The delicious age-old tradition in Greece of offering ‘Spoon Sweets’ to visitors goes way back to the fourteenth century when the Byzantines adopted the custom from Arab traders. It was a tradition as old as time in the Arabic world to serve sweets to guests as a gesture of hospitality.

Spoon sweets are exactly what they sound like: just a spoonful of sweets. This tradition still lives on today throughout Greece and Cyprus. When someone stops by your home, you offer them a drink and a ‘spoon sweet’, which is a spoonful of sweet preserves made from nutritious fruits, served on a spoon.

Today, spoon sweets are commonly served with a cup of Greek coffee or a glass of cold water, and the ingredients are much the same as they were hundreds of years ago. The sweet treats are made from whole fruit, fruit pieces, purees and even tree resin.

Some favourite fruity spoon sweets are made from citron, figs, oranges, and other fruits. You’ll come across different variations of spoon sweets as you travel all over Greece, and it isn’t even uncommon to be offered one while visiting a cafe, especially in villages, to accompany your Greek coffee.