Loukoumathes

Every June, I look forward to volunteering at the Greek Food Fair. I enjoy seeing all the people from the church, and I especially love preparing and serving the food. My family has always helped out at the loukoumathes stand. Louka-what, you ask? If you are not Greek, this word is a mouthful, literally. Loukoumathes (luke-uh-ma-thes) comes from the Turkish word lokma meaning "morsel" or "mouthful." My Yia Yia refers to them as honey balls--deep-fried dough balls soaked in a sugar syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon.

The food fair goes for 4 days, and the dough for the louks is made fresh everyday. It rises for 30 minutes to one hour before it is spooned into the hot oil.

This church is one of the few churches in the area that still spoons its louks by hand (instead of machine), a technique that I can honestly say is very difficult to master. (Any time I try, my louks end up looking like ugly blobs rather than round puffs of dough.)

The dough must be fried to a golden brown color, so that the louks are crisp on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside.

After the loukoumathes are cooked they are soaked in a sugar syrup immediately before serving.

Then they are lightly dusted with cinnamon.

Eat them while they are hot because loukoumathes just aren't the same eaten cold!

Finally, no Greek food festival would be complete without traditional music and dancing.

I urge you to find the nearest Greek food fair to you and grab an order of loukoumathes. Don't worry if you can't pronounce the word correctly...just ask for an order of honey balls...we know what you mean:-) But, watch out...these things are seriously addictive.

One final word...no forks allowed. You should definitely eat these with your fingers. They will taste that much better.