RICE
Besides the exotic basmati rice (of Pakistani or Indian origin) with its distinctive aromas, our company merchandises exclusively rices produced in the region of Serres, since rice from Serres stands out for its quality features. The alkaline and saline soils of the lowlands of Serres in combination with the microclimate of the region and the waters of Strymonas river produce the highest quality Greek rices. The main varieties grown are: Carolina rice, Bonnet rice, Nychaki rice, Glace rice and Brown rice (wholegrain).
Rice is one of the most ancient crops in the world and one of the staple foodstuffs of humankind, since it is the main food for almost 2/3 of the world population. It is encountered in many varieties with differences in the colour, length and shape of the grain, which affects its cooking behaviour very much. Therefore, choosing the right type of rice is crucial for the desired final result.
Glace rice is indicated for soups, gruel and desserts, like rice pudding, as its grains are glued together during cooking.
Carolina rice has the ability to absorb fats and is, for this reason, suitable both for pilaf that will not be drained and for baked food.
Bonnet rice is a parboiled rice. It has a distinctive yellowish colour due to the special treatment of the grain with steam, resulting in the penetration of the ingredients of the husk into the grain. During cooking, it remains granulated and is ideal for fluffy rice pilaf.
Nychaki is a hard rice and is suitable for cooking in boiling water or in steam. Its colour is crystal-white and is ideal for rice pilaf.
Brown (or wholegrain) rice is the “raw” version of white rice. It is rich in fibres and is indicated for healthy nutrition and weight loss diets.
Basmati rice is a naturally flavoured rice, ideal for pilaf and exotic dishes. It acquires its natural aroma from the special ingredients of the subsoil of the greater region where it is grown.
Wild rice is actually a hydrophilic cereal whose flavour and aroma remind those of rice. It is marketed as a mix with Bonet Greek rice and is ideal for game, seafood and as a garnish in formal meals.
PULSES
Rizeboriki has managed to gather the most unique Greek pulse varieties which are cultivated throughout the country. Tsali (flat white or plake) beans , black giant beans and black giant-elephant beans from Prespes, giant beans from Kastoria, cranberry (barbounya) beans from Kastoria, medium beans and tsali (plake) beans from Kavala, fava from Erithres Attica, lentils from Voio in Kozani, chickpeas from Larissa, black-eyed beans (mavromatika) and fava from Preveza, beans (vanillia variety) from Preveza, lentils from Eglouvi in Lefkada, ospriada (mixture of pulses) from Crete and broad beans (koukia) from Tripoli are some of the products we market. However, there are also international varieties of pulses in our range of products, such as great northern beans, peas, red beans and lentils from Canada, chickpeas form Mexico, red lentils from Turkey, mung beans from Australia, white alubia beans from Argentina and black-eyed beans from Madagascar.
Umberto Eco had once said referring to the importance of legumes that “Without legumes, humanity wouldn’t have made it to the Middle Ages”. At least, this is what science has claimed and proved. When the population of Europe in the 11th Century B.C. was only 20 million people who were experiencing poverty and starvation, legumes offered the solution so needed and at the same time boosted the population growth. Working people were able to eat more protein; as a result, they became more robust, lived longer and… gave birth to more children!”. Legumes form the base of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid and are among the foodstuffs that must be consumed on a more regular basis (at least twice a week) due to their high level of protein, vitamins B, iron and calcium. They are served as a soup, salad, appetiser, as well as side dish of other food.
Nuts
The main types of nuts marketed by our company are the following: Greek almonds (Texas and firania variety), shelled walnuts, walnut halves, peanuts from Serres, Greek roasted and salted red-skin peanuts (arapika) from Serres, raw skinless peanuts from Serres, Greek pistachios from Aigina, hazelnut halves, raw pumpkin seeds (passatempo), raw sunflower seeds. We also market dried figs from Evoia, Greek Black Corinthian Raisins, Cretan Soultana Raisins (white), dried prunes from Evros and sea buckthorn (hippophae).
Greeks have been consuming nuts and dried fruits since ancient times. “Trogalia” (nuts and dried fruits) were the main side dish for wine during the Ancient Greeks symposiums. Nowadays, nuts are still highly popular, while their great variety provides multiple options, either as a side dish for a drink or as an ingredient in cooking and confectionery. Most of all, however, they are consumed as a daily snack, as scientific research has shown that they are among the most beneficial nutrients for the body.
Cereals
The well-known Turkish bulgur, as well as the Greek bulgur (broken wheat), which form the basis for the creation of the traditional whole-wheat trachanas (frumenty), could not be missing from the list of our products. The same applies to Greek high-quality wheat, as well as the Greek corn.
Cereals are at the bottom of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid due to their significant nutritional value. In addition, it is the greatest human crop, since cereal products form the nutritional basis for the global population.
Grains, including wheat and corn, are one of the basic categories of cereals.
Wheat is one of the first crops cultivated by man and its derivatives are a raw material for basic human foodstuffs, primarily bread. Another significant derivative of wheat is bulgur, well-known food in East Mediterranean.
Corn is considered a vegetable when eaten whole and falls within the category of grains only when its granules are used for pop corn. Either way, it is rich in fibres and antioxidants.
Flour
The most popular types of flour are durum, wholegrain, corn flour and all-purpose (plain) flour. Besides these varieties, Rizeboriki also markets local varieties of flours, such as flour from Limnos and the well-known flour “Koula” from Macedonia. Limnos flour is a yellowish (rustic) flour that resembles to semolina flour and produces a traditional, yellowish bread of high quality and flavour. Flour “Koula” belongs to the category of all-purpose flours and stands out for its excellent quality due to the common wheat from which it is produced and the absence of conservatives.
