Cretan cuisine | characterized by its simplicity, austerity
Cretan cuisine is characterized by its simplicity, austerity and authenticity. There are no substantial differences in Cretan diet from ancient times until today, since Cretans only added a few ingredients,which were gradually introduced by various conquerors of Crete - Roman, Byzantines, Arabs, Venetians and Ottomans - throughout the centuries - each left their mark, thus influencing the local cuisine:
Even the methods used for preparing the food have remained quite simple: food can be roasted, boiled or stewed in tomato sauce.
Cretans keep using mainly their local products and:
● They use olive oil as the main or even sole source of fat
● Wild leafy greens and seasonal vegetables are eaten both raw or boiled
● They consume legumes, combining them with fish or meat
● Cretans generally avoid beef and mainly feed on goat, lamb, poultry and rabbit meat
● Barley rusks replace bread
● Instead of spices, they prefer using a lot of wild aromatic herbs in their cooking
● Fish, seafood and snails hold a very prominent position in Cretan cuisine
● They prefer eating their own dairy products - yoghurt, cheese, sour-thick frumenty
● Fruit, nuts and honey are mainly used to make their desserts
● They drink raki and wine, both made from local grape varieties
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