Editing Cyprus (section)

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Cypriot cuisine}}
[[File:Vin et gastronomie chypriotes.jpg|thumb|left|Cypriot ''[[meze]]'']]

During the medieval period, under the French Lusignan monarchs of Cyprus an elaborate form of courtly cuisine developed, fusing French, Byzantine and Middle Eastern forms. The Lusignan kings were known for importing Syrian cooks to Cyprus, and it has been suggested that one of the key routes for the importation of Middle Eastern recipes into France and other Western European countries, such as blancmange, was via the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus. These recipes became known in the West as ''vyands de Chypre'', or foods of Cyprus, and the food historian William Woys Weaver has identified over one hundred of them in English, French, Italian and German recipe books of the Middle Ages. One that became particularly popular across Europe in the medieval and early modern periods was a stew made with chicken or fish called ''malmonia'', which in English became mawmeny.<ref>William Woys Weaver, 'Poland in the Middle Ages' in Maria Dembinska (ed.) ''Food and Drink in Medieval Poland: Rediscovering a Cuisine of the Past'' (Philadelphia: University of University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999) pp.&nbsp;41–46</ref>

Another example of a Cypriot food ingredient entering the Western European canon is the cauliflower, still popular and used in a variety of ways on the island today, which was associated with Cyprus from the early Middle Ages. Writing in the 12th and 13th centuries the Arab botanists [[Ibn al-'Awwam]] and [[Ibn al-Baitar]] claimed the vegetable had its origins in Cyprus,<ref>{{cite web |title=Cabbage Flowers for Food|url=http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/broccoli.html |website=Aggie Horticulture |publisher=Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M System |access-date=12 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812232947/http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu//archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/broccoli.html |archive-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fenwick |first=G. Roger |author2=Heaney, Robert K. |author3=Mullin, W. John |author4=VanEtten, Cecil H. |title=Glucosinolates and their breakdown products in food and food plants |journal=CRC Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition |date=1982 |volume=18| issue=2 |pages=123–201 |doi=10.1080/10408398209527361 |pmid=6337782}}</ref> and this association with the island was echoed in Western Europe, where cauliflowers were originally known as Cyprus cabbage or ''Cyprus colewart''. There was also a long and extensive trade in cauliflower seeds from Cyprus, until well into the sixteenth century.<ref>Jon Gregerson, ''Good Earth'' (Portland: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, 1990) p.41</ref>

[[File:Halloumislice zoom.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Cypriot [[Halloumi]]]]
[[File:Cafes in a stoa small path in Nicosia Republic of Cyprus.JPG|thumb|upright=0.75|Cypriot style café in an arcade in [[Nicosia]]]]

Although much of the Lusignan food culture was lost after the fall of Cyprus to the Ottomans in 1571, a number of dishes that would have been familiar to the Lusignans survive today, including various forms of tahini and houmous, zalatina, skordalia and pickled wild song birds called ambelopoulia. [[Ambelopoulia]], which is today highly controversial, and illegal, was exported in vast quantities from Cyprus during the Lusignan and Venetian periods, particularly to Italy and France. In 1533 the English traveller to Cyprus, John Locke, claimed to have seen the pickled wild birds packed into large jars, of which 1200 jars were exported from Cyprus annually.<ref>David Bannerman and Mary Bannerman ''Birds of Cyprus'' (London: Oliver and Boyd, 1958) p.&nbsp;384</ref>

