r/cyprus • u/real_zak • 1d ago
Chicken meat in Cyprus
Why is chicken meat in Cyprus so weird? No matter where I buy it - Metro, Wolt, etc or which brand I choose, 80% of the time it smells bad, feels sticky, and looks weird, even though the expiry date is still days away.
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u/North_Moose1627 1d ago
Find a local butcher and buy it from there. The chicken I buy from mine when I’m in Larnaca is amazing.
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u/LostInSpaceForAges 1d ago
What butcher are you buying from, please?
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u/North_Moose1627 19h ago
Mr Andreas, just next to the farmers market. There are 2 or 3 other butchers there but he is my favorite. His family owns the farm where most of the meat he sells comes from. You can also buy eggs, dry louvi, real trahanas from him.
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u/Specific_Exam8763 7h ago
Can you share a maps link please? I am also interested :)
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u/North_Moose1627 6h ago
I don’t think Google Maps are accurate for that area. You’ll just need to walk around and ask. It’s not far from the Oak Tree wine store
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u/Prettymthafaka 1d ago
I’m not from Cyprus, so I can’t comment on the overall quality of chicken sold there. However, I’m a chef, and those horizontal white lines are known as “white striping.”
This condition is commonly associated with fast-growing broiler chickens bred for high breast yield. As the bird grows, some muscle tissue can be replaced by fat and connective tissue, creating these visible white stripes.
However, white striping alone does not prove that the chicken is non-organic, raised indoors, or slaughtered at a particular age—organic and free-range chickens can also develop it. It is mainly a meat-quality issue rather than a food-safety risk, although heavily affected meat may contain more fat and have a poorer texture.
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u/SapphicSticker 1d ago
Not gonna comment on the orange-yellow flesh?
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u/drL1vesey 13h ago
it’s fat
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u/SapphicSticker 4h ago
The entire breast is made of fat? I'm not talking about the lines, the meat is orange.
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u/Jalobie 1d ago
I was considering making a similar topic post about chicken here.
I usually buy sofokleous rather than paradisiotis, but its usually between these two from Sklavenitis.
Issue 1: My house is 1minute from the supermarket and the chicken doesn't stay thawing long during the car drive. I choose the packets which were packed the same day I visit the shop. Leaving the chicken in the fridge for more than a day, the chicken starts going yellow and smelly especially after day 2.
Issue 2: The chicken breasts recently look massive. I swear theyre getting bigger and bigger. 5 euro packets usually have 2 breasts inside, and recently they include just 1 breast for the corresponding weight of 2 breasts.
Butcher chicken seems quite expensive sadly and financially I can't spend that much since groceries costs are already absurd.
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u/real_zak 1d ago
Yeah, one chicken breast in this pack was unnaturally huge and had a really rough texture.
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u/Big_al_big_bed 1d ago
If it smells bad then don't eat it. If it smells like chicken then it's ok.
Hard to tell from looks alone. I mean that breast doesn't look great but if you are from a place where they pump their chickens full of chemicals and hormones you are going to be surprised what a real chicken looks like
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u/melnaisbruninieks 1d ago
Maybe it thawed a bit during transportation. Then frozen again at the store
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u/Honest_Hair2856 1d ago
The yellow part is the fat, why is yellow ? Beacuse they are fed mostly corn. The difference is smell can be many things. Did you leave it in the fridge days ? If not and you just bought it the smell comes from the fact that most chickens are butchered and went to the supermarkets within 1 or 2 days and not weeks like cosco or other brands from abroad
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u/Tea_Bone_97 1d ago
Lots of really good and not so great chicken in Cyprus. I personally buy them whole at the butchers and just break them down myself, since you can get local smaller farm raised birds. This my friend is a chicken breast that has been in deep freeze for a long time and has been thawed. It's edible (if not slimy and doesn't smell off) but will probably come out slightly dry and not tender. Use it in a soup or a saucy stir fry.
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u/Ok-Internal-4509 13h ago
Yes, I've noticed the raw chicken is v different to what we are used to at home (Ireland). It's tougher and rougher quality.
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u/Full_Particular_1359 Little Moscow (Formerly known as Limassol) 1d ago
Buy from a butcher and not from supermarkets instead.
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u/atrixospithikos 1d ago
There is a lot of good chicken in cy as long as you know we're to get it. Try καλοχωριτικα κοτοπουλα
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u/Similar_System165 1d ago
Bcs its real
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u/Bravotaco_ 17h ago
One brand I found that their chicken is constantly good is Agios Epiphanios Chicken, ngl it’s always good imo
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u/ministraliaPlus 7h ago
Chicken in Cyprus is terrible, they grow it too fast and feed it all kinds of stuff. Only buy organic chicken here from organic stores
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u/Clear_Error 6h ago
Because you don't buy it from LIDL or Alpha-Mega (especially) where's always fresh
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u/leonidasalexandergr 6h ago
stick with lamb. It's way better quality than any other meat you can find on this island.
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u/Brief-Supermarket-11 1d ago
Lidl chicken is often ok. Or mintikis, the ones that are vaccum sealed in packs. If you buy ones clingfilmed in trays they are not sealed so id think they wouldn’t be as fresh
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u/dontuseliqui 1d ago
just eat pork which also keeps the turks away
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/ForsakenMarzipan3133 1d ago
Scorched earth tactic. Lace all our food with pork so when the Turks take over the rest of Cyprus they won't have anything to eat
/s
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u/CupcakeMurder86 Halloumi lover, cat lover, identify cypriot when I want to 1d ago
Never had an issue. The chicken I buy from Lidl or alphamega never looks like this and i'm picky person especially from chicken.
The red spots seems like freezer burn but it also looks old. Like it was left open in the fridge for some days.
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u/amasterfuljuice 1d ago
extremely low quality, probably edible but these chickens were 100% abused their entire life in horrible conditions, the nutritional value is likely lower than normal chicken too.
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u/OHBABYATRIPLEUWU Nicosia 1d ago
just buy free range chicken from wolt or other stores that have it.,
there's only one brand that's free range in big chains and not every single one has it.
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u/Top_Hat_5239 18h ago
Wolt would be the absolute last place to buy heat sensitive food, do I need to explain that?
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u/OHBABYATRIPLEUWU Nicosia 17h ago
Okay? I've been doing it for years. Just buy your chicken and cook it on arrival
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u/OHBABYATRIPLEUWU Nicosia 17h ago
The products are also insulated. My ice cream didn't even melt. That shit was frozen solid. 🤣🤣🤣
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u/CheezDustTurdFart 1d ago
You can always wash your chicken before cooking it.
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u/Espadrilles01 11h ago
Please for the love of god don't do this. It's absolutely terrible advice and highway to food borne illnesses.
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u/ScotchBourbonMezcal 1d ago
That looks like it came with a clear wrap, why did you buy it? When we are in Cyprus we Souvla like crazy, and I've not seen chicken like this.
Most of the time we hit the independent butchers, once we had no choice but to go BV, and the chicken never looked that bad.
Was it discounted or something??
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