I was late. It happens sometimes and it is inappropriate in various ways, I know. It can be seen as disrespectful towards the waiting, it highlights the latecomer’s organizational shortcomings, and wastes important time that could be used to rebuild the weak economy. On Crete, though, time is more elastic.

I was heading from the coastal city of Rethymnon to Meronas, a small mountain village in the municipality of Syvritos, underneath Mount Psiloritis. Meronas is positioned on the northwest slope of the Amari valley, the home of Pan, god of the shepherds and nature, and Zeus’ hunting and play grounds for beautiful woman (ancient Greek gods had no idea of the importance of public and political correctness). The Amari valley is as yet undiscovered by mass tourism, and traditional Cretan cuisine and lifestyle are still in high regard among the thinning population. But the absence of jobs and services has reinforced urbanization on Crete and left many villages abandoned by young people.

My visit to Meronas had one objective — to witness the preparation of Xinochodros. Xinochodros is a dried, multifaceted dish. It´s at once healthful for its content of goat milk and unrefined cracked wheat, offers a little tang from the lightly sour milk, and also provides the rich, mouthfilling qualities of a risotto. Apart from cheese, this was and is the best method to conserve milk over time. For the austere life in the Cretan mountains, where donkeys were the main transport utility until the mid-seventies, Xinochodros was an answer to many necessities. It is ideal to store and transport, needs minimal effort to be prepared (water and fire), and is an important provider of the carbohydrates that are much needed in field work. It is eaten for breakfast, as an accompaniment to snails, meat, or eggplant, or as a soup. Eaten dried — as I prefer — it poses a winnable challenge to the teeth and is easy to bring along when going to herd sheep in the mountains. It is a Cretan institution and can be considered the main staple on the island, next to bread.

Vaso, my host, the owner and chef of Moscho Volies, a taverna in Meronas, took the delay with magnanimity, as she was still busy preparing conserves of dried tomatoes. After the obligatory coffee we went behind the house to a small fireplace completely in the open. Here Vaso cooks most of the food served inside Moscho Volies. She is an energetic and hands-on woman in her 50s who until recently had worked all her life in the fields. She stopped two years ago as mechanization and availability of cheaper labor made the fatigue unreasonable. So her love of food and the empty ground floor of her house next to the main road finally joined forces, and from this love affair, after few months, a beautiful taverna was born. Sincere gastronomic dedication and traditional methods root the taverna in local food culture. Although Vaso is from northern Greece and came to Crete for her husband, she is a strong believer in the Cretan diet. Most vegetables and fruits come from her garden. Snails and wild greens are collected on the mountains, and the sheeps, goats, and pigs of the family provide the meat. With these excellent prime materials she prepares Apaki, a spice-and-vinegar-brined, lean pork cut, smoked with the wood of local herbs and bushes. She dries herbs and tries to preserve all the summer’s bounty for the winter.

Xinochodros is just one product out of many homemade delicacies here. The production process is simple yet time demanding. A mixture of goat milk (sheep milk is also used) and a few spoonfuls of extra-virgin olive oil (there are recipes with no oil added at first) is kept in a bowl in a dry and cool spot (not in the fridge, however) for up to six days. It is gently stirred three times a day to prevent clotting. The sour milk is then heated in a pot and salted lightly. One part cracked wheat is added to three parts milk. The boiling goes on until the wheat absorbs the liquid and the mixture develops a creamy consistency.

Vaso stirred energetically. The fire was heating up the milk and wheat mix quicker than expected. Red flames licked at the pot from underneath. A rising wave of heat made the air blur. We switched stirring duty when the heat became too strong, a sacrifice that paid off. A wood fire, Vaso believes, provides a better heat and final flavor to Xinochodros. She is a master in the use of this simple stove, needing few moments to switch from high flames to coals, adding or removing wood, providing the right heat at the right time. All of this with a minimum of wood.

The Xinochodros needs constant stirring as it tends to stick and burn at the bottom of the pan. Over the next night it remains in a cool place (far from cats, who love Xinochodros as much as Cretans do), to absorb the rest of the milk and cool down. The next day the mass is formed into little lumps. A spoonful is put in the open palm of your hand, and when you form a fist, the fingertips make a hollow inside the lump, speeding the drying, which takes up to three days.
Vaso looked at me, satisfied by the outcome of our cooking session. The pot, matte black and ashy outside, was filled with a pearl-white, shimmering mass. After serious tongue work to cool the hot food in my mouth, the flavor came through: first the milk, lightly sour, then the wheat, still with a bite, filling my mouth with a smooth texture.