READ FOR SPEED III
THE MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE
Unlike many other ethnic cuisines, Mediterranean
cuisine is not the product of a specific ethnic group or
culture. Indeed / Rather, it is a label referring to the
culinary / cutlery trends shared by a diverse array of
peoples that live in the region around the Mediterranean
Sea.
Although Mediterranean cuisine isn’t governed by a
single culture, it is thus / nevertheless very much the
product of cultural influence and exchange. The world’s
earliest civilizations bordered the Mediterranean Sea,
their development agonized / bolstered by the rich soil
and temperate climate that made agricultural production
thrive. As the point of intersection / conspiracy between
Asia, Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean was
geographically destined to become a major trading joint
/ hub. Traders exchanged cultural commodities like
spices and other food goods, resulting in the wide
dissemination / proclamation of certain ingredients
throughout the cuisines of these disparate peoples.
Conquest was another factor in shaping Mediterranean
cuisines. Once one civilization overthrew the
government of another, they often imposed their own
cultural practices into / upon the conquered society. At
the same time, there was inevitably a certain amount of
cultural persistence during conquest, often resulting in
the superstition / amalgamation of the conquering
group’s culture with that of the conquered. As societies
blended / garnered together within the empire, culinary
practices were adapted and prolonged / conformed.
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The predominant / prerequisite characteristics of
Mediterranean cuisine are largely shaped by the climate
and geography of the region. The sunny, mild
Mediterranean climate harvests / yields an agricultural
bounty that heavily influences the vegetable-dominant
cuisines of the region.
The most universally used and prevalent ingredient /
merchandise in the cuisines of the Mediterranean is
olive oil. Olive trees are collateral / ubiquitous
throughout the region, and the distinctive oil is a major
export of many Mediterranean countries. The olive oil
works its way into a variety of dishes and is used both
as a cooking agent and a gadget / dressing.
On top of that / Otherwise, fresh vegetables, meat and
seafood are also the staple foods of the cuisine. Thus,
the Mediterranean cuisine is such / so diverse and rich
in ingredients that it cannot be confined to one or two
ingredients at all.
There is such / so much history behind the cuisine that
it would not be wrong to allege / hamper that the
Mediterranean cuisine has both shaped the world
history and has been shaped by it. For instance, the
spices and the food products of the area lured /
disseminated ancient traders and triggered trade along
the sea routes.
On the flipside of the coin, the cuisine is also a merger /
source of rivalry between nations. While Spain and Italy
have their own ubiquitous / unique cuisine such as the
Italian pastas and pizzas or the Spanish tapas, the
Turkish and the Greek compete over ownership of
certain dishes. Take for
example the world-famous
Turkish delight “baklava”. Even
though the label is derived from
/ evolved from the Turkish root “bakla = tiles”, the Greek
still lay claim to baklava. In a nutshell the cuisine is a
matter that cannot be discussed in a void.
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READ FOR SPEED III

culinary collateral

cutlery ubiquitous

agonize embellishing

bolster dressing

intersection On top of that

hub Otherwise

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proclamation hamper

superstition lure

amalgamation disseminate

blended merger

garnered source

prolong ubiquitous

conform unique

predominant derive from

prerequisite evolve from

harvest gadget

yield dressing

ingredient hollow brands

merchandise staple brands

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AKIN DİL EĞİTİM MERKEZİ
WWW.AKINDIL.COM