Greece Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Cuisine === {{Main|Greek cuisine|Greek wine}} [[File:Greek Salad from Thessaloniki.jpg|alt=|thumb|A [[Greek salad]], with [[feta]] and [[olive]]s]] [[Greek cuisine]] is characteristic of the [[Mediterranean diet]], which is epitomised by dishes of [[Cretan diet|Crete]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Sari |last=Edelstein |title=Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lj0CeaIIETkC&pg=PA147 |access-date=27 December 2011 |date=22 October 2010 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett |isbn= 978-0-7637-5965-0 |pages=147–49}}</ref> Greek cuisine incorporates fresh ingredients into a variety of local dishes such as [[moussaka]], [[pastitsio]], classic [[Greek salad]], [[fasolada]], [[spanakopita]] and [[souvlaki]]. Some dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece like [[skordalia]] (a thick purée of walnuts, almonds, crushed garlic and olive oil), [[lentil]] [[soup]], [[retsina]] (white or rosé wine sealed with pine resin) and [[Sesame seed candy|pasteli]] (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with honey). Throughout Greece people often enjoy eating from small dishes such as [[meze]] with various dips such as [[tzatziki]], grilled octopus and small fish, [[feta cheese]], [[dolmades]] (rice, currants and pine kernels wrapped in vine leaves), various [[Legume|pulses]], [[olive]]s and cheese. [[Olive oil]] is also an incredibly widespread addition.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |url=https://textbooks.restaurant.org/Textbooks/media/fmrca/FRMCA_GlobalCuisine2_1.pdf |title=Global Cuisine 2: Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia |publisher=National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation |year=2017 |publication-date=2017 |pages=19 |language=en}}</ref> Some sweet desserts include [[melomakarona]], [[diples]] and [[galaktoboureko]], and drinks such as [[ouzo]], [[metaxa]] and a variety of wines including retsina. Greek cuisine differs widely from different parts of the mainland and from island to island. It uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines: [[oregano]], [[Mentha|mint]], garlic, onion, [[dill]] and [[bay laurel]] leaves. Other common herbs and spices include [[basil]], [[thyme]] and [[fennel]] seed. Many Greek recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use "sweet" spices in combination with meat, for example [[cinnamon]] and [[clove]]s in stews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greek Food Ingredients |url=https://angelfoods.gr/greek-food/greek-food-ingredients/ |access-date=4 January 2024 |website=Angelfoods |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> [[Koutoukia]] are an underground restaurant common in Greece.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Wolfert|first=Paula|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/298538015|title=Mediterranean clay pot cooking : traditional and modern recipes to savor and share|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7645-7633-1|location=Hoboken, N.J.|pages=235|oclc=298538015|author-link=Paula Wolfert}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page