Most are family units, as the secrets of the art of cheese-making pass from generation to generation. There are also about ten traditional bakeries in the village, offering a variety of bakery wares and their specialty, sourdough bread baked in wood-fired oven. The villagers supplement their income with olive growing and stock raising.
The cheese-makers of Tracheia use the milk of sheep and goats reared in their own village and the surrounding areas. They produce medium-hard yellow cheeses - kephalotyri, graviera, kephalograviera – and softer white cheeses – feta, anthotyro, myzithra, etc. With strong or mild taste, the local cheeses capture all the aromas of the herbs that grow wild on the Tracheia plateau. Other dairy products are yoghurt and butter.
The first cooperative of bakers in Greece was founded at Tracheia, attesting that this settlement has a long tradition in the art of bread-making. The bakeries will welcome you also with paximadia (rusks, zwiebacks) of all types (kneaded with olive oil, herbs and so on), kritsinia (crispy bread sticks), dakoi (barley rusks), pastries and biscuits flavoured with orange, and so on. Some bakeries operate concurrently as workshops of traditional products. Their shelves are filled with marmalades, preserves, trachanas (cracked wheat prepared with fermented milk, which is boiled to make a nourishing porridge), and so on. There are also different kinds of pasta (lasagna, tagliatelle, noodles, etc.), which satisfy even the most demanding pasta fan. The ingredients (flour, semolina, fresh eggs, sheep’s milk, etc.) all come from local producers.
These culinary delights await you in the tavernas of the village, where you will also have the chance to savour local meat (roast kid, spit-roasted lamb, goat soup, and so on).
