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Greek And Minoans

Decent Essays

Two countries, located side by side in the Mediterranean sea. They share a similar climate, the Mediterranean sun, and many of the same landscapes. With overlapping histories, they both have a shared but unique heritage, which is reflected in their cuisine.
I have visited both countries and each will forcibly claim to have invented national dishes. I have even heard that the Turks invented pizza, the delicious Pide. However, I am sure the Italians would hotly dispute this point!
To understand the similarities you need to understand the history. One of the earliest Greek civilisations were the Cretan Minoans. The Minoans grew the first grains and made very rustic wine from native wild grapes. Although the Greeks cannot claim to have invented bread …show more content…

Both enjoy stuffed vine leaves. Dolma in Turkish, dolmades in Greek. The Turkish version will often contain dried fruit from their Ottoman legacy while the Greek will contain fennel and mint.
Moussaka is another dish with claims to both nations. In Turkey, it is sautéed and served in the style of a casserole, and consumed warm or at room temperature. In Arabic countries, a variant is eaten cold. In the Balkans, the dish is layered and typically served hot. Many versions have a top layer made of milk-based sauce thickened with egg. The modern Greek version was probably formulated in the 1920s in Athens. It has three layers that are separately cooked before being combined for the final baking: a bottom layer of sliced eggplant sautéed in olive oil; a middle layer of ground lamb lightly cooked with chopped or puréed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices (cinnamon,allspice and black pepper, undeniably an Ottoman influence); and a top layer of Béchamel sauce. Moussaka is usually served warm, not piping hot; in

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