Chios Mastiha Mastic Tears from Greece

To use mastic tears in cooking or baking, freeze them for several hours first, this keeps the resin firm and prevents it from melting or sticking as you work with it. Once chilled, grind the tears using a mortar and pestle, or pulse them in a blender in short bursts, stopping frequently so the friction heat doesn't melt the resin back together. Mastic is typically ground with a small amount of sugar or salt, which helps keep the particles separated and makes it easier to fold evenly into a recipe.

Once ground, use mastic sparingly, its flavor is concentrated and can easily overpower a dish if you use too much. A pinch (roughly 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) is usually enough for a batch of dough, custard, or ice cream base. It's traditionally worked into tsoureki (Greek Easter bread), mastic ice cream, and Turkish delight, and also appears in Egyptian chicken dishes paired with cinnamon or cardamom.

To use mastic tears as a natural chewing gum, start with just one or two whole tears. They'll be hard at first, so let them sit in your mouth for a minute to soften before chewing. As you chew, mastiha will initially feel brittle and may crumble a bit, this is normal. Keep chewing patiently, and the pieces will gradually soften and come together into a cohesive, chewable gum, similar to how flavorless gum base behaves before it's fully worked. Once softened, it can be chewed for an extended period, much like conventional chewing gum, and offers a naturally piney, slightly bitter flavor that mellows the longer you chew.

Our Chios Mastiha is backed by internal quality records maintained as part of our sourcing process, confirming genuine species identity as authentic Pistacia lentiscus. Potency testing shows masticadienonic and isomasticadienonic acid content above 12%, the compounds responsible for mastiha's signature resinous character.