Greek Honey in Ancient Greece

Since prehistoric times humans knew how to collect the honey and how to use in foods. For centuries because of lack of knowledge about sugar, honey was the only sweetener in use. Even gods of ancient Greeks where fed on nectar and ambrosia. Honey held an essential role in the ancient Greeks diet and not a supplementary as it was a natural and healthy product. From fragmentary information about the composition of the meals of the ancient Greeks we see that honey is included daily in their diet, either alone or as material used in various sauces and desserts.

The Greek poets Hesiod and Pindar indicated that Aristaeus son of Apollo, god of music and harmony, and Kirene daughter of King Ypsea were those suggested the breeding of bees, cultivation of grape and olive, protectors of shepherds and hunters.

Writings have been found of Hippocrates, Aristotle and Democritus referenced to the beneficial properties of Greek honey in health and longevity, while Pythagoras and his followers had honey as the main food. It was believed to have antiseptic and medicinal properties and for this reason they used it to mummify their dead. Is mentioned that the body of Alexander the Great was treated that way.

Today you can buy Greek honey even online from various e-shops, it is a choice that can boost your diets nutrition value and you with energy.

My Greek Wine Experience

 

As the second post of these blog but essentially the first I will write my opinion about Greek wines I have tasted until now. I must clarify that I'm no wine expert or wine qualified critic-tester and so, which means my opinion about wines is subjective and may not be correct for some of you but it is an opinion after all that you can read if you haven't tasted the particular wines.


Let's start, first of all let's see what some terms like "Assyrtiko", "Roditis" and more means when it comes to wine knowledge. After a research to many great sites about wine I found what those terms represent and I present them to you (many thanks to the wine bloggers-lovers):

Assyrtiko is one of Greece’s best white grapes. It exhibits clean crisp aromas and flavors with notable acidity and light minerality. A reasonably hearty grape and prolific in the vineyard, Assyrtiko is originally grown on the island of Santorin, but it is also grown in Macedonia and other locations. The variety is usually fermented in stainless steel and sees no oak, but some producers are keeping it on the lees while others are fermenting it in oak and blending it with other varieties. There are also sun-dried versions of the grape that are quite enticing.

Roditis is widely cultivated throughout Greece and one of the oldest indigenous varieties. It is a vigorous and high yielding grape that often produces innocuous wines. Different clones and cooler growing conditions can produce Roditis wines of greater interest and there are some in Macedonia.

Malagousia is a rare grape variety which has been nurtured by winemaker, Evangelos Gerovassilious. The grape is grown throughout Macedonia and elsewhere in Greece. Malagousia displays lovely aromas and flavors of stone fruit.

Xinomavro is a traditional red grape variety. It is ripens late and is not easy to grow. It has tight clusters and is susceptible to uneven ripening requiring careful selection of fruit before fermentation. Some vignerons consider Xinomavro to be like Barolo or Barbaresco because of it medium ruby color and tannins. Xinomavro is high in tannins and most of the wines show lots of tannic grip. Aging can help moderate tannins, but old ones also have it. Taming tannins best accomplished in the vineyard, but it would seem that extensive skin contact during fermentation would also be a contributing factor.

Agiorgitiko is perhaps the best known of Greece’s indigenous red varieties. It is generally medium-dark ruby colored and displays spicy red fruit aromas and flavors. It has an affinity with oak, generally late ripening, not overly tannic, and is easy to drink. It is vinified in a variety of styles throughout Nemea, Attica and Peleponnese.

Yeah, I know it's like school, theory and practical value are related but not as close as we would like. So here it comes, my opinion that is. I tasted "Nico Lazaridi Magic Mountain Red Dry Wine" and "Santo Wines Assyrtiko Dry White Wine".

The first was the best red wine I have ever tasted until now with a dark red colour and a smell of fruits of the forest, it really positively amazed me. The Assyrtiko on the other hand is a white wine with a smells of lemon zest. Bright and quite refreshing. An excellent choice as a bartender could suggest! And those where just 2 out of many possible choices when it comes to Greek wines. I believe in time I will get my hands more of them and then I will spend some time posting something even more detailed about them.

A review to the Greek products

traditional Greek salad

Recently I lived the pleasure of eating Greek food! A friend of mine has a friend who... to make the long story short I was in a gathering of students in London many of them Greeks. There was food and spirits and nice music. What really amazed me was all the different and new for me tastes. I was always asking wow what is this? What is the name of it? How do you make this one? etch.
So after that mouth stimulating experience I did a small research on all the Greek products, like olives, ouzo, olive oil and more, accessible in England, the ways Greek food is made from recipes of Greek cuisine to procedures of creating products and many more, it was fun!

As a consequence, this blog will be a means of me experimenting on the creation and tasting of traditional Greek foods, that you can always buy from some e-shops out there (maybe a good thing to do in order to taste the goods and see if they are worth learning how to make), and reporting my opinion, achievements, research results, analytic recipes and anything else related to foods and drinks from Greece.