Greek History andFoodGreek cuisine:The Greeks usually eat 3 meals a day. The first meal of the day is Breakfast. A typical Greek breakfast consistsof a piece of bread, some goat milk and strong Turkish coffee.
The Greeksdo not eat a large breakfast typically. Their next meal of the day is Lunchit is usually eaten around twelve to two pm. It is also a light meal likebreakfast. Dinner is usually eaten later at night than most people areaccustomed to. It is eaten between 8-9 pm. This is the largest meal ofthe day.
The most common meats are lamb and chicken. Fish and seafood arefound mostly on the coast and in cities and are inexpensive. Olives aregrown in Greece, and olive oil is used a lot in cooking. Salads areusually eaten with the main meal. Main courses include souvlaki, a shishkebab with cubes of meat-often pork or lamb-and vegetables, and stuffedeggplant or tomatoes.
Pasta is also popular. Fruit is often served fordessert. Although Greek food is not “low fat” the primary oil used is oliveoil, which has been proven to be better for you that rendered animal fat. Cheese is another mainstay of the Greek diet.
The average Grecian eats50 lbs. of cheese a year. This ranks second in world cheese consumptionbehind France. The most popular Greek cheese is Feta, which is a smoothcottage type of cheese. Greeks drink a lot of wine. If you area first-time visitor, you probably better order your wine aretsinoto (withoutresin), or your mouth will pucker.
Retsina, or resinated wine, has a distinctiveflavor and tastes better when chilled. Greek food has been influenced bymany sources. The area that Greece occupies was the ancient city-statesof Athens, Sparta, and Corinth. Their individual styles ofcooking helped shape Greek cooking into what it is today. Undoubtedly baklava is the most famouspastry, a multi-layered ribboned pastry with nuts and oozing withhoney syrup.
A visit to a Greek pastry shop reveals the how many differentways Greeks use fila dough many of them have aTurkish origin. The honeyedfila pastries and buttery nut cookies compose a separate late afternoonmeal accompanied by thick Greek coffee. Fresh fruit — generally figs,orange, apples, and melon — usually conclude the late evening dinner. No part of Greece is more that 85 milesfrom the coast. This is a good reason that Greeks eat so much seafood.
Another reason that the Greeks eat so much seafood is the land in Greeceis very poor for farming most crops. Also there is a lack of land in Greece. Greece occupies a very small area only 50,962 square miles. This is ________. Since the Greeks cannot farm a lot of their own food, they have adapteda culture that doesn’t depend upon farmed food.
That is why Greek recipesdon’t have a lot of flour or wheat in them. The Greeks have a love forsimple well seasoned food. In almost any tavern, restaurant, or bar youcan find a tasteful array of seafood and other Greek delicacies preparedbefore your eyes. It is not uncommon for the patrons of a restaurant togo back to the kitchen to look at their meal being prepared.
The olive oil tree has tree has been grownin Greece for thousands of years and its oil has been used as a food aswell as for medicinal, cosmetic, lighting and sacred purposes. You wouldthink that the olive was specially made for Greece’s harsh climate, itthrives in most regions of the country. It loves the sea and the sun. Thecoastal regions have the perfect conditions it needs and a suitable ecosystemfor the tree to grow and bear fruit. Taste, aroma and color are all indicationsof the quality of olive oil. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.
Virgin oliveoil with an extremely fine taste and an acidity of not more than 1%VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. Also describedas “select”. This oil has an exceptionally fine taste and its acidity leveldoes not exceed 2%. OLIVE OIL: obtained by mixing refinedand virgin olive oil.
It has an acidity of up to 1. 5In the Greek orthodox religion Oliveoil is a symbol of love and peace. Many Greeks have an oil lamp burningolive oil on their homemade altars. Olive oil somehow seems to bring outthe true taste of the ingredients while adding its own personal touch. When a recipe calls for olive oil, howdo you know what kind to use? Let your own taste preferences be your guide. As a general rule, cook with normal olive oil and season or drizzle with”extra virgin” Light and delicate dishes like poached or sauteedfish, chicken or veal, go well with a milder, less fruity olive oil.
