Peloponnese Dried Fig and Walnut Bars Recipe (Sykomaida)

Sykomaida is one of the oldest, most practical Greek sweets, built entirely around preserving the fig harvest through winter, and it is particularly associated with the Mani peninsula in the Peloponnese, where fig trees have long been abundant and drying them for the colder months was simply good sense.

The whole method needs no cooking at all, since dried figs already carry a concentrated natural sweetness, and pounding them with walnuts, a scatter of sesame and a splash of raki or ouzo, then pressing the mixture firmly into bars, is genuinely all the technique required.

This is a real pantry sweet, keeping for weeks without refrigeration, and it makes good use of a fig harvest that would otherwise spoil, giving households something genuinely sweet to reach for through the winter months without any added sugar at all.

Key preparation steps

Soften dried figs briefly if very firm.
Pound or process figs with walnuts and sesame.
Add a splash of raki or ouzo.
Press firmly into bars and slice.

Choosing and softening the figs

Good quality dried figs, soft enough to pinch easily, are what this recipe wants. If they feel particularly firm or leathery, steam them briefly over simmering water, or soak in warm water for a few minutes, then pat dry before proceeding, which makes them considerably easier to pound or process.

Pounding the mixture

Traditionally pounded by hand in a mortar, though a food processor gives a faster, entirely acceptable result, blend the figs with a generous amount of chopped walnuts and toasted sesame seeds until you have a thick, coarse, sticky paste rather than a completely smooth one, since some texture is genuinely part of the appeal.

Adding raki and pressing into bars

Work in a splash of raki or ouzo, which adds real aromatic depth and helps bind the mixture further. Press the paste firmly into a lined tin, roughly one and a half centimetres thick, and chill briefly to firm up before cutting into bars.

What matters in this dish

Use genuinely good, soft dried figs

Very firm, leathery figs are hard to process properly. Steam or soak them briefly first if needed.

Keep some texture in the paste

A completely smooth puree loses the pleasant chew that is genuinely part of this sweet's appeal.

Press firmly into the tin

A well-compacted block holds together and slices far more cleanly than a loosely pressed one.

Questions people ask about Sykomaida

Why is sykomaida associated with the Mani peninsula?

Fig trees have long been abundant across the Mani region of the Peloponnese, and drying the fig harvest to preserve it through winter was a practical, longstanding tradition there, with sykomaida being the sweet that came from putting those dried figs to use.