What is eaten on the island?
Traditional meals of Greek food
Cretan cuisine differs little from Greek food, but is somewhat more varied, especially by adding traditional herbs. A real Cretan meal mainly contains a lot of meat. The best place to go is in a tavern, or rather on the terrace of a tavern, because people prefer to sit outside in good weather. Originally, there was no menu, because the idea was to point out the dishes in the kitchen. There are two types of restaurants that serve Greek food; a psistaria that specializes in preparing meat on a spit, such as roasted lamb with herbs, and there are psarotaverns that specialize in fish dishes.
Greeks eat later in the day
Greek food is not hot and that is true in two respects. Firstly, few spicy herbs and spices are used and secondly, the meals are not served hot, which is why the food is considered lukewarm by Western Europeans, for example. It is said that the Greeks do not like hot food because it makes them sweat. It is unknown when the habit of preparing the food in the morning and then keeping it warm until noon, or even until the evening, in a kind of ‘au bain marie’ style, originated. Partly because of this, many dishes are on the cooked side.
The Greeks also eat their meals later in the day. For example, they eat around two o’clock in the afternoon and do not eat before nine o’clock in the evening, and it is also quite normal to sit down at the table around eleven o’clock, especially when it concerns festivities.
A real breakfast is not eaten. That is why most hotels also serve a continental or English breakfast. The Greeks prefer a strong cup of coffee.
The words to say bon appetit are: KALI OREKSI, where kali means good and orexia; taste or appetite.
Available Routaki routes:
Het dorpje Margarites heeft vele mooie souvenirs, ontdek het met route 42 – ‘Margarites’
Steek het Lassithi plateau over in route 56 – ‘Lassithi’ en geniet van de natuur
Rij de mooie route van Malia naar Spinalonga, Elounda en Agios Nikolaos – route 58
No meal is eaten without bread beforehand. Tzatziki is often ordered as a starter, a dip made of yoghurt, cucumber and quite a bit of garlic. A taramo salad or melizano salad are also frequently ordered starters. The former is made from a mousse of fish roe and the latter from a mousse of aubergine.
The choriatiki, the Greek farmer’s salad is an almost indispensable part of a Greek meal. This salad consists of tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta and onion, with a generous dash of olive oil and vinegar to taste.
Just as the Spanish use their tapas, the Greeks have their mezedes. A number of small plates with an assortment of starters and a small number of main courses. You eat from the plates yourself, and everyone pokes the plates laid out on the table with their fork. With a number of 3 to 4 plates per person, you have certainly eaten enough. It is advisable to do this with several people, as this benefits the variety of the starters.
Also read: “Greek coffee and its alternatives“
The Greek main course usually consists of meat, usually mutton, but lamb is preferred. Beef and pork are also available, but this is usually imported meat.
A typical meat dish is stifado. Stewed beef with onions and vegetables served in an oven dish.
Other well-known meat dishes are souvlaki, where the pork is threaded onto skewers and usually grilled. With gyros, the meat is cooked on a rotating spit and cut off sideways. Gyros is usually not ordered by the Greeks themselves in a tavern or restaurant. It is more of a snack after a night out in the form of a gyros sandwich, also called pita gyros, with lots of garlic sauce, onion and tomato.
Another standard dish is Mousaka. This consists of layers of either potatoes or pasta, aubergines and minced meat covered with a béchamel sauce made from eggs and milk. This is all cooked in the oven and usually served in a small oven dish. Keftedes are deliciously spiced meatballs, usually in tomato sauce. Other specialities are Pastitio; a casserole of macaroni, minced meat and tomatoes or Dolmadakia, where vine leaves are stuffed with rice or minced meat.
Despite the fact that Crete is an island, fish, shellfish and crustaceans are scarce and usually expensive. There are only a limited number of types available. The tavernas specialising in fish are mainly found in the harbour towns. A well-prepared piece of swordfish is always worth the price. The red gurnard, called barbunia in Greek and the tuna are also worth ordering. On many menus you will also find the grilled or butter-fried small squid; kalamari and the larger kind; the oktapodia. If there are shrimp, crab or lobster available, the owner will certainly make it known. Usually the larger fish is also listed on the menu with a price per kilo and the waiter will also show the purchased fish before it is prepared.
check out Mr. Routaki’s special at
Lythos taverna in Mochos village.
check out Mr. Routaki’s special at
Bogazi taverna in Mochlos village.
For dessert, the very sweet Baklava is often eaten. Not exactly Greek food, because this type of pastry is of Turkish origin. Baklava is made of puff pastry, filled with nuts and honey. Another type of dessert is Loukoumades; dough rolls fried in oil, covered in honey. Again, a very sweet dessert.
Thanks to the abundance of wild flowers and flowering shrubs in both spring and autumn, Cretan honey is among the best in the world. Yoghurt with honey is one of the most popular snacks. Yoghurt is made from sheep’s milk.
the Greek food topic is mentioned in….
Excerpt from Route 48 – ‘Matala’ – The Wonders of Gortyna, Phaistos, and Matala: A Drive through Cretan Beauty in which the following is told…
“Turn to the right at this T-junction.
[3 sec]
While driving through these all agricultural fields you may already start to feel hungry. So, what are the eating habits and favoured dishes of the Cretan population?
Greeks typically eat late, with lunch usually around 2 o’clock and dinner not served before 9 o’clock. It’s not uncommon for dinner to be as late as 11 o’clock, especially for special occasions. There isn’t a typical Greek breakfast, so most hotels serve a continental or English breakfast. Greeks often opt for a good cup of coffee instead.
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