Women are gathered in a warehouse at St. George Sykousis in Chios and are plucking red roses. They're moving their hands quickly as if they were jugglers and they are picking up all the petals that are destined for the preserves. They don't work silently. They sing, joke and laugh out loud.  They are restless women who are not content only doing the housework and they work with preserve industries in order to make some extra money.

Rose jam

Maria Kalargyrou, a woman with guts and humour, describes the way she makes the rose preserve: "We sift 1 kilo of May rose petals, wash them for a while, we add 5 glasses of water and let them boil until they can be chewed easily. We then add 4 kilos of sugar. When it all comes together, we add 2 Tablespoons of citric acid and let it boil. We don't overdo it, though, we don't want it to be too tight".

A few kilometres away from St. George Sykousis, in Campos of Chios, in a beautiful 17th century mansion, a woman is spreading the red rose petals on white-washed tablecloths. Other women in the kitchen are filling glass jars with preserves of every kind. Everything is shiny clean and they are wearing white aprons and caps.

They turn everything into preserves

In Chios everything can be turned into a preserve; there is no fruit or flower petal that can't be turned into a sweet delight. During the festivities for the fraternization of Chios and Genoa, foreign visitors were enchanted by the sweets and couldn't stop filling their bowls.

Many of them keep calling from several Greek and foreign cities, in order to learn how they can get Chios's preserves. People suffering from diabetes must be abstinent when they are in Chios, for the temptations are great. They should stick to looking at sweets, which are not only delicious but are also a beautiful sight. The shop windows of the stores selling sweets are of a great visual interest, mostly for photographers.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

MORE PHOTOS

Laughing at raunchy jokes while working.

Sweet fruits of the land of Chios ready to become preserves.

They choose the tenderest rose petals.

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