Ingredients
Ferment
- 500 gcoarse cracked wheat (chondros)
- 2 litresgoat’s or sheep’s milk
- 1 tspsalt
To serve
- olive oil
- tomato and onion, for the stew version
- crumbled mizithra or feta
Directions
- Leave the milk at warm room temperature for a day or two until it sours and thickens on its own. In a Cretan summer this happens quickly; the souring is the whole preservation and sweet milk will not work.
- Bring the soured milk to a gentle simmer in a heavy pan — it will curdle and separate, which is expected and correct.
- Stir in the cracked wheat and the salt and cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often, until the wheat has swelled and absorbed nearly all the liquid and the mixture is very thick.
- Take it off the heat, cover with a cloth, and leave it at room temperature for five to seven days, stirring once a day. It will sour sharply and smell strongly — that acidity is what makes it keep for a year.
- Spread the soured mass in a thin layer on trays or a clean cloth and dry it in strong sun for two to three days, breaking it into lumps as it hardens and turning it. Bring it in at night.
- It is ready when it is completely hard and rattles. Anything still soft will mould in storage, so err on the side of longer.
- Store the dried lumps in a cloth bag or a jar somewhere dry. Crush before use.
- To cook, simmer a handful in water or stock for 20 minutes into a porridge, or into a tomato and onion stew, finished with olive oil and crumbled cheese.
Technique
- Sour the milk first and let the cooked mass sour again. Both stages matter — the first makes the flavour, the second makes it keep.
- Dry it until it is genuinely hard. This is the step that decides whether the year’s batch survives.
- The smell during the souring is powerful and entirely normal.
Substitutions
- Coarse bulgur in place of cracked wheat, which behaves similarly.
- Cow’s milk, though goat’s is what gives the Cretan version its character.
- A dehydrator at 50°C (122°F) where the sun will not oblige.
Variations
- The sweet version, made with unsoured milk, is a different and much milder thing.
- Cooked with snails and tomato, which is a Cretan speciality.
History
A Cretan summer preservation that turns surplus milk and wheat into a food that keeps for a year.
Frequently asked questions
What is Xinochondros?
Xinochondros is a fermented & pickled from Greece: cracked wheat soured with goat’s milk, dried and cooked into porridge or stews. A Cretan summer preservation that turns surplus milk and wheat into a food that keeps for a year.
How long does Xinochondros take to make?
Xinochondros takes 30 min plus 5 to 7 days souring and 3 days drying of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 800 g dried. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Xinochondros?
Yes, within limits. Coarse bulgur in place of cracked wheat, which behaves similarly. Cow’s milk, though goat’s is what gives the Cretan version its character. A dehydrator at 50°C (122°F) where the sun will not oblige.
What is the most important thing to get right in Xinochondros?
Leave the milk at warm room temperature for a day or two until it sours and thickens on its own. In a Cretan summer this happens quickly; the souring is the whole preservation and sweet milk will not work.
