DCAS 208

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE

GREECE
DIPLOMA IN CULINARY ARTS
THE LAND
◦ Greece also lies at the crossroads of three continents. The
country is located at the south-eastern corner of Europe on
the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Continental Asia
lies to the east of Greece across the Aegean Sea, and Africa
lies south across the Mediterranean Sea.
◦ Greece is famous for its jagged coastline bordered by the
Aegean Sea on the east, the Mediterranean Sea on the
south, and the Ionian Sea on the west. In the north, Greece
shares a boundary with Albania, the former Yugoslav
republic of Macedonia, and Bulgaria.
◦ Its territory includes more than 2,000 islands in the Aegean
and Ionian seas, of which only 170 or so are inhabited.
THE LAND
◦ The geography of Greece exercises an important influence
upon the political destinies of its population. Greece is one of
the most mountainous countries of Europe. Its surface is
occupied by a number of small plains, either entirely
surrounded by limestone mountains or open only to the sea.
◦ Arcadia was almost the only political division that did not
possess some territory upon the coast. Each of the principal
Grecian cities was founded in one of these small plains and,
since the mountains that separated it from its neighbours were
lofty and rugged, each city led solitary independence. Thus
shut out from their neighbours by mountains, the Greeks were
naturally attracted to the sea, and became a maritime people.
HISTORY
◦ Greece is one of the cradles of
European civilization, whose ancient
scholars made great advances in
philosophy, medicine, mathematics,
and astronomy. Its city-states were
pioneers in developing democratic
forms of government. The historical
and cultural heritage of Greece
continues to resonate throughout the
world in literature, art, philosophy, and
politics.

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HISTORY
◦ The first settlement dated from the Paleolithic era
(11,000–3,000 B.C.). During the second millennium
B.C., Greece gave birth to the great civilizations of
the Minoan, the Mycenaean, and the Cycladic on the
Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
◦ The classical period of Greek history (sixth to fourth
centuries B.C.) was the golden age; during this
period lived the great philosophers and
mathematicians. Following that period, the history of
Greece is a succession of various invasions and
dominations; the Macedonians formed a strong
empire, followed by the Romans and the Byzantine
Empire, which ended with the invasion of the Turks.
◦ The Ottoman rule lasted for four hundred years and
was a dark period for the inhabitants of Greece.
Wanting to finally win their freedom, Greeks started
to organize themselves and various revolts exploded
against their Turkish oppressors.

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THE PEOPLE
◦ The Greek people are only partly descended from the ancient
Greeks, having mingled through the ages with the numerous
invaders of the Balkans. Modern vernacular Greek is the
official language.
◦ There is a small Turkish-speaking minority, and many
Greeks also speak English and French. The Greek Orthodox
Church is the established church of the country, and it
includes the great majority of the population.
◦ In a country that traditionally has been poor agriculturally,
making the most of meagre produce has evolved from
necessity to a national obsession with food.
THE FOOD
◦ The mainland cuisine of Greece is primarily a nomadic shepherd’s cuisine. As
recently as a generation ago, shepherds moved on foot with their flocks twice a
year, in mid-fall and mid-spring, between the low-lying plains (where it was
warmer) and the mountains, where they spent their summers.
◦ Foraging, not farming, was the norm. Butter and lard were the predominant fats,
and cheese, yogurt, and myriad other dairy products played a dominant role in
those diets, as did meat.
◦ Vegetables were typically wild greens, picked in and around nomadic settlements
and often turned into pies, one of the backbones of mainland Greek cooking.

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 ◦ There are many pies in Greece that fall into several
broad categories. Tiropita is a cheese pie. The filling is
usually a simple combination of local cheese, usually
feta, and eggs. Some pies are multilayered; others are
very thin, almost like crepes filled with cheese.
◦ Hortopita is a category of pies, filled with seasonal,
THE FOOD usually mild, greens. In some, a little cheese is added.
Kreatopita translates as meat pie. Pork, lamb, and some
beef appear in fillings from various regions. Chicken is
also used as a filling for pies. These are called kotopites.
There are also some unusual pies filled with eggplant
(thesalia) and with pulses, such as lentils, which is a
very old dish from Ipiros.
 ◦ Bourekakia are individual, hand-held pies that can
be filled with cheese, vegetables, or meat. They
are either fried or baked and shapes vary. Glikes
pites are sweet pies. Baklava falls into this
category.
◦ Other dessert pies include galaktoboureko, a
THE FOOD custard- filled pie almost always prepared with
commercial phyllo, not homemade and
galatopita, or milk pie, which is a classic country
dish in Roumeli, Thesalia, and Ipiros. Often,
trahana or rice is added to the filling of milk pies
to make it more substantial. There is also an
unusual sweet Lenten pie found throughout Ipiros
made with rice and raisins.
THE FOOD
◦ There are several subcategories of Greek cuisine: cooking large
casseroles, stews, grilled meat and seafood specialties, and phyllo
items (pites). Each type of cooking is represented by a specialty
restaurant. Tavernas can be found all over Greece and specialize in
preprepared casserole items (moussaka, pastitsio, vegetables stuffed
with rice). Psistaries serve only grilled meats. Pites, phyllo pastry
pies stuffed with greens, are generally considered as laiko, or
village cuisine, made at home or purchased from either a bakery or
a street vendor specializing in one type of pita.
MEAL TIME
◦ Breakfast, or proeeno, is a light meal, usually eaten as early as
7 a.m. Many people have only Greek coffee, which is a strong,
thick mixture of fine ground coffee, water, and sometimes
sugar, boiled together. This may be accompanied by a roll with
butter, honey, or jelly. Lunch, or mesimeriano, is the main
meal, eaten at home at 2 or 3 p.m. Appetizers, meat or fish,
salad, yogurt with honey, and fruit may be served at a typical
midday meal. Dinner is deipnon, usually eaten in the late
evening, as late as 10 p.m. Most Greeks have appetizers, or
mezedakia, in the early evening, before dinner. The word meze
describes a form of socializing as much as a group of dishes.
◦ The hallmarks of Greek cuisine since antiquity—olives, fresh
vegetables, spit-roasted or grilled meats, dried and fresh fruit,
oregano, mint, yogurt, and honey
PRODUCE
◦ Feta cheese and yogurt are the backbone of the
Greece’s dairy industry. The country produces 150,000
tons of feta per year. Because of Greek emigrations,
this brined cheese has become known worldwide. The
European Union has granted this cheese a Protected
Designation of Origin (PDO) and has prohibited other
countries in its domain from using the name “feta.”
◦ Common dishes like the green bean, eggplant, potato,
or zucchini stew, cooked in lemon or tomato sauce, are
called ladera (cooked in olive oil).
◦ Other important elements in the cuisine of the
Peloponnese are tomatoes, garlic, onions, spinach,
artichokes, fennel, lettuce, cabbage, horta (wild
greens), zucchini, eggplant, and pep- pers. Fruits are
eaten either fresh, or preserved by drying. Popular
varieties include apricots, grapes, dates, cherries,
apples, pears, plums, and figs.
 ◦ Greek island cuisine is largely free
from animal fats, an absence
considered healthful. More than
anywhere else in Greece, maybe
more than anywhere else in the
whole Mediterranean, the cooking
CONCLUSION of the Aegean islands is one in
which the basic rule is that food be
embellished as little as possible and
altered as little as possible from its
original state.