Maggiri

Discover the high quality pasta which is made without preservatives or colourants, kneaded from free range eggs and fresh sheep’s milk sourced from local producers

Discovery

The cheerful and enthusiastic lady hosting the Maggiri stand at a sprawling Athenian food fair converted me. Sworn off gluten and carbohydrates after years of condemning glares from doctors and spa directors, I found myself joyfully ordering multiple samples of the brand’s high quality pasta made without preservatives or colourants, kneaded from free range eggs and fresh sheep’s milk sourced from local producers.

Maggiri, a traditional pasta workshop, has twenty one varieties of pasta including noodles, assorted penne, vegetable, wheat or gluten free fusilli, swivels, orzo and Greek specialities such as trahanas or sour frumenti and chilopittes with cuttle fish ink.

It was established in Crete in 2013 by Aspasia Giakoumaki and her son Christos who use a wide range of ingredients selected from the wealth of produce that the expansive Cretan market offers. This includes fresh vegetables and creamy anthotyro cheese made from the whey of sheep or goat’s milk, whose curds rise to the top when heated looking like a blossom, hence its name, anthos meaning flower in Greek. They also use turmeric deriving from the ginger family, used in India for centuries as a spice and antiflammatory herbal remedy and textile dye.

Maggiri, a traditional pasta workshop, has twenty one varieties of pasta including noodles, assorted penne, vegetable, wheat or gluten free fusilli, swivels, orzo and Greek specialities such as trahanas or sour frumenti and chilopittes with cuttle fish ink

Memory

Maggiri is the inherited name of Cretan pasta which, in keeping with the island’s large divergent gastronomic heritage, was cooked in a particular way. Half of it was boiled, the other half fried and then both were stirred into the broth of the boiled portion. It could be served as breakfast accompanied by milk, honey and cinnamon or served as a thick savoury soup topped with mounds of cheese.

Aspasia was raised between Crete and Karpathos which also produces makarounes, another island pasta. There she remembers the soft dough, dusted with flour, shaped, cut and baked in the oven. They were then sautéed with onion and melted mizithra cheese. Back in Crete, she would observe her grandmother rolling out the maggiri on a small, round table called “sofra”, using a rolling pin known as “xyliki” in the local dialect.

In 2013 funding from a EU financing programme for women’s entrepreneurship enabled Aspasia to leave her job as a beautician and make her hobby a business.

Aspasia was raised between Crete and Karpathos which also produces makarounes, another island pasta

Narration

Aspasia’s workshop is housed in a small building, located in the bustling port town of Heraklion. Crete nurtures and produces a bountiful variety of natural products ranging from premium olive oils, dairy products, emmer wheat and an array of fruits and vegetables including the tiny delicious Malia bananas and avocados from Chania.

Aspasia begun cautiously, creating her product line step by step. Trusting in her belief in the nutritional benefits of her brand, she was also deeply satisfied that she had created it herself. She plans to add a vegan type of pasta in the near future.