What to eat Crete? culinary specialties and gastronomy

Although the term applies to a large part of the Mediterranean basin, the Cretan diet, often referred to as the "Mediterranean diet", finds in Crete all the attributes for which it is famous. So much so that it was listed by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2010, including a dozen or so countries, including of course Greece.

This diet would indeed have spectacular virtues, effectively limiting Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Not to mention increased longevity, as many countries concerned by this type of diet are among those with very long life expectancy. It is based on several elements, such as the abundant consumption of fruits, vegetables, including pulses, not forgetting cereals and nuts. Olive oil also plays an important role, its richness in monounsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols has long been proven, the latter being known for their anti-oxidant effects, making it possible to combat cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, of the 28 Greek olive oils with a PDO or PGI, 9 are produced in Crete.

Moderate consumption of meat, especially red meat, is one aspect of the Cretan diet, not forgetting of course a diet including a significant amount of fish and seafood. Dairy products are generally varied and preference is given to goat's and sheep's milk, especially cheese and yoghurt, which contain less lactose and are therefore more digestible and less likely to cause allergies or intolerances. And of course one should not forget a moderate consumption of alcohol, apart from red wine, which is rich in polyphenols. Finally, it should be noted that the temperature of food also plays a key role, since Cretan cuisine is eaten lukewarm.

As in the rest of the country, meals in Crete often begin with mezze, a common habit in the eastern Mediterranean as in Turkey or Lebanon. These small bites are both hot and cold.

Among the most common Cretan mezzés are dakos (toasted bread slices in olive oil with tomato, feta, olives and oregano) where the bread is sometimes replaced by paximadi (rye rusks). There are many savoury pastries such as kalitsounia (tarts filled with cheese or aromatic herbs), chaniotiko bouréki (potato, zucchini and cheese puff pastry), marathopita (thin pancake filled with herbs: dill, mint, oregano, etc.) or mizithropita (flat turnover filled with misithra cheese). Other specialties include stamnagathi (a freshly cooked dandelion salad served with olive oil and lemon juice),apáki (smoked pork meat), sykoti savore (liver sautéed with onions and a dash of vinegar) or staka

(cream of fresh cheese).

Of course you can find in Crete other more classic mezzés such as creatopita (puff pastry triangles with meat) or tiropita (its equivalent to cheese). Dolmadès are vine leaves stuffed with rice. Not forgetting spreads such as tzatziki, yoghurt with pieces of cucumber, dill and garlic, or taramasalata, a cream of smoked fish eggs. Giant plaki are giant white beans in tomato sauce. The unpronounceable kolokythoanthoi (zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and cheese), kolokythopita (zucchini-feta puff pastry) and horiatiki (the famous Greek salad: tomato, cucumber and feta) are classics. Another delicacy is the saganaki

or fried feta. There are several cheeses originating from Crete, such as misithra, a soft cheese made from sheep's and/or goat's milk - which is served in what restaurants call the Cretan salad to replace the traditional feta in the Greek salad. Misithra should be consumed within 4-5 days. It is only available in winter because during the summer there is not enough grass in the mountains for the animals which cannot produce enough milk to make this cheese with a very limited shelf life. Otherwise graviera is a popular cheese made from sheep's milk, similar to Gruyere cheese, sometimes mixed with goat's milk. It contains 40 % fat and has had a PDO since 1996. Other cheeses include xygalo, pichtogalo and tirozouli.

Crete is rich in many tasty specialties.Antikristo, for example, is a festive dish made from large pieces of lamb planted on stakes in a circle with embers in the middle, which are left to cook for hours. Simpler, the tsigariastó is a fricassee of goat or lamb served with lemon wedges. More surprisingly, chirino me selino is a pork stew with celery. Gamopilafo, a rice pilaf cooked with butter and lemon juice and served with lamb, is most often cooked for weddings. Finally, the Cretans love snails. One finds thus chochlioí boumpouristoí, snails sautéed in olive oil with rosemary and vinegar. The succulent sun-drenched vegetables are prepared as sofegada (a kind of ratatouille) or sfougato (omelette with potatoes and courgettes). The locals love pasta such as skioufichta in the shape of a tube or magkiri

in the shape of a square.

