GREEK CUİSİNE

History
Greek cuisine is part of the culture of Greece and is recorded in images and texts from ancient times Its influence
spread to ancient Rome and then throughout Europe and beyond.
Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the "Mediterranean triad": wheat,
olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being more common.This trend in Greek diet continued in
Cyprus and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available. Wine and olive
oil have always been a central part of it and the spread of grapes and olive trees in the Mediterranean and further
afield is correlated with Greek colonization.
The Spartan diet was also marked by its frugality. A notorious staple of the Spartan diet was melas zomos (
black soup), made by boiling the pigs' legs, blood of pigs, olive oil, bay leaf, chopped onion, salt, water, and vinegar
as an emulsifier to keep the blood from coagulation during the cooking process. The army of Sparta mainly ate this
as part of their subsistence diet. This dish was noted by the Spartans' Greek contemporaries, particularly Athenians
and Corinthians, as proof of the Spartans' different way of living.
Byzantine cuisine was similar to ancient cuisine, with the addition of new ingredients, such as caviar, nutmeg and
basil. Lemons, prominent in Greek cuisine and introduced in the second century, were used medicinally before
being incorporated into the diet. Fish continued to be an integral part of the diet for coastal dwellers. Culinary
advice was influenced by the theory of humors, first put forth by the ancient Greek doctor Claudius Aelius Galenus
. Byzantine cuisine benefited from Constantinople's position as a global hub of the spice trade.
Overview
The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil, which is used in
most dishes. It is produced from the olive trees prominent throughout the region, and
adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food. The olives themselves are also widely eaten.
The basic grain in Greece is wheat, though barley is also grown. Important vegetables
include tomato, aubergine (eggplant), potato, green beans, okra, green peppers
(capsicum), and onions. Honey in Greece is mainly honey from the nectar of fruit trees
and citrus trees: lemon, orange, bigarade (bitter orange) trees, thyme honey, and pine
honey. Mastic, an aromatic, ivory-coloured plant resin, is grown on the Aegean island of
Chios. Greek cuisine uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines
do, namely oregano, mint, garlic, onion, dill, cumin, and bay laurel leaves. Other common
herbs and spices include basil, thyme and fennel seed. Parsley is also used as a garnish on
some dishes. Many Greek recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use
"sweet" spices in combination with meat, for example cinnamon, allspice and cloves in
stews.
The climate and terrain has tended to favour the breeding of goats and sheep over cattle,
and thus beef dishes are uncommon. Fish dishes are common in coastal regions and on the
islands. A great variety of cheese types are used in Greek cuisine, including Feta, Kasseri,
Kefalotyri, Graviera, Anthotyros, Manouri, Metsovone, Ladotyri (cheese with olive
oil), Kalathaki (a specialty from the island of Limnos), Katiki Domokou (creamy cheese,
suitable for spreads), Mizithra and many more.
Dining out is common in Greece. The taverna and estiatorio are widespread, serving home
cooking at affordable prices to both locals and tourists. Locals still largely eat Greek cuisine.
[34][35]

Common street foods include souvlaki, gyros, various pitas and roast corn.
Fast food became popular in the 1970s, with some chains, such as Goody's and McDonald's
serving international food like hamburgers,and others serving Greek foods such as souvlaki
, gyros, tyropita, and spanakopita.
Origins
Many dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece: lentil soup, fasolada
(though the modern version is made with white beans and tomatoes,
both New World plants), tiganites, retsina (white or rosé wine flavored
with pine resin) and pasteli (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with
honey); some to the Hellenistic and Roman periods: loukaniko (dried
pork sausage); and Byzantium: feta cheese, avgotaraho (cured fish
roe), moustalevria and paximadi (traditional hard bread baked from
wheat, barley and rye). There are also many ancient and Byzantine
dishes which are no longer consumed: porridge (chilós in Greek) as the
main staple, fish sauce (garos), and salt water mixed into wine.
• Some dishes are borrowed from Italian and adapted to Greek tastes:
pastitsio (pasticcio), pastitsada (pasticciata), stifado (stufato), salami,
macaronia, mandolato, and more.
• Some Greek dishes are inherited from Ottoman cuisine, which combined
influences from Persian, Levantine-Arabic, Turkish and Byzantine cuisines:
meze, kadaifi, halva, and loukoumi.
• In the 20th century, French cuisine had a major influence on Greek
cooking,largely due to the French-trained chef Nikolaos Tselementes, who
created the modern Greek pastitsio; he also created the modern Greek
version of moussaka by combining an existing eggplant dish with a French-
style gratin topping.
 Greek foods you need to try when in Greece
Briam (Mixed roasted vegetables)

