Cretan cuisine facts for kids
Cretan cuisine (Greek: Κρητική κουζίνα) is the traditional way of cooking and eating on the island of Crete. Crete is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea. This type of food is known for being very healthy and tasty!
Contents
Eating Habits in Crete
For a long time, the main part of Cretan food came from plants. Foods from animals were not eaten as often. People usually ate fresh foods that were in season. They also ate things that grew nearby. These foods were prepared very simply or not at all.
This traditional way of eating was common on the island until the 1960s. After that, people's lives got better. They started to eat more meat and other foods from animals.
What Cretans Ate
People in Crete ate a lot of fresh and dried fruits. They also ate many beans and lentils. Wild herbs and plants with good smells were also a big part of their diet. They ate rough cereals, which grew well in Crete's climate. These foods were the base of Cretan cooking.
People ate Dairy products every day, but not in large amounts. Chicken and fish were eaten about once a week. Red meat was eaten only a few times a month.
The main source of fat was olive oil. It was used in salads and for cooking. This is different from countries in northern Europe, where animal fats were used more often. For dessert, people usually ate yogurt and fresh fruits. Traditional pastries made with honey were eaten a few times a week.
Popular Appetizers
Appetizers are small dishes eaten before the main meal. Here are some popular ones from Crete:
- Dakos – This is a type of salad. It has a dry bread rusk, topped with chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, and olive oil.
- Stamnagathi salad – A salad made from a wild green plant.
- Piktí (or Tsiladiá) – A dish made from pork meat.
- Apáki – Smoked pork or chicken meat.
- Paximadi – A hard, dry bread rusk.
- Kalitsounia – Small cheese pies, often sweet or savory.
- Kolokythoanthoi – Zucchini flowers, often stuffed.
- Kolokythopita – A pumpkin pie.
- Marathopita – A fennel pie.
- Mizithropita – A sandwich or pie made with mizithra cheese.
- Sykoti Savore – Liver cooked in vinegar.
- Staka – A creamy butter sauce.
Cretan Cheeses
Crete is famous for its delicious cheeses. Some of them include:
- Graviera cheese – A hard, yellow cheese.
- Xynomizithra cheese – A soft, sour cheese.
- Xygalo cheese – A creamy, sour cheese.
- Pichtogalo cheese – Another soft, creamy cheese.
- Other cheeses like Amarino, Seliano, Tirozouli, and Tiromalama.
Main Dishes and Desserts
Here are some special main dishes and desserts from Crete:
- Antikristo (or Oftó) – Lamb meat cooked slowly over an open fire.
- Blessed thistle with lamb – A dish combining a thorny plant with lamb meat.
- Hirino me selino – Pork meat cooked with celery.
- Gamopilafo – Rice cooked in a rich broth made from goat and rooster meat.
- Snails with tomato – Snails cooked in a tomato sauce.
- Sfougato – An omelette often made with potatoes or pumpkin.
- Sofegada – A dish made with various vegetables.
- Triftoudia – A type of small pasta.
- Other types of pasta, such as Skioufichta, Magiri, Chilofta, and Avgochilos.
Sweet Treats
- Xerotigana – A crispy, fried dessert often drizzled with honey.
- Amygdalopita – An almond cake.
- Patouda – A sweet pastry.
- Portokalopita – An orange cake.
Traditional Drinks
