Patrina loukoumia

Patrina loukoumia or Loukoumia Patron (in Greek "Λουκουμια Πατρών")

Loukoumi (plural: loukoumia) derives from the Turkish word Loukoum, an oriental sugar-based confectionery, known in Western Europe as Turkish Delight.

Patra, the third largest city and second largest port of Greece, is the most famous Greek city for producing loukoumia. The art of making it dates from the times of the Ottoman occupation of Greece which ended in 1821.

The area was under occupation by the Ottomans only a quarter of the time the rest of Greece was. During the time that it was occupied by the Venetians, it developed commerce, industry and arts. The "loukoumi" tradition started and was kept on for centuries.

At the beginning of the 1900s, there was one major producer, the "Aggelopouloi Bros" company. The company was a major producer in the country. Until well after WWII, it enjoyed its nationwide reputation. The company existed until the early 1990s, when the last of the remaining men of the family had to close the business because of old age. With no successors, a century-long tradition came to an end.

In 1916, a young man, Vassilios Manoussos (1900-1985) moved to Patras from a nearby village after a natural disaster that destroyed all the family property. He gained employment in "Aggelopouloi Bros" and learned the craft of loukoumi making. He then started his home based production in 1925 and was selling the products himself in the streets, or visiting confectionery shops, door to door. The family venture grew up, but the WWII came to bring destruction and poverty to Patra. After the Germans lost the world and Greece was a free country again, Vassilis Manoussos started working again on his business. He started making chalks , much in need for new schools, but soon moved back to making loukoumia. The family later moved to a small warehouse and then to a bigger one in Pantanassis Stret, in the centre of Patra. In the 1950s a further expansion was needed and the plans were laid for a new plant in the area of Agyia (which at the time was outside the city limits). The new factory allowed the expansion of production and the service of more geographical territories. The company was named V. Manoussos & Sons(Β. Μανούσος & Υιοί). and later, the company got the distinctive title (trademark) "Achaiki"" (Αχαϊκή). The word Achaiki literally means "of Achaia", the name of the prefecture (county). [http://local.google.co.uk/local?f=q&hl=en&q=greece&ie=UTF8&ll=38.266548,21.756433&spn=0.002064,0.005364&t=h&om=1 The factory can be seen in the centre of this satellite photo, courtesy of Local Gooogle]

Vassilis Manoussos was the first one to market and sell "boukies loukoumia", (nugget delights. Boukies were initially made from the small irregular cuttings when the loukoumi was cut and packed. These cuttings were usually melted again in the next loukoumi batch. Sometimes in the old times, shop owners would give a few of them to poor street kids. But Vassilis Manoussos saw the potential and started cutting them intentionally, and this is how boukies were made. Now, boukies amount for more than 30% of all loukoumi sales. Tourism and advertising made the Boukies of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syros Syros] (an Aegean Greek island) a famous trademark of that island.

The traditional Patrina Loukoumia come in three colours and flavours: Red with rose flavour, white with mastic flavour, and green with bergamot flavour.

"Achaiki" became synonymous with high quality loukoumia, and more products were added in the company's production list: Koufeta (sugared almonds), vanilla sweet, gum candies, and other sugared products (like 100s and 1000s candies). The company was developed further by the one of the sons, Kostas Manoussos (Κωσταντίνος Μανούσος, 1929-1997). He was effectively running the company until his death (22/12/1997). The company had always been employing local people, the employee turnover was minimal, and people who started working with Achaiki, also retired from the same company, decades later. However, the company's loyalty to its employees came at a cost. By keeping all the staff for sentimental reasons, the company's profits went down and in 2000 the company had to terminate its operations, and with it a story of 75 years of tradition.

Today, there are 2-3 smaller local producers of Patrina Loukoumia, the founders of all passed through "Achaiki" or "Aggelopoulos Bros" before that.