This typical Greek summer dish could be described as the Greek ratatouille or
the Greek caponata. It’s one of the easiest Greek vegan recipes, made with
whatever is available in the farmers’ market or at one’s garden.
Although now considered a classic Greek dish, its ingredients became
members of the Greek kitchen relatively recently: Eggplants came to the
Mediterranean from Asia through Arab merchants in the early Middle Ages,
while zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes came after the discovery of
the New World.
It’s other name is turlu (Turkish for mixed), while locally you will find it in
Ikaria as “soufiko” and as “sympetherio” on Crete – meaning in Greek “in-
laws”, as many of the vegetables belong to the same family.
Most probably its name comes from the Persian word “beryan” that means
cooked (same root as the Indian dish biryani).
Needless to say, this dish is loaded with an irresistible saucy goodness to
scoop up with your bread after.
“Ladera” (cooked in extra virgin olive oil) are the perfect meal for vegans, a
staple on our Athens vegan food tour where you can enjoy local recipes
with a plant-based approach.
Keftedes
Greek meatballs are everybody’s favourite Greek traditional food, whether it’s on a
meze platter at a kids party or at a friends & family gathering at a Greek taverna.
The name comes from Persia, where “kufte” -meaning ground meat-travelled all
around the Middle East, Turkey and the Balkans. One of its forerunners in ancient
Greece was called “myma”, made with minced meat or fish combined with many
herbs and spices.
Each home has its own recipe but usually pork is mixed with beef, onions, stale bread,
eggs and parsley. Different variations call for spearmint, ouzo and even feta filling!
In Turkey and the Balkan countries it is estimated that there are more than 400
different ways of making “kefte”, two of them are the most beloved Greek dishes;
“soutzoukakia” (see below) and “youvarlakia”, a Greek meatballs soup with rice in
rich egg-lemon sauce, our absolute winter comfort food!
In Greece, keftedes are not made with meat only. In every region, there are
numerous plant-based keftedes, like Santorini’s tomatokeftedes (Greek tomato
fritters), kolokythokeftedes (zucchini fritters) and favokeftedes (made with fava –
yellow split peas).
One thing is for sure, keftedes are the perfect companion to any Greek drink,
whether its ouzo, wine, beer or tsipouro.
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Stifado
Stifado is a Greek stew dish brought to Greece by Venetians in the 13th
century. The word comes from “stufato,” which means steamed, from
“estufare”, which derives from the Greek ancient term “tyfos”, meaning
steam. Another version is that it comes from the Italian word “stufa”, a small
oven attached to the fireplace, where food is slow-cooked in a sealed
cooking vessel.
Stifado can be made with all sorts of meat, rabbit and beef being the most
common, although the most interesting variations are the ones with octopus
and our delicious vegan stifado version, with mushrooms and chestnuts.
The secret to create a melt-in-the-mouth dish is to simmer the meat with
pearl onions, tomato*, wine or vinegar, and sweet spices, like cinnamon and
clove. This way it becomes “loukoumi”, as we say – sweet and tender as our
traditional soft candy.
*Original recipes did not include tomatoes as they were not introduced to
Greece before 1818.
 Taramosalata (Greek fish roe dip)
Definitely a delightful appetiser of traditional Greek food to look
for during your visit at a Greek fish taverna. Taramosalata is a
Greek dip made from preserved fish roe (tarama) of carp, cod or
mullet. If you find yourself at a Greek specialty store, don’t be
tricked by its enticing pink colour. The original, good quality
tarama must always be white! Food colouring was a way food
stores invented in the ‘50s to attract more customers. It has
worked till now, but at least you know the real deal!
Mixed with bread or potatoes, with almonds or walnuts, every
home has its own taramosalata recipe, along with a strong
opinion on how exactly it should be made. Nowadays, in more
sophisticated restaurants, you will find it as tarama mousse
without its starch base.
Taramosalata spread on “lagana”, our traditional flatbread, is the
indisputable star of our “Clean Monday” tables. Our first day of
the Great Lent is celebrated with seafood and shellfish, after days
of excessive meat feasts during Carnival season.
Greek cuisine represents a rich cultural heritage nourished by the
diverse flavors of the Mediterranean. Enriched with olive oil, fresh
vegetables, seafood, and spices, this cuisine has developed its unique
identity under the influence of various civilizations throughout history.
Traditional recipes still hold great importance in family tables and
restaurant menus. Enjoying the taste of Greek cuisine is an invitation to
explore this rich heritage and meet its flavors. Continue to discover
Greek cuisine in your future journeys and savor the delights it has to
offer