Feta, frappe and the cult of Greek food
Author: Ilze Lasmane-Brože1 COMMENT
In this episode the crew of the TV program "Sirmais. Cult Food" travels to Greece in search of the best feta cheese, of course. The trip is focused on continental Greece, yet it has to be mentioned that octopus is absolute cult food of the Greek islands. The islanders consider it to be their most typical seafood. Cooking octopus requires a peculiar, rather harsh procedure that we didn't dare to include into this episode, however. Evidently it takes some sacrifices to please one's taste buds, and, in this case, it is decent beating. Before grilling, octopus is beaten against some rock for an hour or so to obtain pleasantly tender meat in the result. After all that banging, meat is hanged in the sun to dry up a bit.
Our search for cult food started in Athens. Aficionados of Greek mythology and epic poems shouldn't expect too much from this city, however, as the most beautiful historical places are located outside Athens. Be sure to explore Kalamata area, boasting the most significant destinations of the ancient past of this country. Yet before starting your 250 km long trip to Kalamata, it is worth stopping at the Athens's fish market, preferably together with a local person, who would definitely tell you fantastic stories entwining every fish and sea creature available there. Almost every species has its own story. For example, knight-fish has got its name thanks to not very knightly ways of fishermen themselves. They use female knight-fish as a bite to catch them. Female knight-fish is coughed and dragged away in a net, while male fish are following in attempts to save it, falling thus into a trap themselves.
While passing through some small seaside villages near Athens, it is worth stopping and devoting some time to fishing. Abundance and variety of fish is truly unbelievable in these waters and a star-fish as a crown of it! Don't think twice and grab the opportunity, especially if there is a local person to accompany you. Fishermen sell their catch straight from their boats as soon as they come to shore. Everyone knows that at 9 am fresh fish will be delivered, and, indeed, boats are coming in one after another, and you can pick whatever your heart desires. Absolutely fresh seafood!
Kalamata is famous for its vast olive groves, consisting of varied olive trees. Kalamata olives are regarded as the best ones in the world. They are prepared in many different ways - dried in the sun, pickled, soaked in salt water. They are strong and divinely delicious, yet what is even better is Kalamata olive oil.
The life expectancy of an olive tree can be hundreds of years, and therefore their growing usually is a family business. Our filming crew met a third-generation olive grower, who is passionate about promoting and advertising local olives. Despite of the fact that Greek olives are so exceptional, Italians have always managed to snatch all the fame, perhaps thanks to their supreme marketing skills. Italians are matchless when it comes to selling! They say that sometimes they purchase excellent Greek olive oil and resell it as their own, taking all the credit.
Greeks are weak in advertising and it is obvious on every step. We were disallowed to film historical attractions with a pretext that people successfully find their way to these places without any extra publicity. On the other hand, it's easy to get buried under heaps of information nowadays, and few leads might prove to be useful, especially for people who are not familiar with Greek mythology and know nothing about ancient Greek heroes.
Talking about the world's most delicious olive oil, it has to be mentioned that it is an important ingredient of the world's most delicious Greek salad. If you have savored Greek salad in Greece, no salad under this name elsewhere in the world would seem good enough. Greek salad, also called "peasants' salad" or "village salad", is a very simple dish, and the secret of its success is top quality ingredients - olive oil, cucumbers and tomatoes, oregano and feta cheese.
Authentic feta cheese can be obtained only in Greece. It is sheep milk cheese and only 30% of milk is allowed to come from goats. Its recipe is strictly observed, and, of course, only cheese produced in Greece, moreover, in particular its regions can be called feta cheese.
Another Greek cult food is tzatziki sauce. It is made of yogurt from sheep or goat milk, mixed with cucumbers, garlic and oregano.
Oregano enjoys great popularity in Greece, while basil, so widespread in neighboring Italy, is grown as an insect repellant here.
Oregano, like anything else grows effortlessly in Greece thanks to favorable weather conditions, allowing Greeks to be as relaxed as they please and to worry none about troublesome life situations.
Our filming crew, however, came across one particular farmer, who takes very special care of his fields. In our modern language it would be called a biodynamic farming but the owner himself - "a bio-eco farmer and an expert in cosmic energy impact". The ways and methods used there are very intriguing, bordering on fantastic, leaving it up to us - to believe in them or not.