Dishessuch as hearty stews, soups or tomato-based sauces welcome a more fruity,flavorful olive oil, as do steamed vegetables and salads. For roasted,barbecued and braised dishes, which require high or prolonged heat “oliveoil” is, best because it is less expensive yet has the same health benefitsas virgin olive oils. In frying, a crisp caramelized crust is formed thatwill allow but a small amount of oil to soak into the food. In vegetabledishes, its herbal hues blend excellently with the greens. Pies are bestmade with sweet olive oil.
Greece is the southeasternmost regionon the European continent. It is defined by a series of mountains, surroundedon all sides except the north by water, and endowed with countless largeand small islands. The Ionian and Aegean seas and the many deep bays andnatural harbors along the coastlines allowed the Greeks to prosper in maritimecommerce and to develop a culture which drew inspiration from many sources,both foreign and indigenous. The Greek world eventually spread far beyondGreece itself, encompassing many settlements around the Mediterranean andBlack seas and, during the Hellenistic period, reaching as far east asIndia. The mountains, which served as natural barriers and boundaries,dictated the political character of Greece. From early times the Greekslived in independent communities isolated from one another by the landscape.
Later these communities were organized into poleis or city-states. Themountains prevented large-scale farming and impelled the Greeks to lookbeyond their borders to new lands where fertile soil was more abundant. Natural resources of gold and silver were available in the mountains ofThrace in northern Greece and on the island of Siphnos, while silver wasmined from Laurion in Attica. Supplies of iron ores were also availableon the mainland and in the Aegean islands. The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greece?sclimate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months.
Summers are generally hot and dry. Winters are moderate and rainy in coastalregions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas. An estimated 97 percent of the country’spopulation identifies itself as belonging to the Greek branch of the EasternOrthodox Church of Christ, commonly known as the Orthodox Church of Greece. Though Greeks became independent of the church in Constaniople,a closerelationship remains among most branches of Orthodoxy . In many respects,church and state are not separate in the Western sense in Greece.
In spiteof reforms in the 1980s and a loss of some influence since World War II,the Orthodox Church remains the officially established religious institutionof the country, and from that position it exerts considerable influencein secular matters. The largest non-Orthodox religious groups in Greeceare Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim. The country of Greece has had a variedhistory. At about 2600 BC Greek civilization was founded. This is an educatedguess because most records succumb to time. Greek civilization startedwith a group of people called the Minoans.
Minoan civilization reacheda peak during 1400s-1300s BC Homer wrote the Oddesy and the Iliad duringthe Ninth century BC During the eighth century BC Athens, Sparta and othercity states develop. During 800 BC Alexander the Great conquered the GrecianEmpire of city-states and Greece became part of the Macedonian Empire. After the downfall of the Macedonian Empire, Greece enters a lull, whichlasts for almost a thousand years. During this time a numerous number ofempires conquered Greece.
The Greeks fought a war of independence againstthe Ottoman Empire and won. The first president of Greece was Ioannis Kapodistrias. In 1829 the Treaty of Adrianople places Greek under British, French, andRussian protection. In 1832 the Treaty of Constantinople places Greeceunder British, French, and Russian protection, defines its boundaries,and names Otto of Wittgenstein ruler. The first constitution establishesdemocratic parliamentary government system, reducing Otto’s power. In 1862 after series of coups, Otto forcedto resign.
After this Greece was an independent country. Greece playeda small part in World War 1. It was on the side of the Allied forces. Thisbrings the history of Greece to the present. In conclusion Greek food is heavily influencedby the climate of the Mediterranean, and the other countries surroundingit.
Greeks also eat a very healthy diet rich in seafood and lean meats. Olive oil is a major part of the Greeks daily diet also. Olive oil is alsomuch more healthy than animal fats and oils.
