Greek History And Food Essay, Research Paper

Greek cuisine:

The Greeks usually eat 3 meals a day.

The first meal of the day is Breakfast. A typical Greek breakfast consists

of a piece of bread, some goat milk and strong Turkish coffee. The Greeks

do not eat a large breakfast typically. Their next meal of the day is Lunch

it is usually eaten around twelve to two pm. It is also a light meal like

breakfast. Dinner is usually eaten later at night than most people are

accustomed to. It is eaten between 8-9 pm. This is the largest meal of

the day. The most common meats are lamb and chicken. Fish and seafood are

found mostly on the coast and in cities and are inexpensive. Olives are

grown in Greece, and olive oil is used a lot in cooking. Salads are

usually eaten with the main meal. Main courses include souvlaki, a shish

kebab with cubes of meat-often pork or lamb-and vegetables, and stuffed

eggplant or tomatoes. Pasta is also popular. Fruit is often served for

dessert. Although Greek food is not “low fat” the primary oil used is olive

oil, which has been proven to be better for you that rendered animal fat.

Cheese is another mainstay of the Greek diet. The average Grecian eats

50 lbs. of cheese a year. This ranks second in world cheese consumption

behind France. The most popular Greek cheese is Feta, which is a smooth

cottage type of cheese.

Greeks drink a lot of wine. If you are

a first-time visitor, you probably better order your wine aretsinoto (without

resin), or your mouth will pucker. Retsina, or resinated wine, has a distinctive

flavor and tastes better when chilled. Greek food has been influenced by

many sources. The area that Greece occupies was the ancient city-states

of Athens, Sparta, and Corinth. Their individual styles of

cooking helped shape Greek cooking into what it is today.

Undoubtedly baklava is the most famous

pastry, a multi-layered ribboned pastry with nuts and oozing with

honey syrup. A visit to a Greek pastry shop reveals the how many different

ways Greeks use fila dough many of them have aTurkish origin. The honeyed

fila pastries and buttery nut cookies compose a separate late afternoon

meal 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 miles

from 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 Greece

is 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 adapted

a culture that doesn?t depend upon farmed food. That is why Greek recipes

don?t have a lot of flour or wheat in them. The Greeks have a love for

simple well seasoned food. In almost any tavern, restaurant, or bar you

can find a tasteful array of seafood and other Greek delicacies prepared

before your eyes. It is not uncommon for the patrons of a restaurant to

go back to the kitchen to look at their meal being prepared.

The olive oil tree has tree has been grown

in Greece for thousands of years and its oil has been used as a food as

well as for medicinal, cosmetic, lighting and sacred purposes. You would

think that the olive was specially made for Greece?s harsh climate, it

thrives in most regions of the country. It loves the sea and the sun. The

coastal regions have the perfect conditions it needs and a suitable ecosystem

for the tree to grow and bear fruit.

Taste, aroma and color are all indications

of the quality of olive oil.

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. Virgin olive

oil with an extremely fine taste and an acidity of not more than 1%

VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. Also described

as “select”. This oil has an exceptionally fine taste and its acidity level

does not exceed 2%.

OLIVE OIL: obtained by mixing refined

and virgin olive oil. It has an acidity of up to 1.5

In the Greek orthodox religion Olive

oil is a symbol of love and peace. Many Greeks have an oil lamp burning

olive oil on their homemade altars. Olive oil somehow seems to bring out

the true taste of the ingredients while adding its own personal touch.

When a recipe calls for olive oil, how

do 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 sautéed

fish, chicken or veal, go well with a milder, less fruity olive oil. Dishes

such 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 ?olive

oil? is, best because it is less expensive yet has the same health benefits

as virgin olive oils. In frying, a crisp caramelized crust is formed that

will allow but a small amount of oil to soak into the food. In vegetable

dishes, its herbal hues blend excellently with the greens. Pies are best

made with sweet olive oil.

Greece is the southeasternmost region

on the European continent. It is defined by a series of mountains, surrounded

on all sides except the north by water, and endowed with countless large

and small islands. The Ionian and Aegean seas and the many deep bays and

natural harbors along the coastlines allowed the Greeks to prosper in maritime

commerce and to develop a culture which drew inspiration from many sources,

both foreign and indigenous. The Greek world eventually spread far beyond

Greece itself, encompassing many settlements around the Mediterranean and

Black seas and, during the Hellenistic period, reaching as far east as

India. The mountains, which served as natural barriers and boundaries,

dictated the political character of Greece. From early times the Greeks

lived in independent communities isolated from one another by the landscape.

Later these communities were organized into poleis or city-states. The

mountains prevented large-scale farming and impelled the Greeks to look

beyond their borders to new lands where fertile soil was more abundant.

Natural resources of gold and silver were available in the mountains of

Thrace in northern Greece and on the island of Siphnos, while silver was

mined from Laurion in Attica. Supplies of iron ores were also available

on the mainland and in the Aegean islands.

The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greece´s

climate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months.

Summers are generally hot and dry. Winters are moderate and rainy in coastal

regions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas.

An estimated 97 percent of the country’s

population identifies itself as belonging to the Greek branch of the Eastern

Orthodox Church of Christ, commonly known as the Orthodox Church of Greece.

Though Greeks became independent of the church in Constaniople,a close

relationship remains among most branches of Orthodoxy . In many respects,

church and state are not separate in the Western sense in Greece. In spite

of reforms in the 1980s and a loss of some influence since World War II,

the Orthodox Church remains the officially established religious institution

of the country, and from that position it exerts considerable influence

in secular matters. The largest non-Orthodox religious groups in Greece

are Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim.

The country of Greece has had a varied

history. At about 2600 BC Greek civilization was founded. This is an educated

guess because most records succumb to time. Greek civilization started

with a group of people called the Minoans. Minoan civilization reached

a peak during 1400s-1300s BC Homer wrote the Oddesy and the Iliad during

the Ninth century BC During the eighth century BC Athens, Sparta and other

city states develop. During 800 BC Alexander the Great conquered the Grecian

Empire of city-states and Greece became part of the Macedonian Empire.

After the downfall of the Macedonian Empire, Greece enters a lull, which

lasts for almost a thousand years. During this time a numerous number of

empires conquered Greece. The Greeks fought a war of independence against

the Ottoman Empire and won. The first president of Greece was Ioannis Kapodistrias.

In 1829 the Treaty of Adrianople places Greek under British, French, and

Russian protection. In 1832 the Treaty of Constantinople places Greece

under British, French, and Russian protection, defines its boundaries,

and names Otto of Wittgenstein ruler. The first constitution establishes

democratic parliamentary government system, reducing Otto’s power.

In 1862 after series of coups, Otto forced

to resign. After this Greece was an independent country. Greece played

a small part in World War 1. It was on the side of the Allied forces. This

brings the history of Greece to the present.

In conclusion Greek food is heavily influenced

by the climate of the Mediterranean, and the other countries surrounding

it. 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 also

much more healthy than animal fats and oils.