I Recently Saw Mastic In A Continental Supermarket. What Is It For?

The fruits can be used as a flavouring but it is most likely that you saw the gum. Mastic is often used in bread on Aegean islands and Cyprus. It is believed to increase the shelf life of the bread. It may often be used by Greek housewives in confectionery and bread making.
It has been used in Greece for its medicinal properties too. Hippocrates thought it particularly effective in gynaecological disorders like cervical ulcers. Dioscurides rated its astringent qualities and believed it was effective in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. The resin particularly was considered a cure for stomach complaints. Some physicians today who have looked at mastic are not totally disregarding it.
An oil made from the Lentisk or Mastic tree fruits has been a traditional remedy for skin complaints when applied externally. The resin has also been used as a cure for stomach ulcers. In nature it is a aromatic shrub, one to seven metres high. The fruits are small turning black when ripe.