Also familiar to the Lusignans would have been [[Halloumi]] cheese, which some food writers today claim originated in Cyprus during the Byzantine period<ref>{{cite book |author1=Goldstein, Darra |author2=Merkle, Kathrin |author3=Parasecoli, Fabio |author4=Mennell, Stephen |author5=Council of Europe |title=Culinary cultures of Europe: identity, diversity and dialogue |publisher=Council of Europe |year=2005 |page=121 |isbn=978-92-871-5744-7 |quote=Most culinary innovations in the Cypriot cuisine occurred during the Byzantine era&nbsp;... Experimentation with dairy products resulted in the now-famous halloumi and feta cheese.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Robinson, R. K. |author2=Tamime, A. Y. |title=Feta and Related Cheeses |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |year=1991 |page=144 |isbn=978-1-85573-278-0 |quote=Halloumi is a semi-hard to hard, unripened cheese that traditionally is made from either sheep's or goat's milk or a mixture. Although the cheese has its origins in Cyprus, it is widely popular throughout the Middle East, and hence many countries have now become involved with its manufacture.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Murdoch Books Pty Limited |title=Essential Mediterranean |publisher=Murdoch Books |year=2005 |page=21 |isbn=978-1-74045-539-8 |quote=HALOUMl Originating in Cyprus, this salty, semi-hard sheep's milk cheese is a popular table cheese}}</ref> although the name of the cheese itself is thought by academics to be of Arabic origin.<ref name="Papademas 117">P. Papademas, "Halloumi Cheese" in A.Y. Tamime (ed.), ''Brined Cheeses'' (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006) p.117</ref> There is no surviving written documentary evidence of the cheese being associated with Cyprus before the year 1554, when the Italian historian [[Florio Bustron]] wrote of a sheep-milk cheese from Cyprus he called ''calumi''.<ref name="Papademas 117"/> Halloumi (Hellim) is commonly served sliced, grilled, fried and sometimes fresh, as an appetiser or [[meze]] dish.

Seafood and fish dishes include squid, octopus, [[red mullet]], and [[European seabass|sea bass]]. Cucumber and tomato are used widely in salads. Common vegetable preparations include potatoes in olive oil and parsley, pickled cauliflower and beets, asparagus and [[taro]]. Other traditional delicacies are meat marinated in dried coriander seeds and wine, and eventually dried and smoked, such as ''lountza'' (smoked [[pork loin]]), charcoal-grilled lamb, [[souvlaki]] (pork and chicken cooked over charcoal), and [[sheftalia]] (minced meat wrapped in [[mesentery]]). ''Pourgouri'' ([[bulgur]], cracked wheat) is the traditional source of carbohydrate other than bread, and is used to make the delicacy [[Kibbeh|koubes]].

Fresh vegetables and fruits are common ingredients. Frequently used vegetables include courgettes, green peppers, [[okra]], green beans, artichokes, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and grape leaves, and pulses such as beans, broad beans, peas, black-eyed beans, chick-peas and lentils. The most common fruits and nuts are pears, apples, grapes, oranges, [[mandarin orange|mandarines]], nectarines, [[medlar]], blackberries, cherry, strawberries, figs, watermelon, melon, avocado, lemon, pistachio, almond, chestnut, walnut, and hazelnut.

Cyprus is also well known for its desserts, including ''lokum'' (also known as [[Turkish delight]]) and [[Soutzoukos]].<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3753928.stm Cyprus villagers make giant sweet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517130802/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3753928.stm |date=17 May 2024 }}", ''BBC News'', 18 October 2004</ref> This island has [[Protected geographical indications in the European Union#General regime|protected geographical indication (PGI)]] for its ''lokum'' produced in the village of [[Geroskipou]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Turks riled as Cyprus set to win EU trademark on Turkish Delight | date=13 December 2007 |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/13/europe/EU-GEN-Cyprus-Turkish-Delight.php |work=International Herald Tribune |access-date =14 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202125809/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/13/europe/EU-GEN-Cyprus-Turkish-Delight.php |archive-date=2 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/07/04/agros-rose-preserve-included-protected-geographical-indication-list/ |title=Agros rose preserve included in protected geographical indication list |last=Andreou |first=Evie |date=4 July 2016 |work=Cyprus Mail |access-date=19 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120070241/http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/07/04/agros-rose-preserve-included-protected-geographical-indication-list/ |archive-date=20 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>