Old Greece food habits vs New Greece food habits
Documentary
INTRODUCTION
Talking about Greece it retrospects everyday evolution, the history of the land. Other than the ancient temples and ruins scattered all over the country, yet another evolution took place, the main evolution ;that of culture : language, music, art and of course the food.
Food is the basis for sustenance applicable to any living being.Now in Greece food influenced many cultures and we also know that the food in Greece today is the result of many influences from various cultures as well. But we see many similarities when comparing the modern Greeks with the ancient Greeks.
Eating Together
Ancient Greeks wanted to establish a civilized lifestyle that separated them from the nomads and food played an important part here. The idea of eating together is not a new one; but what made a meal “civilized” were –
1. Meriment (eating and drinking with good company)
and
2. Wine etiquette (the proper way to serve wine)
For Greeks, food and eating was majorly a social event and not necessarily to satisfy physical needs. Plutarch, a Greek historian mentioned, “We do not sit at the table to eat… but to eat together”.
In modern Greece it is a norm for people to relax and have great discussions and arguments ranging from politics to relationships while eating dinner or lunch. These meals may last for hours.
Eating alone, even for the younger generations of Greeks is a very rare seen. Hardly people take a lunch break at a park eating their meal alone. Instead they will either order all together at a workplace or gathering, sometimes sharing food they have brought from home. Reservations for restaurants are not as common in Greece either, and if they are made, it is assumed that the table will be reserved for the whole evening as there is no way of knowing when the diners will leave.
THREE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS
The three most important ingredients for the Ancient Greek: Bread, Wine and Olive Oil along with figs and honey. This was what we can call proper nutritional model for them. These food represented prudence and simple life. The thought behind it is that this represented loyalty to their country since these fundamental foods were produced in Greece and therefore it was not necessary to import rare luxury type food, they were contended with their own production. It is also thought that it had to do with areas that should be conquered; anywhere that olives and vines grew should under the territory of Greece.
Bread
Then: Bread was of course a staple diet in ancient Greece. Greeks had a large variety of breads or bread-like products. A few were made for special occasions. At some point it appears that the Greeks had 50 to 70 different types of breads.
Now: Bread is extremely important in Greek cuisine; it is what nurtures the people, most Greeks cannot even imagine a meal without bread even if it is a rice or pasta dish. It is common in the taverns where they served a whole loaf of bread for 4 people and they merrily eat it.
Wine
Then: Greeks ideology of drinking has two types, namely Proper Drinking and Improper Drinking. Wine was thought to have its own medicinal properties. For Greeks wine was especially important at the symposia, which was a rendezvous of men .This was associated with drinking, music and intellectual discussion.
Now: Wine is a very important part of Greek culture today. Most of the modern wine production practices today, are influenced by the
practices of the ancient Greeks. Gone are the days when Greece was only known for its retsina (wine that has had resin added to it). Today Greece has a high quality wine production using Greek grapes varieties that appear to be similar to the variety of grapes used in ancient times, and that are grown only in Greece. People are starting to notice Greek wines; at Decanter World Wine Awards for example, 72% of all Greek wines entered received an award.
Olive Oil
Then: Although there was other oil available in the Mediterranean, Olive oil was the only thing used in almost every single item of cuisine of the ancient Greek.
Now: Olive oil also holds a special position in the Greek-Orthodox religion; it is used in many ceremonies, but also in the oil lamps in the churches and at homes. Olive oil is even more essential to the Greeks than in ancient times. Greeks are the highest consumers of olive oil in the world, with a consumption of 26 liters a year per person, which is about ½ a liter a week (2 cups). Oil is used for almost all cooking, and although there has been an effort to promote other types of vegetable oils, Greeks have not really been persuaded.
Non Veg
Then: Generally associated with festivity, luxury and sacrifice, meat was not a main food source. According to them it separated the 'Men 'from the 'Savages'.
The ideology Greeks followed:-
The animals were more useful alive, to churn cheese from milk and fleece wool that helped improve the economy. They were further civilized to process olive oil from olives, wine from grapes, bread from wheat to make living. So for them, those who consumed milk ,meat were hunter barbarians.Whereas the civilized people were into irrigating land, farming and trading. Apart from barbarian connotations, it seems that meat was consumed mainly in relation to sacrifice. In the book ‘Food, A Culinary History ‘it says , cautious estimates show that Greeks ate not more than 4 pounds of meat a year.
Now: In Modern Greece the traditional Greek diet (circa 1960) had very little meat. This had to do with religious and economic reasons like their ancient times. Orthodox Greeks would fast 180-200 days a year. Finances also did not allow the average Greek to eat meat very often; as in ancient times, Greeks used their animals for milk, making cheese and yogurt rather than meat.
In the past 50 years however things have changed dramatically. The socioeconomic status of Greeks has changed and as a result, more and more Greeks have moved to big cities, do not follow the religious fasts, and eat much more meat than they used to.
It also should be noted that animal sacrificing practices seem to have continued through the byzantine period where it was common to kill animals and roast them during religious seasons. We see a similar custom with modern Greeks and the tradition of roasting the lamb in public as a celebration for Easter.
Figs and Honey
Figs and honey were also part of the Greek food orientation. Both of these were produced in the land, used in both dessert and taste sensational dishes. Today honey plays an extremely important role in the Greek cuisine and lifestyle. As expected, it is used in the diet as a main sweetener to be consumed with walnuts, fruit, yogurt,herbal tea and in many dessert dishes. It is also considered to have medicative usefulness.
