Trees of the species Pistacia lenticus—commonly known as Mastic trees—can be found in many parts of the Mediterranean basin. However, Chios is one of the few places where they are cultivated commercially. Whilst the Latin name of the tree may suggest that some type of nut is involved, the reason for growing them is actually the resin which they produce.
This oozes out from the branches and drops onto the ground in small mastic ‘tears’.
Having taken the photo above, I harvested the tear and tasted it. You realise immediately why this resin is so much in demand: the flavour is intense, sweet, very aromatic – and unlike anything else. Well, not quite: it reminded me of a type of Turkish Delight, which is not surprising, as mastic is a key ingredient in many of these sweets.
Mastic production is an important part of Chios’ economy and history – not least in relation to the various invading forces which the lucrative mastic trade attracted. The Mastic Museum near Pyrgi charts this history and provides the visitor with a wealth of additional information about mastic cultivation, harvesting, and processing. The photo below shows three different grades of mastic, from fine grains on the left to larger chunks on the right.
Whilst all mastic trees produce a certain amount of resin, the centuries-old expertise of the local growers has led to cultivars that are ideally suited to the climatic and soil conditions and produce significantly larger quantities than the standard varieties. Nevertheless, the average amount of mastic that a tree will yield is only in the region of 150g-180g per annum. Growth is slow and a young tree will not start generating resin until it is 5 to 7 years old. Resin production peaks at an age of around 15 years and falls off dramatically after 70 years.
The museum has several exhibition halls dedicated to different aspects of mastic processing and illustrates the steps required to turn the raw material into various end products.
As you would expect, there is also a shop where you can buy some of these products. They range from flavoured drinks and sweets to food supplements and also include things such as tooth paste, oils, and cosmetics. The prices reflect the uniqueness of the resin as well as the efforts involved in producing it and you are reminded of the fact that in the Middle Ages mastic was considered to be worth its weight in gold. We already had a bottle of a mastic liqueur and so we made do with a €1 packet of mastic chewing gum.
I had never heard of Mastic before—a fascinating article.