Greek Culture

                                                           Blog Post #1

                                                           April 12, 2015

                                                           Maddy O'Donnell

Greece is a vibrant and beautiful country. Greece is located in Southeastern Europe and has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean basin. Greece is the 11th longest coastline in the world. 80% of Greece is mountains with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 9,570 ft. The people and the culture are full of life and excitement which helps bring the food to life. Greek cuisine uses more flavorings and spices than other traditional Mediterranean dishes. Olive oil, lemon, garlic, and herbs are almost always used in Greek cooking to help bring flavor and spice to the dishes. Greek food is usually characterized as being healthy Mediterranean because of all of the fresh ingredients that are used in their cooking. People often enjoy eating small dishes such as meze with various dips such as Tzatzki. Other popular Greek dishes would include: Moussaka, Stifado, Greek salad, Fasolada, Spanakopita, Souvlaki, and Skordalia which is traced back to Ancient Greece. Since Greece is a small country off of a large coastline, fish is a prominent ingredient in Greek cuisine. The price of fish can vary depending on the abundance. The most inexpensive and most popular fish to eat are sardines, anchovies, mackerel, smelt, and squid. Squid (kalamari) is one of the most popular and used fish in Greek cuisine. Kalamari is served grilled or fried whole. Usually when it is cut into pieces that means it was frozen. The most expensive dish in Greek cuisine would be lobster (astakos) which can cost up to a couple hundred euros. Athens, Greece's capital, is home to almost half of Greece's population and home to many of the delicious, traditional Greek food. The most typical food in Athens is the souvlaki. Souvlaki consists of small pieces of meat or grilled vegetables grilled on a skewer. The meat in souvlaki is usually pork, and souvlaki can be eaten out of hand, in a pita sandwich or on a plate. It is also always served with fried potatoes and various sauces and garnishes.
http://www.greecefoods.com/seafood/ ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki#/media/File:Souvlaki-plate.jpg