Greek cuisine is part of the culture of Greece and is recorded in images and texts from ancient times.[30][31][32] Its influence spread to ancient Rome and then throughout Europe and beyond.[33]
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.[6] This trend in Greek diet continued in Cyprus and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available.[34] 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.[35][36]
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.[37] Byzantine cuisine benefited from Constantinople's position as a global hub of the spice trade.[38]
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.
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.[46]
Dining out is common in Greece. The taverna and estiatorio are widespread, serving home cooking at affordable prices to both locals and tourists.[47][48][49][50] Locals still largely eat Greek cuisine.[51][52][53]
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 (baked sesame-honey bar); 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).[56] 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.[57][58][59]
In the 20th century, French cuisine had a major influence on Greek cooking,[61][62][63] 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 chef Zisis Kerameas[64][65] has recognized for his contribution to Greek cuisine and as culinary arts teacher (1970–2000) at public vocational tourism professions schools.
Cuisine of the Aegean islands (including Kykladítiki from Kyklades, Rhodítiki from Rhodes and other Dodecanese islands, and the Cuisine of Lesbos island).
Cuisine of Argolis, Cuisine of Patras, Arcadian and Maniot cuisines, parts of the Cuisine of Peloponnesean.
Mikrasiatikí, from the Greeks of Asia Minor descent, including Polítiki (from Constantinople), from the tradition of the Greeks from Constantinople, a cuisine with significant Anatolian/Ottoman influence.[77][78][79]
Typical home-cooked meals include seasonal vegetables stewed with olive oil,[80] herbs, and tomato sauce known as lathera. Vegetables used in these dishes include green beans, peas, okra, cauliflower, spinach, leeks and others.[9][81][82]
Many food items are wrapped in filo pastry, either in bite-size triangles or in large sheets: kotopita (chicken pie), spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie), hortopita (greens pie), kreatopita (meat pie, using minced meat), kolokythopita (zucchini pie), and others. They have countless variations of pitas (savory pies).
Apart from the Greek dishes that can be found all over Greece, there are also many regional dishes.[83][84]
North-Western and Central Greece (Epirus, Thessaly and Roumeli/Central Greece) have a strong tradition of filo-based dishes, such as some special regional pitas.
Greek cuisine uses seeds and nuts in everything from pastry to main dishes.[85]
Staka me ayga (staka with eggs),[155][156] a Cretan dish consisting of poached or fried eggs and local staka (a type of buttery cream mixed with flour).
Marides tiganites,[161][162] small-sized whitebait fish (spicara smaris) that are lightly dusted with flour, then fried.
Skordopsomo,[163] garlic bread made with a combination of sliced bread, olive oil, garlic, salt,[164] pepper, oregano, and basil.
Garides saganaki,[165][166][167] sautéed shrimps that are deglazed with the ouzo, then doused in tomato sauce, and topped with crumbled feta.
Dakos,[168][169][170] a traditional Cretan food features a slice of soaked dried bread or barley rusk (paximadi) topped with chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta or mizithra cheese, dried oregano and a few splashes of olive oil. Dakos is also deemed as a salad.
Sikotakia (livers),[171] fried lamb or chicken small liver slices with olive oil and oregano. Also it serves as main dish known as "Tigania" which refers to the shallow pan in which the meal (pork or chicken or lamp) is cooked.
Loukaniko (sausage),[172][173] Greek traditional sausage made from pork or lamb and typically flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and various other dried herbs and seeds, and sometimes smoked over aromatic woods. They are also often flavored with greens, especially leeks.
Hortopita (greens pie),[180][181] pie filled with a variety of wild or cultivated greens.
Pitarakia,[182][183] mini half-moon-shaped mizithra cheese pies from the island of Milos.
Kolokithopita (pumpkin pie),[184][185] pumpkin and feta pie filling which is placed between two layers of phyllo pastry.
Tiropita (cheese pie),[186][187] pie with Greek feta cheese, also well-known is Tiropitakia[188] which are mini cheese pies made with phyllo triangles stuffed with Greek feta cheese, and Tiropitakia Kourou[189] which has Kourou dough.
Pikantiki (also known as politiki), made with white cabbage and purple cabbage finely chopped, pickled Florina peppers, carrot, celery, parsley, finely chopped garlic, lemon juice, white vinegar, olive oil, salt.
Lahanosalata,[207][208][209]cabbage salad, thinly chopped cabbage with salt, olive oil and lemon or vinegar juice.
Kaparosalata,[210][211]caper salad with the well-known the caper salad of the islands of Sifnos and Syros.
Kakavia,[262][263] soup made from fishes, onions, potatoes, olive oil, and vegetables.
Kokkinisto kritharaki,[264][265] also known as manestra soup, made from orzo (kritharaki, also known as manestra), onion, tomato sauce, olive oil.
Magiritsa,[266][267][268] thick soup made with lamb offal (intestines, heart, and liver), dill, avgolemono sauce (egg and lemon beaten together), onion and rice, associated with the tradition where following the Resurrection on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday people eat magiritsa soup.
Patsas,[270][271]tripe soup made from lamb, sheep, or pork tripe as key ingredients, most use animal's head or feet and enrich the broth with garlic, onions, lemon juice, and vinegar.
