Ouzo it is generally considered poor form to drink ouzo "dry hammer" ("ξεροσφύρι", "xerosfýri", an idiomatic expression that means "drinking alcohol without eating anything") in Greece. The presence of food, especially fats or oils, in the upper digestive system prolongs the absorption of ethanol and ameliorates alcohol intoxication. Ouzo is not used in many mainstream cocktail drinks, although in Cyprus it does form the basis of a cocktail called an Ouzini. Ouzo is a clear liquid. However, when water or ice is added, ouzo turns a milky-white colour. This is because anethole, the essential oil of anise, is completely soluble in
Ouzo as the Greek drinks "tsipouro" and "tsikoudia", as products with a Protected Designation of Origin, which prohibits European makers other than Greece and Cyprus from using the name. There is an ouzo museum in Plomari, Lesvos. The origin of the name "ouzo" is disputed. A popular derivation is from the Italian "uso Massalia"—"for use in Marseille"—stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century. According to anecdote, this designation came to stand for "superior quality", which the spirit distilled as ouzo was thought to possess. During a visit to Thessaly in 1896, the late professor Alexander Philadelpheus