Like almost everywhere in Greece, a number of spoon sweets are also made on Kos Island, using all types of fruits, like pears, grapes, figs, even aubergines. But the tomato spoon sweet is undoubtedly Kos' trademark when it comes to traditional products! Using a native variety of tomatoes called "vergaki" or "lainati", blended with sugar, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, almonds and lemon juice, locals produce what we call "ntomataki" - in other words, sweetened and syrupy tomatoes. Tomatoes in a spoon sweet should be firm and surrounded by a syrup, creating a sort of a syrupy preserve.
There was a time when the production of tomatoes was thriving on the island. Not so long ago, in 1960, tomatoes were the dominant agricultural product and the island's main export commodity. The local variety of thin and small tomatoes, elsewise called "vergaki" or "lainati", was popularly used for canning and producing tomato paste because of its thin shape and firm nature. With its thick flesh and little juice, vergaki was ideal for both tomato paste and spoon sweets.
Needless to say "ntomataki" is a must try for any visitor wishing to dive into the culinary world of Kos' earthly delights. This utterly traditional product is easily acquired and widely on offer in bakeries, grocery stores, organic shops and the local market in general.
There was a time, the island had as many as eight tomato factories! The abundance of tomato production brought the inhabitants of fertile Kos great wealth from land cultivation, i.e. the primary sector. It is a fact that most locals during the period 1965-1975, occupied themselves with the tomato industry. Legendary AVIKO was the largest industrial complex ever to operate on the island. A massive tomato pulp factory, with a capacity of 400 tons of tomato processing per day! The production was so large that AVIKO rented private trucks to transport up to 1.200 - 1.500 crates per day. More than 10,000 hectares of tomatoes were cultivated and 50% of the Greek tomato pulp was produced in Kos, while exports to Europe, Africa and Asia were constantly increasing.
