Greece And Olive Oil example essay topic

Greek cuisine: The Greeks usually eat 3 meals a day. The first meal of the day is Breakfast. A typical Greek breakfast consists of a piece of bread, some goat milk and strong Turkish coffee. The Greeks do not eat a large breakfast typically. Their next meal of the day is Lunch it is usually eaten around twelve to two pm.

It is also a light meal like breakfast. Dinner is usually eaten later at night than most people are accustomed to. It is eaten between 8-9 pm. This is the largest meal of the day. The most common meats are lamb and chicken. Fish and seafood are found mostly on the coast and in cities and are inexpensive.

Olives are grown in Greece, and olive oil is used a lot in cooking. Salads are usually eaten with the main meal. Main courses include souvlaki, a swish kebab with cubes of meat-often pork or lamb-and vegetables, and stuffed eggplant or tomatoes. Pasta is also popular. Fruit is often served for dessert. Although Greek food is not "low fat" the primary oil used is olive oil, which has been proven to be better for you that rendered animal fat.

Cheese is another mainstay of the Greek diet. The average Grecian eats 50 lbs. of cheese a year. This ranks second in world cheese consumption behind France. The most popular Greek cheese is Feta, which is a smooth cottage type of cheese. Greeks drink a lot of wine. If you are a first-time visitor, you probably better order your wine aretsinoto (without resin), or your mouth will pucker.

Retsina, or resinated wine, has a distinctive flavor and tastes better when chilled. Greek food has been influenced by many sources. The area that Greece occupies was the ancient city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Corinth. Their individual styles of cooking helped shape Greek cooking into what i is today.

Undoubtedly baklava is the most famous pastry, a multi-layered ribbon ed pastry with nuts and oozing with honey syrup. A visit to a Greek pastry shop reveals the how many different ways Greeks use fila dough many of them have a Turkish origin. The honeyed fila pastries and buttery nut cookies compose a separate late afternoon meal accompanied by thick Greek coffee. Fresh fruit - generally figs, orange, apples, and melon - usually conclude the late evening dinner. No part of Greece is more that 85 miles from the coast. This is a good reason that Greeks eat so much seafood.

Another reason that the Greeks eat so much seafood is the land in Greece is very poor for farming most crops. Also there is a lack of land in Greece. Greece occupies a very small area only 50,962 square miles. This is.

Since the Greeks cannot farm a lot of their own food, they have adapted a culture that doesnt depend upon farmed food. That is why Greek recipes dont have a lot of flour or wheat in them. The Greeks have a love for simple well seasoned food. In almost any tavern, restaurant, or bar you can find a tasteful array of seafood and other Greek delicacies prepared before your eyes. It is not uncommon for the patrons of a restaurant to go back to the kitchen to look at their meal being prepared. The olive oil tree has tree has been grown in Greece for thousands of years and its oil has been used as a food as well as for medicinal, cosmetic, lighting and sacred purposes.

You would think that the olive was specially made for Greeces harsh climate, it thrives in most regions of the country. It loves the sea and the sun. The coastal regions have the perfect conditions it needs and a suitable ecosystem for the tree to grow and bear fruit. Taste, aroma and color are all indications of the quality of olive oil. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. Virgin olive oil with an extremely fine taste and an acidity of not more than 1% VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.

Also described as "select". This oil has an exceptionally fine taste and its acidity level does not exceed 2%. OLIVE OIL: obtained by mixing refined and virgin olive oil. It has an acidity of up to 1.5 In the Greek orthodox religion Olive oil is a symbol of love and peace.

Many Greeks have an oil lamp burning olive oil on their homemade altars. Olive oil somehow seems to bring out the true taste of the ingredients while adding its own personal touch. When a recipe calls for olive oil, how do you know what kind to use Let your own taste preferences be your guide. As a general rule, cook with normal olive oil and season or drizzle with "extra virgin" Light and delicate dishes like poached or sauted fish, chicken or veal, go well with a milder, less fruity olive oil. Dishes such as hearty stews, soups or tomato-based sauces welcome a more fruity, flavorful olive oil, as do steamed vegetables and salads. For roasted, barbecued and braised dishes, which require high or prolonged heat olive oil is, best because it is less expensive yet has the same health benefits as virgin olive oils.

In frying, a crisp caramelized crust is formed that will allow but a small amount of oil to soak into the food. In vegetable dishes, its herbal hues blend excellently with the greens. Pies are best made with sweet olive oil. Greece is the southeastern most region on the European continent. It is defined by a series of mountains, surrounded on all sides except the north by water, and endowed with countless large and small islands. The Ionian and Aegean seas and the many deep bays and natural harbors along the coastlines allowed the Greeks to prosper in maritime commerce and to develop a culture which drew inspiration from many sources, both foreign and indigenous.

The Greek world eventually spread far beyond Greece itself, encompassing many settlements around the Mediterranean and Black seas and, during the Hellenistic period, reaching as far east as India. The mountains, which served as natural barriers and boundaries, dictated the political character of Greece. From early times the Greeks lived in independent communities isolated from one another by the landscape. Later these communities were organized into pole is or city-states. The mountains prevented large-scale farming and impelled the Greeks to look beyond their borders to new lands where fertile soil was more abundant.

Natural resources of gold and silver were available in the mountains of Thrace in northern Greece and on the island of Siphnos, while silver was mined from Lauri on in Attica. Supplies of iron ores were also available on the mainland and in the Aegean islands. The Mediterranean Sea moderates Greeces climate, cooling the air in summer and providing warmth in the winter months. Summers are generally hot and dry. Winters are moderate and rainy in coastal regions and cold and snowy in mountainous areas. An estimated 97 percent of the country's population identifies itself as belonging to the Greek branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ, commonly known as the Orthodox Church of Greece.

Though Greeks became independent of the church in Constaniople, a close relationship remains among most branches of Orthodoxy. In many respects, church and state are not separate in the Western sense in Greece. In spite of reforms in the 1980's and a loss of some influence since World War II, the Orthodox Church remains the officially established religious institution of the country, and from that position it exerts considerable influence in secular matters. The largest non-Orthodox religious groups in Greece are Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim. The country of Greece has had a varied history.

At about 2600 BC Greek civilization was founded. This is an educated guess because most records succumb to time. Greek civilization started with a group of people called the Minoans. Minoan civilization reached a peak during 1400's-1300's BC Homer wrote the Oddest and the Iliad during the Ninth century BC During the eighth century BC Athens, Sparta and other city states develop.

During 800 BC Alexander the Great conquered the Grecian Empire of city-states and Greece became part of the Macedonian Empire. After the downfall of the Macedonian Empire, Greece enters a lull, which lasts for almost a thousand years. During this time a numerous number of empires conquered Greece. The Greeks fought a war of independence against the Ottoman Empire and won.

The first president of Greece was Ioannis Kapodistrias. In 1829 the Treaty of Adrianople places Greek under British, French, and Russian protection. In 1832 the Treaty of Constantinople places Greece under British, French, and Russian protection, defines its boundaries, and names Otto of Wittgenstein ruler. The first constitution establishes democratic parliamentary government system, reducing Otto's power. In 1862 after series of coups, Otto forced to resign. After this Greece was an independent country.

Greece played a small part in World War 1. It was on the side of the Allied forces. This brings the history of Greece to the present. In conclusion Greek food is heavily influenced by the climate of the Mediterranean, and the other countries surrounding it. Greeks also eat a very healthy diet rich in seafood and lean meats. Olive oil is a major part of the Greeks daily diet also.

Olive oil is also much more healthy than animal fats and oils.