cannot miss to visit the excellent taverns. There, you will taste all kinds of Greek traditional pies such as spinach pie which contains a variety of herbs from the fields around the area, crisp and crunchy fried salty dough accompanied with cheese and "lupina" beans a fruit that has nourished many generations, which does not require very fertile soil, with a high content of protein (44%) magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.