It is obvious that the great classics of Greek cuisine are present in Crete, such as keftedès (spicy minced meatballs), souvlaki (skewers of marinated meat, usually pork), stifado (rabbit stew, sometimes pork, with red wine and cinnamon) or gyros (a soft flatbread filled with shredded meat and raw vegetables). Seafood and fish are of course on the menu, often prepared simply, grilled, fried or sometimes in stifado

(especially with octopus). There are more complete dishes such as moussaka, a gratin of minced meat and aubergines with béchamel sauce, or papoutsaki, stuffed aubergines au gratin, which is very common. The term yemista is a generic term to describe vegetables stuffed with rice, although they are most commonly peppers or tomatoes. You will also come across the nourishing pastichio, a gratin of macaroni with meat and tomato, covered with béchamel sauce. Finally the bouréki is a pie with various vegetables (courgettes, potatoes and onions in general) and fresh cheese, without meat.

Desserts in Greece are often simple and the locals tend to eat them rather at the snack with a coffee, with the end of the meal giving way to succulent fruits such as melons, watermelons or grapes which are popular on the island. Typical Cretan desserts include xerotigana, a kind of fried dough rosettes sprinkled with sesame and soaked in honey, or a tonsilopita, a soft almond and syrup cake. Other sweets to try: patouda, small crumbly slippers filled with a paste of walnuts and dates, and portokalopita

, an orange cake.

Otherwise, you can always try the classic baklava made of several layers of filo pastry and walnuts soaked in syrup, or bougatsa, a puff pastry filled with vanilla cream, not forgetting loukoumades, leavened doughnuts served with honey. Of oriental origin, the halva is a nougat flavoured with sesame cream (tahini)

and decorated with almonds or pistachios. Cretan honey is considered excellent and is eaten generously, especially with a simple creamy Greek yoghurt. In Crete and the rest of the country, coffee breaks are a real institution. A heritage of the Turks, it is a boiled ground coffee, which when served should rest for a few minutes so that the marc settles well in the bottom of the cup. It is consumed in small quantities as it is usually very tight. Always served with a large glass of ice water, ask for skéto (no sugar), métrio (slightly sweetened) or glyko (very sweetened).

The fruit of a long tradition, wine has been drunk in Crete since Minoan times. The Cretans were real forerunners in this tradition and the Vathipetro grape presses discovered during archaeological excavations are said to be more than 3,500 years old. In ancient times, wine was much stronger than it is today, it was perfumed with herbs and spices and was diluted with water before being drunk. The oldest vineyards of Crete are located in the north with a direct opening to the Aegean Sea. A temperate climate due to the influences of the sea and five months of drought contribute to the excellence of these red wines. The old Cretan grape varieties are romeiko, kotsifali, liatiko and ladikino. The white wines occupy a lesser place. We can mention vilana, plyto, vidiano, malvasia and moshato. The retsina is a white wine to which pieces of resin are added during fermentation. In ancient times, the Greeks decided to seal amphoras with resin to protect them from the elements. This is how retsina was born. This wine has a typical and pronounced taste and can be drunk chilled, with mezzes.

The tsikoudia (Cretan term for raki) is a brandy made from grapes. It is drunk very cold, before, after or during the meal in small glasses. Another alcohol,ouzo is very widespread in Greece. Produced from grape pomace, it is then flavoured with green anise seeds like our pastis. Very popular in the country, in Crete the rakomélo sometimes steals the show. This raki flavoured with honey and spices - cinnamon and cardamom - is a popular digestive and even cures sore throats. Another purely Cretan liqueur, mournoraki is made from the fruits of the mulberry tree. On the beer side, you will of course find the inratable Mythos, which is present throughout Greece. The purists will try Charma, a local beer which exists in blond/lager or black/dunkel.