The Cretan Cuisine
In the 1960s, the Seven Countries Study examined dietary habits in seven countries—and found that the inhabitants of Crete had the highest life expectancy and the lowest rates of heart disease. The reason: the Cretan diet, which is now considered the original form of the Mediterranean diet. Its foundation is simple and ingenious: excellent olive oil in large quantities, wild vegetables and herbs, legumes, whole grain bread, cheese, yogurt, and moderate amounts of meat and fish.
The Essentials
- Olive oil: Crete produces some of the best olive oil in the world—the Koroneiki olive yields a golden-green, intensely fruity extra virgin that in Crete is not a dressing but a staple food. It is estimated that a Cretan consumes 25 liters of olive oil per year—ten times that of a German.
- Dakos: The Cretan national dish: Paximadi (barley rusk) is moistened with water, then topped with grated tomato, Mizithra cheese (soft whey cheese), olive oil, oregano, and capers. Simple, ingenious, addictive.
- Graviera Kritis: Cretan hard cheese made from sheep and goat milk, mild and nutty. Eaten plain, fried (Saganaki), or grated. One of the best cheeses in Greece.
- Chochlioi Bourbouristoi: Fried snails with rosemary and vinegar—the Cretan answer to escargots. Sounds unusual, tastes fantastic.
- Kalitsounia: Small filled pastries with Mizithra cheese and herbs (savory) or with Mizithra and honey (sweet). Every Cretan grandmother has her own recipe.
- Lamb: Cretan lamb (from the mountainside, fed with wild herbs) is incomparable. On the spit (Antikristo—over an open fire, a specialty of the Sfakia region), as Stifado (stew), or as simple grilled chops (Paidakia).
- Horta: Boiled wild greens (dandelion, endive, amaranth) with olive oil and lemon—the Cretan superfood. Available as a side dish in every tavern.