The sun-dried pastures are not very lush and grassy there, and the owner makes a special power elixir to sprinkle them with, so that sheep would happily graze and give the best quality milk that would result in the finest quality feta cheese. So, how does it work? There is a rainwater reservoir placed on a specific spot next to the sheep shed, and the water is regularly stirred with a special wooden tool. A unique mixture made of phosphorus, lime and some other minerals obtained in the mountains and mixed together in a cow's horn is added to it. That is not all yet. Prior to adding to the water, the mentioned horn has to be buried on top of the highest mountain, so that the moon would cast its light on it, and it has to be done during energetically favorable time. It takes whole three months before the horn is dug out again and the mixture is added to the rainwater.
You wouldn't really observe the grass growing faster after sprinkling this magic water over the pastures, but nevertheless it is infused with great confidence that it contains the very best that the earth and the universe can give. The farmer is doing quite well, applying these strange as they might seem methods. He continues to experiment, exports his production and is proud of his achievements.
Our next destination was Kozani town in the very North of Greece. We met two enthusiastic ladies there, Helen and Fanny, who were crazy about Kozani cuisine and eager to promote it. Just recently two of them cooked food for 300 people and travelled 700km to Athens to participate in Greek Food Fair. Both friends fed all the immigrants there and managed to get on Greek radio. They were telling fascinating stories about Kozani cuisine, and some Latvian girl happened to hear that. And she insisted that it was the right place for Sirmais to go and explore the feta making secrets.
That is exactly what we did! The filming crew was received with a table brimming full of goodness enough to feed three hundred people, and the main item as we expected was feta cheese.
The most delicious Greek feta bread, tira pita, wasn't missing either! Its baking process is quite complicated, putting it mildly. First of all, huge sheets of dough, thin as paper, are prepared and spread over all the available surfaces in the house to allow them to dry up a bit. The next step is folding these sheets of dough into a large frying pan, with layers of feta cheese and margarine in between, one layer after another. The delicious treat is baked in a public oven, as a regular home oven is too small for it.
Even though Helen and Fanny say that their town is ugly, it is not entirely so. It's a well-known fact, however, that Kozani historic center has been completely destroyed and block-houses have been built instead.
The presence of Greek Orthodox Church is almost tangible in the town. The very same bakery that makes pita bread is baking sacramental bread or so called oblates as well. There are numerous icon painting workshops scattered throughout the town and everybody can go in and watch the process of icon making. The faith is deeply intertwined into the daily life of this town.
Thessaloniki is a weird destination for at least two reasons. They have an eccentric tradition of throwing plates towards the stage as a sign of the highest approval during music performances. It is not a cheap entertainment at all - a pile of broken plates may cost a pile of money afterwards.
Another thing is frappe coffee. Logically thinking, drinking a glass of frappe is the same thing as eating a big spoonful of instant coffee. Frappe is made of a large dose of instant coffee, water and sugar. The mixture is whipped until it becomes fluffy and fills the entire volume of a glass, finally adding crushed ice. And you should sip your Frappe at least half an hour!
In Greece, taverns or "house kitchens" are more popular than restaurants. Everyone eats in taverns and eats a lot. Tables are brimming with food with no sign of crisis to be visible. They are not fond of receipts in taverns and might even take offence if you would demand one. There should be at least ten various dishes on the table. Not surprisingly, Greece takes the first place in the world as for the amount of discarded food. At the same time, trees are bending under weight of fruit there. Greeks are not stingy at all - they give them sparingly to every guest, picking pears and figs straight from trees, sometimes snapping together with branches.
SHARE:
Your comments
Angela
Visited: October
Rivermark Community Credit union is giving out personal, business and student loans, with a flexible interest rate, interested persons should send their application which includes, your full name, phone number, email, residential address, reason for loan, amount and duration of loan to info@rmarkcommcu.com
ABOUT US • CONTACTS • RSS • FOLLOW US: 
ENG LAT
© anothertravelguide.com 2015
Anothertravelguide.com is an internet resource for independent travellers. All addresses listed on anothertravelguide.com - hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. have been tested and evaluated by our authors. All opinions are subjective and anothertravelguide.com takes no responsibility if any of these locations don't live up to your personal expectations, taste or mood, or has undergone serious changes since visited by authors and experts of anothertravelguide.com.