Living on the Greek island of Astoria, one finds many strange things during shopping trips. A dried plant sap called mastic—the original chewing gum—is a flavoring beloved of the Greeks (and Turks, Lebanese, and Egyptians), and frequently used in baking. Mastic is collected from a bush related to the pistachio, whose stems are sliced to allow the sap to seep out. It hardens, but immediately softens into a gum when chewed—as it has been since ancient Greek times to freshen the breath.
The taste may be an acquired one, but the acquisition is easy—it has a delicate perfume, a leafy, plantlike combination of eucalyptus, pine, and mint. A vanilla note smoothes the edges. It is easy to imagine this aroma in a Greek or Italian red wine.
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