ΣΗΜΕΙΩΣΕΙΣ

Field notes

How to check what you are sold. Each note takes one product with a known fake, gives the test, and says plainly how far to trust it.

All notes

12 notes

FN-07

How to use saffron threads: steep, measure, store

How to use saffron threads: soak them in water, measure by the recipe, store them dry, dark and cool. Sourced from the Kozani cooperative and studies.

Test Kitchen method and storage, not a test
FN-12

Zante currants are raisins: Corinth, Zante and the Vostizza PDO

Zante currants are the dried Black Corinth grape, not garden currants. Where the name came from, and how to read a Vostizza PDO pack from Aigio.

Test Label reading, Korinthiaki Stafida Vostitsa PDO
FN-08

Mastiha: what it is, how Chios makes it, and how it is used

Mastiha is the resin of the Chios mastic tree, cut in 24 southern villages each summer. How the season runs, who handles the PDO crop and how cooks use it.

Test Register check, Masticha Chiou PDO
FN-10

Greek mountain tea: which Sideritis, and why we sell only cultivated stems

Greek mountain tea is Sideritis, 17 species in Greece. What the organic logo proves, what the EMA monograph says, and why we sell only cultivated stems.

Test Label and stem check
FN-11

Komboloi: what Greek worry beads are, and how to read a string

A komboloi is a loop of Greek worry beads handled for touch and sound, not prayer. How to use one, what the count means and how to tell horn from amber.

Test Object guide with material checks
FN-09

Aegina pistachios: the PDO, the harvest, and how to tell island stock

What the Fystiki Aeginas PDO covers, when Aegina harvests, and how to check a pack of Aegina pistachio when nuts from elsewhere carry the island name.

Test Label reading against the EU register
FN-01

The saffron water test

A glass of warm water catches crude dyed fake saffron. It cannot prove purity or origin. What the EU's 2021 check found, and what to check instead.

Test Kitchen screening test
FN-02

The amber float test, and why not mastiha

Salt water separates amber from glass and most plastics, but copal floats too. For Chios mastiha no float test works, so check the protected name instead.

Test Density screen, collectors' practice
FN-03

The Kalamata naming trap

Kalamata is a place, two EU protected names, and since 2016 a variety synonym usable anywhere. How to read a Kalamata olive oil or olive label.

Test Label reading against the EU register
FN-04

Honey and sugar syrup: what the EU found

46% of honey consignments sampled at EU borders were suspected of added syrup. Why home tests fail, and the four things a honey buyer can check instead.

Test Laboratory analysis only
FN-05

Oregano and olive leaves

Oregano was the most adulterated herb in the EU's 2021 check: 48% of samples suspect, most cut with olive leaf. Why PINAX does not sell oregano yet.

Test Visual screen, whole leaves only
FN-06

Silver without hallmarks

On Greek silver a 925 stamp is the maker's own claim. What each check proves, from a magnet to fire assay, and why our silver ships with a certificate.

Test Certificate check: assay or XRF

If we cannot prove it, we do not sell it.

Every product page carries its own origin record, with the register link and the test from these notes.

How a record is built