Thrace’s diet is adapted to the severe climatic conditions and terrain that characterize the region. Endless plains, mountains, forests, and rivers have contributed to the development of its agricultural production and livestock breeding. A farming community, Thrace has developed its diet on the basis of the goods produced by the Thracian earth.
The Thracian winter is heavy and prolonged, with many snowstorms that cover everything. For this reason, all its dwellings have cellars for storing food, wood, charcoal and wine. The cellars also store the touloumotiri cheese, the renowned Thracian sausage, tsoukalia (clay pots) with pickled pork lardi, petimezi, the niseste, the trahana, giofkades, as well as dried fruit. Also in the cellar are the flour and wheat found abundantly in the region. Yoghurt, salted fish, the retseli (similar to a spoon sweet tasting like marmalade), tsipouro, syrupy sweets with almonds and walnuts, fresh butter and soutzouki (a kind of sausage with Ottoman roots, with eastern spices) are never absent from a Thracian household.
The Thracian cuisine was shaped by the cosmopolitan cohabitation of peoples of diverse origins and cultures.
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) products:
Product | Designation of Origin and Geographical indication | Prefecture |
Olive oil | Thasos (PGI) | Thasos |
Olives | Throumba Tasos (PGI) | Thasos |
Cheese | Feta (PDO) | Xanthi, Rodopi, Evros |
Cheese | Kaseri (PDO) | Xanthi, Rodopi, Evros |
Wine | Avdira (PGI) | Xanthi |
Wine | Evros (PGI) | Evros |
Wine | Thrace (PGI) | Xanthi, Rodopi, Evros |
Wine | Ismaros (PGI) | Rodopi |
Wine | Plagies Petrotou (PGI) | Rodopi |