At Delicatessen you will discover a great variety of local and imported cheeses and cold cuts that can satisfy the most demanding consumer. A feast of tastes inviting you to its delightful offerings, all within an extremely clean and very strictly cared for space, with friendly service always at hand.
Besides the Cyprus cheeses and cold cuts the Delicatessen department offers a wide range of Greek and French cheeses. At the same time, for the lovers of cold cuts it offers cold cuts from Italy, Hungary and Spain. At ALPHAMEGA we import and offer exclusively to our customers the most well-known brands of cheeses and cold cuts, such as ELPOZO, FIORUCCI, CITTERIO, BONGRAIN, PICK and many others.

We cite below some important items of information that you should know about cold cuts and cheeses.

Cold cuts are part of our daily nourishment since they form a main part of many of our meals that we consume as sandwiches or omelets and salads … It is, therefore, advisable to know some basic facts about their production and consumption.

Cold cuts are foods that derive from various kinds of meat, such as turkey, pork, beef, chicken and veal. This kind of meat offers indispensable ingredients for our diet such as proteins that are necessary for the normal functioning of our immune system, of our muscular system etc. Such meat also provides to our organism vitamins of the B complex, such as B12 (which is indispensable for the functioning of the nervous system), whilst calorie-wise a slice of ham does not exceed 15 calories on average, always according to the kind of cold cut.

This fact answers also one of our biggest worries, which is the quantity of fat in cold cuts. It is a fact  that cold cuts do not contain much fat, especially of the saturated variety, and for this reason most dietitians include in the daily programme of their clients the consumption of some specific cold cut (e.g. sandwiches) and of course this happens because of their nourishing contents that we have mentioned. We ought to exclude certain cold cuts where the pieces of meat used for their production contain by their nature more fat, such as bacon etc. But besides chicken and turkey, which are by their very nature without fat, even bacon that comes from pork is made in such a way that a large part of its fat is removed.

Of course, fat is not the only factor that should be taken into account in our diet. A very important role is played by the quantity of salt that we consume every day. Its consumption should be reduced and controlled since over-consumption of salt causes a slowing down of the circulation of the blood and it also causes a kind of hyperaemia of the tissues and as a result it causes cellullitis, obesity etc. Furthermore, persons having kidney problems who consume a lot of salt may suffer from swellings of the feet, the hands and even the face. Finally, the excessive consumption of salt is considered to be one of the fundamental risk factors for hypertension.

This fact should not scare you as the manufacturers of cold cuts themselves have found the solution by making cold cuts containing less salt and by informing customers through specifying in a comprehensible way the composition and contents of salt and other ingredients, on the basis of new instructions by the European Union.

Therefore, what is needed are correct choices, information and preference for products bearing labels on the basis of new data in such a way that anyone who consumes cold cuts may know what they should know about their  concerns.

Wine and Cheese Pairing

When setting up a tasty wine and cheese pairing, the only thing you have to know is: If it tastes good, do it!
Even though it comes down to personal taste, certain guidelines have been proven favorable by a majority of enthusiasts. Here are some of those basic truths:

• White wines match best with soft cheeses and stronger flavors.
• Red wines match best with hard cheeses and milder flavors.
• Fruity and sweet white wines (not dry) and dessert wines work best with a wider range of cheeses.
• The more pungent the cheese you choose, the sweeter the wine should be.

When offering several cheese choices in a wine and cheese pairing spread, white wines fair better than reds. That’s because several cheeses, particularly soft and creamy ones, leave a layer of fat on the palate that interferes with the flavor in reds, rendering them monotonous and bland.

Quite the opposite, most of those sweeter whites nicely complement a full range of cheeses. Additionally, the “sparkle” in a sparkling wine or champagne can help break through the fat in heavier cheeses. Therefore, the spicy zing of a Gewürztraminer or the peachy zip of a Riesling is ideal if you’re going for wide-reaching appeal.

If you’re a cheese adventurist, meaning you go for the stinkiest of cheeses, pick a big wine to back it up.

Tip! For a safer bet when serving several wines, choose Parmigiano  cheeses. They go with most wines.

