Food, for the Greeks, had all sorts of religious and philosophical meaning. The Greeks, to begin with, never ate meat unless it had been sacrificed to a god, or had been hunted in the wild. They believed that it was wrong to kill and eat a tame, domesticated animal without sacrificing it to the gods. Even with vegetables, many Greeks believed that particular foods were cleaner or dirtier, or that certain gods liked certain foods better than others. The Pythagoreans, for example, would not eat beans. But even if you were not a Pythagorean, the Greeks tended to think of the god Dionysos whenever they drank wine (which was often), and to think of Demeter and Persephone whenever they ate bread. Like its Mediterranean neighbours the concept behind the Greek way of eating is simple, yet effective. Greeks make the most of their abundant seasonal produce to make meals the best they can taste, and mealtimes aren’t an occasion to be hurried.
The Greeks ate mainly the Mediterranean triad, wheat (or barley or millet), wine, and olive oil. They also grew vegetables, especially legumes (lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas). Possibly they ate more fish than most other Mediterranean people. Also, because of their feelings about sacrificing meat, they may have eaten meat less than other people did. The Greeks utilise the concept of mezze along the same lines as neighbouring Italy and Spain. The word itself means ‘middle’, possibly alluding to the fact that food eaten mezze style is not meant to constitute a full meal. Traditional mezze may contain fresh bread, creamy feta, olives, dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts and currants), marinated mackerel or sardines and grilled squid or octopus.
The ancient Greeks ate the ripe black olives and believed they were good for one’s health, perserved in vinegar and seasoned with fennel as they still are today. For someone to say that they don’t like olives is like saying they don’t like candy because once they ate one that had orange rinds in it and they have an aversion to orange rinds, like me. There are just too many varieties and too many different flavors of olives for there not to be one that you will like. Green olives are unripe. Black olives are ripe. Between these two main classifications there are all sorts of olives which are usually named after the areas they come from. The most well-known are the Kalamata olives which come from the area around the town of Kalamata in Messenia in the southern Peloponessos. When you order a Greek salad in the USA, that one olive sitting on the tiny pile of crumbled feta is most likely from Kalamata. They are just as popular in Greece where everyone has their favorite olives.Greece has the ideal landscape and climate for growing olives, and olives make up more than just part of the Greek diet. They have been integrated for thousands of years in the fabric of Greek society. Olive oil plays an important role in anything from cosmetics to religious and folk rituals, medicine, celebrating christenings and commemorating the dead. Most Greeks consumer 40 pounds of olive oil per person per year, and the country produces more than 430,000 tons annually. The famous Kalamata olive is native to Greece.One fifth of Greece’s land mass is islands, and the sea isn’t more than 85 miles away from any point on the mainland. Needless to say fish and shellfish are fresh, abundant, and while not always cheap they are certainly worth the price you’ll pay and feature heavily in Greek cuisine. Lamb is widespread and delicious, and often used in stews or roasted with lemon, garlic and herbs. Greece is known around the world for the production of sheep and goat’s cheeses, particularly feta, which has been made in the country for thousands of years.
Traditional Greek dishes are still made from recipes handed down from generation to generation. One of the best known is moussaka, the classic dish of spiced lamb mine with layers of eggplant, potato and béchamel sauce. Souvlaki is the ubiquitous Greek fast food, with lamb or chicken cooked on a rotisserie, sliced and served in pita bread with salad and tzaziki (yogurt and cucumber dip). Spanokopita are available everywhere, and the filo pastry parcels filled with spinach and feta are a very tasty treat. The famous Greek version of chicken soup for the weary is avgolemono, made from chicken, rice and lemon. Greece’s favourite alcoholic drink is ouzo, a spirit not for the faint hearted. It’s made from a combination of pressed grape skins, herbs and berries. Usually served as an aperitif, it can also be the basis of a mixed drink or cocktail. It’s ideally drunk straight and sipped slowly, with friends, over plates of meze.
