In a corner of the century-old caf\u00e9 To Hani tou Gogou in Ano Palaiokarya, about 34 km from Trikala, we stopped to warm up by the woodstove. The snow was falling heavily. Soon, the \u201choly trinity\u201d of Trikala cuisine appeared on our table: feta cheese, pork sausage with leek, and tsipouro. All three are historically linked to the daily habits of the locals, as most households either have them at hand or produce them themselves. These products are a reflection of local heritage and, for two out of three of them, of mountain livestock farming in particular, a vanishing livelihood. At the same time, they all play a crucial role in a complex economic chain that involves farmers, livestock breeders, shepherds and others, including drivers and employees in production units, slaughterhouses, vineyards and state agencies.<\/p>\n
According to the Chamber of Commerce of Trikala, the region is home to 11 sausage production enterprises, three tsipouro distilleries and 26 dairy companies, 15 of which produce feta cheese. Before the devastating weather event known as Storm Daniel, the region was (according to data from ELSTAT, the Hellenic Statistical Authority) home to 201,000 sheep, 72,000 goats, and 7,000 breeding sows. Today, as ambassadors of the local cuisine, the region\u2019s feta, sausage and tsipouro still carry the name of Trikala to all points of the globe. Feta is exported to more than 50 countries worldwide, from Australia and the Middle East to the Americas. Traditional sausage with leek (for which a Protected Geographical Indication, or PGI, designation has been applied) is popular among visitors, who leave the city with bags full of it, and among commercial buyers as well. The same goes for tsipouro, although traditional tsipouradika (tsipouro bars serving food as well) are gradually disappearing from the local landscape.<\/p>\n Regardless of the scale of a dairy business, all producers vie for the best milk available \u2013 because feta cheese cannot be made without milk \u2013 and endeavor to sign contracts with both livestock farms and individuals herders.<\/p>\n One such herder is 59-year-old Dimitris Kanavouris from the Vlach village of Kalomoira in the northern part of the region. Kanavouris spends the winter with his flock in the village and in the summer moves them up to the Chioli peak in southern Pindos, at an altitude of about 1,900 meters. Every year, his flock produces about 25 tons of sheep\u2019s milk; for the last forty years, that milk has gone to the Avgeris dairy.\u00a0<\/p>\n We met Kanavouris and his wife Neri at 7:00 a.m. at their sheepfold, just before they began hand-milking the sheep. Despite complaining that he can no longer straighten his fingers fully from all the milking, he is saddened by the fact that next year they will have to part with their flock. Their eldest daughter will be attending high school, and since their area lacks such an educational facility, they will have to move to Trikala. And so, a family connection to dairy production that began with his grandfather \u2013 who worked in a cheese factory in Romania \u2013will come finally to an end.<\/p>\n Master cheesemakers such as Kanavouris\u2019 grandfather are rare in today\u2019s dairy industry, as most production has been industrialized. The Avgeris brothers, who opened their cheese factory in Megarchi in 1989, are a rare exception. Nikos, 74, and his younger brother, Dimitris, originally from the village of Aghia Paraskevi Aspropotamos (also known as Tzourtzia), insist on making feta by hand, drawing on their 50 years of experience.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past,\u201d Nikos told us as his brother worked on the barrels, \u201cmilk had 9% fat, while today the best quality doesn\u2019t even reach 7%.\u201d Known primarily for their barrel-aged feta, the duo produce about 40 tons annually, mainly for the Thessalian market. Unfortunately, there is no successor to continue their legacy.<\/p>\n For a product to be successful as an export, it must maintain consistent taste characteristics, and this often means that it must be standardized. The company Omiros, founded in 1984 by the Giannitsi family, has fully automated and modernized its production processes. It employs 300 people, collaborates with 2,500 livestock breeders across Greece, and produces over 11,000 tons of feta, for an annual turnover of \u20ac90 million.