Revithosoupa,[272]chickpea soup, also known as Revithada.
Fasolakia,[284][285][286] green beans that are simmered in olive oil with other vegetable ingredients, belongs to ladera which literally translating to "oily", vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil.[287]
Arakas (pea),[288] belongs to ladera dishes, with the well-known dish "Arakas me Agkinares".[289]
Briam,[292][293] also known as Tourlou, belongs to ladera dishes, typically made from eggplants, zucchini, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, parsley.
Gemista (or Yemista),[294][295][296][297][298] "filled with" in Greek, baked stuffed bell peppers and tomatoes with rice or ground beef or both, onions, mint, parsley, olive oil.
Lahanodolmades,[299][300] baked stuffed light green cabbage rolls with rice or ground beef or both, onions, mint, parsley, avgolemono sauce.
Lahanorizo,[301] rice and cabbage, onions, fresh herbs, and the optional addition of tomato sauce.
Prasorizo (leek and rice),[302] made from rice, chopped sweet leeks, olive oil, garlic, dill.
Apaki,[305] cured pork meat. Left to marinate for two or three days in vinegar, the meat is then smoked with aromatic herbs and various spices. Apaki can be cooked on its own or added to other dishes.
Stifado (stew),[306][307] casserole cooked with baby onions, tomatoes, wine or vinegar, olive oil, bay leaf, black pepper, meat such as pork, goat, rabbit, wild hare, beef, snails, tripe, octopus.
Potatoes Yachni,[308][309][310] potatoes stew, potatoes simmered in a tomato sauce with onions, garlic, herbs and spices.
Garidomakaronada (shrimps with spaghetti),[318][319]
Melitzanes Papoutsakia,[320][321][322] baked eggplants stuffed with ground beef and topping it with a smooth béchamel sauce. The dish is called papoutsakia (little shoes) because its shape resembles little shoes.
Kolokithakia gemista (stuffed zucchini), zucchini stuffed with rice and sometimes meat and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven.
Spetsofai,[323][324] made with spicy country sausages, sweet peppers, onion, garlic, olive oil, in a rich tomato sauce.
Giouvetsi,[325] pieces of lamb (or beef) and small noodles such as orzo, all cooked together in a tomato sauce with garlic and oregano.
Kleftiko,[345][346] slow-roasted leg of lamb or lamb shoulder wrapped in parchment paper with potatoes, bell peppers, onions, feta cheese, marinated with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, fresh rosemary and herbs.
Keftedakia,[347][348][349] meat fritters, fried meatballs from lean ground beef with eggs, onions, garlic, parsley, mint, it also make them using half ground beef and half ground pork.
Moshari kokkinisto,[353][354] stewed veal meat, onions, garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, served accompanied by basmati rice,[355][356] or pasta or potatoes or potato purée.[357] Kokkinisto is cooking meat or pasta, usually beef, pork, poultry, orzo, braised in tomato sauce.
Biftekia,[358][359][360][361][362] Greek-version burger patties made with a combination of ground pork, beef, or lamb, and the meat is mixed with onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley leaves finely chopped and oregano. They can grilled, baked or fried.
Arni souvlas, whole lamb on the spit baked with rotisserie (electric- or gas-powered heating rotisserie) or over flaming charcoals (barbecue), specifically following the culinary tradition on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday.[363][364][365]
Arnaki sto fourno me patates (oven-baked lamb with potatoes),[366]
Hirino me selino,[374][375] pork meat with celery.
Soutzoukakia Smyrneika (Smyrna meatballs),[376][377][378][379] oblong shaped beef meatballs made with cumin and cinnamon, then simmered in a rich tomato sauce.
Souvla,[386] large pieces of meat cooked on a long skewer over flaming charcoals (barbecue). It is also a technique of cooking meat. Also Antikristo[387] is a traditional technique of cooking meat on the island of Crete.
Koliva,[450][451][452] boiled wheat kernels, honey, sesame seeds, walnuts, raisins, anise, almonds, pomegranate seeds, with powdered sugar on top. It is used as a ritual dish liturgically in the Eastern Orthodox Church religion, mostly prepared for commemorations of the dead, funerals, memorials.
Misokofti,[476][477] a traditional pudding-like dessert type of mustalevria from the island of Symi that’s made with a combination of ripe fragosika (prickly pear) pulp, niseste (corn starch), and sugar.
Pasteli,[478] sesame seed candy made from sesame seeds, sugar or honey pressed into a bar.
Samsades,[502][503] a traditional dessert from the island of Limnos consisting of filo (phyllo dough) that’s rolled around a filling of nuts, baked, and then drenched in sugar or honey syrup, thyme honey, or grape must (petimezi).
Sykomaida,[504][505][506] a traditional dessert of fig cake from the island of Corfu made from dried figs, ground almonds or walnuts, ouzo, cinnamon, cloves, and fennel seeds.
Ypovrihio or Ypovrichio,[544] means submarine in Greek, also known as vanilia or mastiha, a white chewy sweet that is served on a spoon dipped in a tall glass of cold water.
Esspreso freddo,[564][565]iced coffee combines espresso and ice merely serve coffee over ice blends the two ingredients until the coffee is slightly chilled.
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