A Greek adage decrees “everything in its own time, and mackerel in August”– a reflection of a culinary tradition determined by the calendar and the seasons. Gourmed.gr helps Odyssey look at the year ahead from the kitchen.

Greek cuisine is deeply rooted in the traditions of farm and faith, as the seasons and holiday calendar have jointly determined what foods are eaten when. Cuisine was thus shaped by practical considerations–what foods were available paired with the rotation of feast and fast ordered by Orthodox instruction. The cycle of cultivation, starting with the autumn sowing, initiates the offering of the first fruits of the land. Pagan customs assimilated during the conversion to Christianity strengthened the bond between farm and faith, inspiring customs rooted in symbolism: the first flour is made into bread that is broken and distributed among the community, and the first piece is thrown into the water so that the flour never ends and the well never dries. In similar vein, the first grapes are always harvested on August 6, the Feast of the Transformation (Metamorphosis) and offered to the church; the seeds are offered to the Virgin Mary on November 21 and a sweet pulp made from the grapes is offered to the parish on December 4.

After the Christmas and New Year’s feasting, the next big “eating” holiday is apokries–a celebration to mark the waning of winter and herald the arrival of spring. This is a special season in the kitchen as meat is eaten on several occasions during the three weeks of carnival. The consumption of meat is almost exclusive on Tsiknopempti, while the rich, cheese pies on the Sunday of the last week also prepare for the fasting that begins with Kathara Deftera, the start of Lent.

The fast is fortuitously timed, for there’s an abundance of new green vegetables which comprise the main diet during the period, along with bread, pulses, olive oil, and seafood. The Feast of the Evangelismos on March 25 usually falls within Lent, offering a break from the monotony with the tradition of serving fried cod and skordalia.

The forty-day Lenten fast is broken by the Easter feast. Dairy products and meat –traditionally lamb– is consumed in great quantities. A simpler diet is resumed after the Sunday of Thomas, which coincides with the first crops of vegetables and an abundance of fish. Pulses, a staple of the Greek diet, are replaced with fresh broad beans and peas.

The cycle continues for the rest of the year, with shorter fasts balancing the heavier eating of lesser feasts. Meals are built around the seasonal availability of vegetables, as the tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini of summer give way to the cruciferous and root vegetables of fall. 

Issue: Jan/Feb 2008