Flour is a fine powder produced by the milling of cereals or other seeds rich in starch.
It is used for the production of many fast-moving consumer products, like bread, bakery products, desserts and pastas.
There are many types of flours which are distinguished based on their content in proteins, or their degree and way of miling, or the type of cereal they are produced from.
Every type of cereal affects differently the flavour, the texture and the colour of the final product in which it is used.
Bakery Products
The treasures of Cretan diet, wheat and barley rusks, mini barley rusks, mini wheat rusks, barley round rusks, as well as sweet rusks with orange, almond, cinnamon or tahini flavor are also included in the range of Rizeboriki products.
Through centuries, we have come across different forms of bakery products in Greece.
Rusks are the most common form of bakery products and their ancient name was “Dipiritis artos” (galeta placed twice on fire), because it was baked twice in the oven.
Double baking the bread in low temperature took moisture away and created a product that could last unspoiled for several days, even for months after its production day. This was extremely useful in a time where there were neither conservatives nor refrigerators.
In modern Greek history, rusk has been associated with the Cretan diet, “ntakos” (Cretan rusks) being its most typical representative.
Currently, rusks are still a basic element of Greek diet and come in many shapes, sizes and different seasonings.
Aromatic Herbs
Rizeboriki, responding to the need for completely natural seasonings and herbal infusions, included Greek, organic farmed aromatic herbs in its range.
Oregano, thyme, rosemary, chamomile, herbal tea, sage, verbena, lavender and savory are only some the species of the rich Greek flora that you will find in our range of products.
Aromatic herbs have been used in almost all ancient cultures, not only in cooking but also for therapeutic use.
The father of medicine, Hippocrates, classified aromatic herbs in categories according to their individual fundamental properties.
Middle Ages were their prime time, as monks took over their cultivation and transformed them into pharmaceutical preparations.
The kitchen of most peoples is full of aromatic herbs that add flair even in the simplest dish by enriching it with unique aromas and flavours.
The dual use of aromatic herbs continues to date either by adding them in food and sweets or as beneficial herbal infusions with countless therapeutic properties.
Pasta
By supporting the endeavour of small-sized cottage industries that revive traditional methods of producing pasta, Rizeboriki markets, in addition to classic pasta of Greek origin, pasta with buffalo milk, and traditional pasta with eggs and milk.
The history of pasta in Greece begins in around 1.000 BC with “laganon” , a flat squared dough made of flour and water.
Reference to pasta is also made in Greek Mythology, as Ifestos created a tool that made “strands of dough”.
In addition to Greece, pasta has been a popular dish just about all over the world, with thousands of different variations of flavours and shapes, adapted to the eating habits of each country.
In modern Greek history, pasta was produced in every house during summer time. The women of the house were kneading the dough, slicing it and laying it under the sun to dry. Then, pasta was kept in cloth bags in the cellars to provide supplies for the whole year.
In recent years, small cottage industries across Greece have revived the traditional practices of producing pasta, such as trachanas (frumenty) and chylopitas (type of Greek noodles), by using the purest ingredients of every region.
Honey
Greek honey is extremely aromatic, thick and rich in trace elements and antioxidants. This is because of the climate and rich flora of the country and is classified as one of the best honeys worldwide. Our company has selected the main varieties of Greek honey, such as wildflower honey, thyme honey, pine honey, heather honey, fir honey, chestnut honey, orange blossom honey, oak honey, arbutus honey and sage honey. We also market honey in a whole comb, honey with Chios mastic and honey with tahini (sesame seed paste).
Honey is a very tasteful product with a positive effect on the human body as it is an excellent source of energy and carbohydrates. According to the experts, it should therefore be included in the daily diet as a replacement for sugar (where feasible).
There are many varieties of honey with differences in colour, flavour, aroma and properties.
Since prehistoric times, men have been using honey in their diet and it has been the only known sweetener for many centuries.
The beneficial properties of honey were early found and this is why it was used in medicine. The father of Medicine, Hippocrates, recommended honey to anybody, but especially to patients, as he greatly believed in its stimulant and antiseptic properties.
Honey holds an important place in ancient Greek history and mythology. Ancient Greeks offered honey in their sacrificial rites for the Gods. Kirki used honey in order to seduce Ulysses and gods of Olympus have been feeding on honey (Nektar). Zeus himself, the father of Olympian Gods, was raised with honey and milk by the nymphs Amalthea and Melissa in Dhiktéo Andro of Crete.
By the mid-18th century, honey was the only sweetener and a food only for kings throughout Europe. They used to give to the people the royal jelly which they considered a lower quality product, as they were not aware of its properties. That’s how scientists explained the longevity of some people during the past centuries.
HALVA
The name of halva has arabic origins and means sweet. It is the favorite dessert of the people of Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Balkans.
In Greece, the consumption of halva started in 1922 when refugees from Minor Asia arrived and brought with them the art of preparing it.
The first workshops producing halva were established by the refugees mostly in Thessaloniki and Piraeus and the product was initially sold in local grocery stores. For this reason it is also called grocer’s halva.
The main ingredient of halva is tahini (sesame seed paste) and that is why it is considered a sweet with great nutritional value.
Halva is largely consumed in Lent, on Monday of Lent (Clean Monday) and generally during times of fasting and is typically served with lemon or cinnamon.
