Cretan cuisine () is the traditional cuisine of the Greek island of Crete.
Background The core of the Cretan cuisine consists of food derived from plants, whereas food of animal origin was more peripheral in nature. In general, people consumed seasonal products, available in the wider local area, which underwent minimal processing or none at all. The traditional cuisine was widespread in the island until the 1960s when, with improving living standards, alimentary patterns changed towards more meat and other animal-derived produce.
Fresh fruit and dried fruits, pulses, endemic wild herbs and aromatic plants, and rough cereals, whose cultivation was favored by the regional climate, were consumed in great amounts and constituted the base of the Cretan cuisine during that period. Dairy products were consumed on a daily basis in low to moderate quantities. Poultry and fish were consumed on a weekly basis in moderate quantities, whereas red meat was consumed only a few times a month. The main supply of fat was effectuated by olive oil, which was used not only in salads but also in cooking, unlike the northern European countries which primarily used animal fat. Another essential feature of the Cretan cuisine was the moderate use of alcohol, mainly red wine which accompanied meals. Finally, the most common dessert was yogurt and fresh fruits, while traditional pastry based on honey had been consumed a few times a week.
Appetizers Dakos (salad) Stamnagathi (cichorium) salad Piktí (or Tsiladiá), pork charcuterie Apáki, smoked pork (or chicken) meat Paximadi Kalitsounia Stafidota, cookies with a stuffing based on raisins Kolokythoanthoi Raw cardoons Askordoulakoi (or Volvoi), pickled bulbs of Tassel hyacinth Kolokythopita Marathopita Mizithropita, mizithra stuffed flatbread Sarikopita, cheese pie twisted into shape resembling the "sariki", a type of traditional Cretan headwear Sykoti Savore, liver cooked in vinegar Staka, buttercream roux Graviera cheese Xynomizithra cheese Xygalo cheese Pichtogalo cheese Other cheeses include Amarino, Seliano, Tirozouli, Tiromalama
Specialities Amygdalopita (dessert) Antikristo (or oftó), lamb meat Arni me askolibrous, a lamb stew with golden thistle and avgolemono Gamopilafo, rice cooked in goat and rooster broth Hirino me selino, pork meat with celery Ηohlioi boubouristoi, snails fried with rosemary and vinegar Katsikaki me stamnagathi, goat meat (alternatively lamb) cooked with avgolemono and a local plant species of the Cichorium genus Kreatotourta, meat pie from western Crete Pasta, such as skioufichta, magiri, chilofta, and avgochilos Patouda (dessert) Portokalopita (dessert) Rofos me bamies, grouper cooked in the oven with okra Sfougato, omelette containing various vegetables (most often potatoes, zucchini and onions) and cheese Snails with tomato Sofegada, vegetable stew Soupies me maratho, cuttlefish with fennel Triftoudia, type of orzo Tsigariasto, lamb or goat meat dish, typically from the Sfakia region Tzoulamas, traditional meat pie from Messara Xerotigana (dessert)
Drinks Tsikoudia Rakomelo Cretan wine
Gallery
See also Greek restaurant
References
External links Cretan Quality Agreement