Tears of Chios
I learned about the Tears of Chios from my friend Tony. His great-grandfather was born on the Greek island of Chios. I had never heard of the island, but the story of his great-grandfather intrigued me such that I began reading about this beautiful and mysterious island, said to be the birthplace of the Greek poet, Homer.
Portrait bust of Homer, 2nd century A.D., British Museum
Chios, Greece
The island of Chios is one of the few places on earth where the mastic (or in Greek, mastiha) tree grows and produces its “tears,” which have been used for medicinal healing, cooking, baking, and chewing gum since the Hellenistic period in Greece. In fact, the Greek word, mastichon, means “to chew.”
Mastic is actually a resin, which means that it is slowly released by the mastic tree’s resin glands, thick and viscous, steadily dripping from the bark of the tree in clear globules that harden and crystallize into a translucent teardrop that can be harvested from the tree and used for a thousand different medicines, foods, and drinks.
Tears of the mastic tree, Pistacia Lentiscus
Legend of the “Tears of Chios”
Although the trees were taken to many different islands in Greece to be cultivated, most notably to Rhodes and Lesvos, the mastic plants never thrived other than on the island of Chios.
One legend tells that Saint Isidore of Chios is to thank for Chios’ special relationship with the mastic tree. Isidore was a Roman naval officer stationed in Chios, part of the Roman military under emperor Decius charged with the persecution of Christians.
Isidore (the former persecutor) became a Christian while on the island of Chios, publicly professed his Christian faith, refused orders to recant, and was martyred in the year 251.
Saint Isidore of Chios
Isidore was condemned to death by fire, but did not burn when thrown in a furnace.
His commanding officer then strung him behind a horse and had him dragged to death across the countryside before being beheaded. It is said that upon his death, the mastic trees began to weep, and thus the ”tears of Chios” were born.
The magical legend, the beautiful island, the connection to Homer, the medicinal use for thousands of years - it was beautiful. I couldn’t believe that I had never heard any of it before.
This led me (as many things do), to my all-knowing friend google, who told me that the tears of the mastic plant have become a trendy ingredient for cocktails in Manhattan’s hottest bars and restaurants.
(Mind you, my research was being done before the quarantining pandemic of 2020, when people were still going to trendy bars and restaurants).
Below is a video of two Greek bartenders making cocktails with mastic that I really wanted to try:
They look like they’re having so much fun!
I wanted to know what mastic tastes like, so the next step was to get my hands on some. Amazon sells real mastic from Chios - it was delivered to my doorstep in two days.
When I opened the package, I noticed that mastiha smells somewhat like pine needles and herbs, with a fresh, woodsy aroma that is unlike anything else I’d ever experienced.
I popped a “tear” in my mouth - It’s crunchy at first, but after only about 10 seconds of chewing, the flavor becomes milder and the texture is just like chewing gum.
Before the advent of toothpaste, mastic was used as a breath freshener, and I’m sure that the citizens of Chios were more fortunate than their non-mastiha-growing counterparts in the Greek isles, because it works!
My friend Tony told me that he remembers chewing mastic as a young boy and that his relatives prescribed it for almost any ailment he could imagine. He hadn’t chewed mastic since his childhood, but he recounted in great detail the vivid memories of the aroma of the mastic bread his mother often baked. Delicious!
I hope you are as intrigued as I was and I encourage you to try some mastiha, either as chewing gum, in cooking, a digestive, or in a cocktail. The Tears of Chios will make you smile!
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