Every Greek wedding boasts sweet almonds koufeta. In most cities and towns nowadays, wedding guests receive sugar encrusted white Jordan almonds, gathered in packets of white tulle tied with ribbon and decorated with tiny silk flowers. The number must be odd; usually nine almonds per packet, but sometimes seven or even five. But on the Cycladic islands, in villages far from cities and lacking the sweet shops in which to purchase sugared almonds, an older version of wedding koufeta remains. Here, a day or so before the wedding, all the female relatives of the bride gather to make a taffy-like sweet of blanched almonds cooked in honey and brandy.