Cypriot tips for British heat

With beautiful summer days such as these, one can’t help the feeling that they should be away basking in the Cypriot summer sun, whilst lying on a beach drinking a frappe, but there are ways to make the summer heat more enjoyable!

The is something very different about British summers such as these, just as the UK cannot handle the extreme cold, it feels as though we are not equipped to handle this heat, with our double-glazing windows, carpeted floor upstairs and downstairs, marginally openable windows and heavily insulated buildings. We should tackle the summer like Cypriots do, and part of that is turning the traditional dietary routine on its head.

Although typically one should eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dine like a pauper, it is much harder to do with intense heat; however it is just as important for your body to consume the right number of calories. Cypriots tend to get up early before the heat of mid-morning hits, eat breakfast like a Prince, then in the midday heat have lunch like a pauper, saving the biggest meal for late at night, eating the last meal of the day like a King in the cooler evening. Personally, this system seems to work best, so if you’re struggling to carry on with your normal routine, why not give it a try!

Excited by the prospect of catching a little colour, most of us tend to rush into direct sunlight, however the sun can be very dangerous, so look for shade. Most Cypriots actually opt for a shaded area when at the beach – as they have a greater familiarity and awareness of the risk of hours of direct sun. So don’t get over-excited and turn this beautiful blessed weather into a curse, nobody wants to become ill, let alone when they could be outside enjoying the weather responsibly!

Drink plenty of water – with everything! Most places in Cyprus serve everything with water, as standard! For example, the typical Cypriot sweet, glyko, which is typically fruit, nut and sometimes vegetables that have been boiled in sugar and then also stored in the sweet sugary syrup it was made in. The procedure here is to take your fork and drill it deep into the glyko and dunk it in your glass of water, the more times you do this, the less sweet it will be as the heavier sugar sinks to the bottom of the glass. What I tend to do is ask for two glasses of water, one for the glyko-dunking and one to drink after, it is an individual’s preference at how sweet they like it.

Coffee is always served with a glass of cold water, whether it is Cypriot coffee or a frappe, a tall glass of water is served along-side. This is a great way to cool down and regulates the amount of coffee one drinks; a sip of water and a sip of coffee, followed by another sip of water tends to be the done thing.

Don’t leave hot plastic bottles in the car! And most definitely do not consumer them if you do! According to a study by the ‘The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’, when the temperature outside is between 26.6 and 37.7 degrees Celsius, the temperature of a car climbs between 54.4 to 77.7 degrees Celsius leading to the production of harmful microbes both inside and outside the bottle and once consumed, could have serious health implications, especially the longer the water has been laying idle in the car. That is why years ago I could not understand why Cypriots, given the potential shortages of water due to the long summer seasons, relatives used to pour out all the water that was left in the car, but they always used to say, “You can’t drink this, its undrinkable!” and now once what I considered to be atrocious behaviour is justified! The moral of the story is if you don’t want to waste water or any other drinks for that matter, do not leave them in the car!

Halloumi and patiha/watermelon for lunch – this is most definitely the most popular, light and refreshing and once you’re left with that splendid watermelon juice in your plate, grab a slice of fresh koulouri bread and wipe the plate clean! You’ll be left refreshed and satisfied!

Small and regular shopping trips! We have got used to the big shop over here, cramming our fridges full to the brim, so much so that we must slam them shut, but what happens is the action of continually opening and closing the fridges allows for the warmer air outside to enter, reducing the longevity of food. Although there is usually more fridges and freezers in a typical Cypriot household than you can count, the food is regularly consumed, and this is due to the social nature of the culture, multiple families dinning together, especially during summer season.

Be careful out there – do not get caught out in the sun too long without sunscreen and especially without water!

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Credit: www.cdc.gov/ / CyWineFest team

 

George Charalambous