Country Review #4 - Greece
Hi everyone,
For this edition I will review another Mediterranean cuisine: Greek food. Greece is a country with a rich history having been a super power thousands of years ago but have subsequently been occupied by European and Ottoman empires. This has led to their cuisine being a rich combination of different cultures which ultimately has its own identity. Many praise the Greek diet for being healthy and balanced but rich with flavour. Recently I had the pleasure of going to Greece for holiday and was excited to try the beautiful ingredients and food. Despite Greece having relatively limited agricultural land, the land that is there is very fertile and produces quite exquisite ingredients. To start I wanted to try the famous Greek salad.
Tomatoes were not discovered until the Spaniards stumbled across them in the New World. Before the 16th century, the traditional Greek salad contained local ingredients such as arugula. But the mixture of tomatoes, onions, olives and the famous feta cheese is widely considered to be the traditional Greek salad. The rich flavour of the feta cheese is balanced well with the freshness of the tomatoes and the olives. There are also plenty of other salads that you can try in Greece. However, the Greeks are also very enthusiastic about their meats and this is a staple of their diet.
Lamb, chicken, beef and pork can all be found in this country. They prefer to grill their meats but there are exceptions depending on the dish. The Turkish influence is apparent as many of their grilled meats resemble kebab style foods including the famous gyro.
I do much prefer other foods but gyro is a good pick-me-up food. I enjoy the yoghurt dip but I have never been a huge fanatic of french fries. In addition to meats, the Greeks enjoy a balanced and constant supply of vegetables which are cooked in a delicious way.
In my opinion, the sweets are far too sweet. Inspired by the Turkish/Arabic desserts, a small bite will make you full and increase your diabetes risk at the same time. I recommend going light on these particular desserts. However, their pistachio ice cream was a delight. Overall I was left very impressed with this cuisine. Perhaps the only thing holding it back is more variety in terms of cooking techniques. But there will be very few that complain about the food if they ever go to Greece.
For this edition I will review another Mediterranean cuisine: Greek food. Greece is a country with a rich history having been a super power thousands of years ago but have subsequently been occupied by European and Ottoman empires. This has led to their cuisine being a rich combination of different cultures which ultimately has its own identity. Many praise the Greek diet for being healthy and balanced but rich with flavour. Recently I had the pleasure of going to Greece for holiday and was excited to try the beautiful ingredients and food. Despite Greece having relatively limited agricultural land, the land that is there is very fertile and produces quite exquisite ingredients. To start I wanted to try the famous Greek salad.
Tomatoes were not discovered until the Spaniards stumbled across them in the New World. Before the 16th century, the traditional Greek salad contained local ingredients such as arugula. But the mixture of tomatoes, onions, olives and the famous feta cheese is widely considered to be the traditional Greek salad. The rich flavour of the feta cheese is balanced well with the freshness of the tomatoes and the olives. There are also plenty of other salads that you can try in Greece. However, the Greeks are also very enthusiastic about their meats and this is a staple of their diet.
Lamb, chicken, beef and pork can all be found in this country. They prefer to grill their meats but there are exceptions depending on the dish. The Turkish influence is apparent as many of their grilled meats resemble kebab style foods including the famous gyro.
I do much prefer other foods but gyro is a good pick-me-up food. I enjoy the yoghurt dip but I have never been a huge fanatic of french fries. In addition to meats, the Greeks enjoy a balanced and constant supply of vegetables which are cooked in a delicious way.
If this isn't enough then there is a wide variety of fish and seafood on offer. Once in Greece I would recommend trying the local dishes such as moussaka and youvetsi, the latter you can see on this blog. This is lamb in a stew with orzo. There are many different dishes to try and many different restaurants. If in Athens then the Plaka have many good options. Make sure you research beforehand as there some tourist traps you should avoid. To end this review I wanted to write on the desserts.
In my opinion, the sweets are far too sweet. Inspired by the Turkish/Arabic desserts, a small bite will make you full and increase your diabetes risk at the same time. I recommend going light on these particular desserts. However, their pistachio ice cream was a delight. Overall I was left very impressed with this cuisine. Perhaps the only thing holding it back is more variety in terms of cooking techniques. But there will be very few that complain about the food if they ever go to Greece.
Cuisine: Mediterranean/Turkish Mix
Options: Wide variety of meats and vegetables
Rating: 4/5
Fun Fact: In any given year, more tourists come to Greece compared to their total population. Approximately, 16.5 million tourists visit Greece for its history, weather and food.
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