A Few Common Wine and Cheese Pairings

White Wines	Recommended Cheeses
Champagne or sparkling	Brie, Camembert
Chardonnay	Mild Cheddar, Gruyere, Provolone
Gewurztraminer	Swiss, most German cheeses
Riesling	Gouda
Sauternes	Roquefort, Blue
Sauvignon Blanc	Goat Cheese

Red Wines	Recommended Cheeses
Cabernet Sauvignon	Camembert, Sharp Cheddar, Blue
Port	Stilton, Gorgonzola
Shiraz	Sharp Cheddar

A Wine and Cheese Pairing Party to Remember!

Here are a few tips for setting up a memorable and fun wine and cheese pairing party for your friends:

• Purchase your cheeses in large wedges for an ideal presentation.
• Cheeses should be served at room temperature. Pull them out of the fridge a couple hours before your party.
• Serve most wines fairly cool — whites between 50-55 degrees and reds between 60-65 degrees.
• Let your reds breathe 15-20 minutes after you open them.
• Make handwritten name cards for all your cheeses and use a pretty upside-down fork display the card upright in the cheese.
• Display cheese on a pretty china platter, a wood cheese board, or even a slab of marble.

Ultimately, the perfect wine and cheese pairing is not a match made in heaven. It is a match made on the palates of individuals of all tastes.

Information as to how to keep cheeses fresh

Cheeses should be taken out of their packages when you buy them because refrigeration does not pass through the wrappings and there is the danger of faster alterations than one expects and they may acquire too much taste and smell. If you want to wrap them in something whilst they are in the refrigerator you may use a foil. Otherwise, you should keep them in glass containers on the refrigerator shelves closest to the freezer. What you ought to know is that white cheeses are more sensitive and they need lower temperatures, whilst creamy cheeses should be kept closed in airtight containers.

Another thing is that you should never mix different kinds of cheeses in the same container. The reason being that if, for example, you put Roquefort together with Gouda cheese it is possible that the Gouda will soon acquire the mould of Roquefort. You should also not keep together soft cheeses (e.g. feta) that have high acidity with hard cheeses (e.g., kefalograviera) as the most probable outcome will be that they will go bad or their taste will change sooner than you expect. Cheeses that have an external rind or crust (e.g. Gouda, graviera etc.) should not be pared as long as we keep them in the refrigerator but only when we are about to consume them if the crust cannot be eaten with the rest of the cheese (e.g. parmesan). It is also not recommended that you take cheeses that are sold in special packages (e.g. mozzarella) out of them except when you intend to consume them.

Finally, you may keep white cheeses in milk so as to extend their life. In any case, you should never consume these cheeses if they smell or turn yellow.

What you should know about canapés

At the beginning of a meal, there is the habit of offering various appetizers, either warm or cold, that form the introduction to the meal. As their aim is to increase the appetite and not to spoil it, they should be small and not too many. Their French name, which is widely used in international cooking, is ‘hors de oeuvres’.

As the appetizers are spicy and contain a little more salt and spices than usual they contribute to the secretion of gastric fluid and thus they excite the appetite and it is for this reason that they are served before a meal.

Canapés are small in size so as to be eaten easily in one mouthful and they are garnished in various ways in order to have a nice appearance and taste.

The bread used for canapés should be one day old and we should be able to cut it easily and remove the crust uniformly.

The slices of bread are shaped as squares, circles or triangles and they are always spread with some butter or cream cheese. For better taste, add a little milk and salt and mustard powder (optional). The little slices should be spread with butter carefully without running over the sides which would spoil their fine appearance.

The little slices are covered with various concoctions (delicatessen, cheeses, roasted meat, sea food, eggs etc.), singly or in combinations.

The art of the canapés is the good combination of ingredients in such a way as to present a pleasant display besides their nice taste. The ingredients usually found in our house can be used for this purpose.

Canapés are placed on a serving plate garnished with olives, radishes and bundles of  parsley.

Double sandwiches must be wrapped in oil-paper in order to keep them fresh.