mastícha

Sweet mastic, the resin of the Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia (locally known as skinos), that only grows on the North Aegean island of Chíos, and is used for flavouring everything from toothpaste to a crystal clear, extremely trendy liqueur mastiha that has been compared to drinking incense on the rocks.

In August of 2012, wildfires on Chíos, burned more than half of the island's mastic orchards, leading to shortages—the liqueur especially sells out fast.

A Little History

First mentioned by Herodotus, mastic put the chew in gum and the jelly in the beans that delighted bored Ottoman harems. Roman women used mastic toothpicks to sweeten their breath; Syrians put it in perfume. On Chíos they traditionally use it to flavour a liqueur, chewing gum, candies and MasticDent toothpaste.

In the Middle Ages, when Chíos was governed by the Republic of Genoa, mastic was prized by painters to varnish their masterpieces. The punishment for stealing up to 10 pounds of resin was the loss of an ear; for more than 200 pounds, the culprit was hanged.