Chef Dimitra
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Chamomili from Greek Macedonia (Χαμομήλι Μακεδονίας)
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Chamomili from Greek Macedonia is a cup of dried spring flowers, steeped covered until pale gold and apple-sweet. The rule is plain: hot water, patient steeping, no boiling.
Beverages
Greek
Comfort Food
2 min
Active Time
8 min cook•10 min total
Yield2 small cups
Chamomili from Greek Macedonia is the northern cupboard's gentlest drink: dried chamomile flower heads, pale gold in the cup, with that small apple scent the old name promised. It belongs to the kitchen shelf more than to the tea shop, beside mountain tea and dried mint, for evenings when the house needs quiet.
The method is the dish. Pour water just off the boil over the flowers, cover the cup, and leave them eight minutes. Boil the blossoms and you chase away the apple scent, then pull a sour, grassy edge into the water. Covered steeping keeps the aroma where it belongs, in the cup.
I sweeten it only if the flowers are a little tired, and then with a spoon of thyme honey. My mother Sofia kept hers in a plain jar in Thessaloniki, not as medicine dressed up as cooking, just the Greek answer to a long day: a few good flowers, hot water, patience.
Chamomili takes its name from the ancient Greek chamaimelon, ground apple, a plant name recorded by Dioscorides in the first century CE in De Materia Medica. In northern Greece and Thessaly, households traditionally dried spring chamomile heads in shade and kept them in cupboards beside mountain tea and mint for winter cups. The practice belongs to the same plain domestic shelf as nistisima cooking: inexpensive, plant-based, and tied to the calendar rather than to luxury.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried Greek chamomile flowers (chamomili)
Quantity
6g
whole flower heads
freshly boiled water
Quantity
500ml
rested 1 minute
Greek thyme honey (optional)
Quantity
1 to 2 teaspoons
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried Greek chamomile flowers (chamomili)whole flower heads | 6g |
| freshly boiled waterrested 1 minute | 500ml |
| Greek thyme honey (optional) | 1 to 2 teaspoons |
Equipment Needed
- •small lidded teapot or heatproof jug, 600ml
- •fine mesh tea strainer
Instructions
- 1
Choose the flowers
Put the dried chamomile in a small lidded teapot or heatproof jug. The flowers should be mostly whole, with yellow centers and pale dried petals, and they should smell clean and faintly of apple. If they smell dusty or like old hay, no honey will rescue the cup.
Tea-bag powder makes a flat cup. Whole dried flower heads are the small thing that matters here. - 2
Heat the water
Bring the water to a full boil, then take it off the heat and let it stand for 1 minute. Pour the hot water over the flowers. You want water hot enough to draw the flavor quickly, but the flowers never go into a boiling pot.
- 3
Steep covered
Cover the pot or cup with its lid or a saucer and steep for 8 minutes. This is the rule that decides chamomili: covered steeping keeps the scent in the cup, while boiling the blossoms pulls a sour, grassy taste. Leave it alone while it colors pale gold.
For a stronger cup, use more flowers, not more time. Past 10 minutes, the edge turns rough. - 4
Strain and serve
Strain into two small cups without pressing hard on the flowers. Drink it plain first. If the flowers are mild or the evening wants sweetness, stir in a little Greek thyme honey.
Chef Tips
- •Buy whole dried flower heads, not dust. Good chamomili smells faintly of apple when you rub a flower between your fingers. If it smells like straw, make mountain tea instead.
- •Don't stretch the steep to make it stronger. Add another 2g flowers per 500ml water if you want more body. Bitterness is not strength, it's impatience showing.
- •Chamomili is naturally nistisimo, fit for the fasting table. Serve it after a plain bean supper or with a spoon sweet when you want something gentle without making a production of it.
Advance Preparation
- •If gathering your own, pick only plants you can identify with certainty, away from roads and sprayed fields; dry the heads in shade for 2 to 3 days until brittle.
- •Keep dried chamomile in airtight glass in a dark cupboard up to 1 year; after that it loses the apple scent.
- •Brewed chamomili is best fresh, but it can be chilled up to 24 hours and served cold without reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 250g)
Calories
30 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
5 mg
Total Carbohydrates
9 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
0 g
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