Mastic

Herodotus, who rarely missed a beat, was the first to refer to Chios’s unique little evergreen mastic trees (Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia) back in the 5th century BC, although a legend says the trees only began to ‘cry’ their precious tears when the island’s patron saint Isidore suffered his martyrdom in AD 250. Attempts to cultivate mastic elsewhere, even in northern Chíos, have utterly failed.

In the West, mastic was (and still is) used in paint varnish; the Syrians buy it as an ingredient in perfume, in fact 90 per cent is exported, mostly to the Arab world. On Chíos they use it to flavour a devilishly sweet sticky liqueur, spoon sweets, chewing gum and MasticDent toothpaste; recent studies have shown that it aids digestion, tightens the gums, heals wounds, absorbs cholesterol, and cures stomach ulcers.