<\/p>\n \u201cOur company is exclusively export-oriented, selling to 46 different countries. Depending on the market, we adjust our product based on research findings. For example, to the Arab Gulf countries, we export a saltier and firmer feta than what we supply to Europe,\u201d explained Christos Giannitsis, the company\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n Near the Omiros facilities in the village of Raxa lies the largest tsipouro production unit in Greece, the Tsililis distillery. It was here that Thessaly\u2019s first distillery was founded in 1989; the first bottled tsipouro hit the market a year later.<\/p>\n \u201cA royal decree had granted the right to produce bulk tsipouro exclusively to vineyard owners, and bottling was forbidden. The decree was abolished in 1988, and that\u2019s when I decided to turn my hobby into a profession,\u201d said the company\u2019s CEO, Konstantinos Tsililis.<\/p>\n The first distillery in Thessaly was established in 1989 by the Tsililis family. [Konstantinos Tsakalidis]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n As Tsililis recalls, the early years were tough because people were accustomed to bulk tsipouro. \u201cThe bottled version lacked the charm of homemade tsipouro, but over time, consumers appreciated its advantages and distinct flavors. We introduced tsipouro to urban centers,\u201d he told us, before showing us a bottle of Dark Cave, a tsipouro aged five years that was launched on the market last year.<\/p>\n Today, the company, which also produces wines under the Ktima Theopetra label, employs 60 workers, manages 250 acres of privately owned vineyards, and processes seven million kilograms of grapes, mainly sourced from the Tyrnavos viticultural zone. Tsipouro production, about 5% of which is exported, is set to relocate to the company\u2019s new distillery in Damasi.<\/p>\n \u201cTsipouro still has a long way to go before it is fully established in international markets. We are constantly refining our spirits using new methods. This year, we started removing a greater proportion of grape seeds during distillation,\u201d Tsililis said.<\/p>\n The long pig farming tradition of the company Chirofarm, Maravas-Koutsikos Farm, has its roots in Eleftherochori, Trikala. [Konstantinos Tsakalidis]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n This new generation of tsipouro makers, raised among the stills, has always paired tsipouro primarily with meat-based appetizers rather than seafood. And the king of appetizers in Trikala \u2013 despite an abundance excellent lamb-based products \u2013 is the traditional leek sausage.<\/p>\n The leading producer, Chirofarm Maravas \u2013 Koutsikou Farma, operates six pig farms with 1,000 breeding sows, 2,200 acres for fodder production, a slaughterhouse, a biogas production unit, and two meat and cold cuts processing plants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe produce about 340 tons of sausage annually, 60% of which is sold in supermarkets and 40% in local butcher shops. We source our leeks from local farmers,\u201d said Chrysa Marava, who, along with her brother Stefanos and her husband Giannis Koutsikos, is carrying on the family\u2019s pig-farming tradition.<\/p>\n At present, the little that they export goes primarily to Germany, but the goal is to expand further. The long-awaited PGI certification for Trikala sausage could certainly help with this effort.<\/p>\n For the region in general, achieving PGI certification for their sausage is one challenge. Another, of vital importance, is preserving mountain livestock farming \u2013 because without it, feta\u2019s PDO status will be at risk. The third challenge is boosting tsipouro exports to encourage more vineyard cultivation. Strengthening these primary sectors is a reliable way to sustain rural life, and while Trikala stands as an excellent example of regional development, it is today at a crossroads that might well determine whether that success will continue.<\/p>\n This article appeared in Greece Is (www.greece-is.com), a Kathimerini publishing initiative.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"feta-tsipouro-sausage-and-off-we-go-to-trikala0\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/KT_SOOC_TopoiMas_Trikala_Feta_Kalomoira_Armegma_20250111_0418-2.jpg?1742755482343\")
The Battle for Milk<\/h3>\n
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Feta, the Queen<\/h3>\n
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Tsipouro, the Water of Trikala<\/h3>\n
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Sausage, the Iconic Meze<\/h3>\n
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