Cretan Garden Vegetables

One more basic feature of the Cretan diet is the large consumption of vegetables and other products of vegetable origin. On average, Cretans are at the top of the scale in terms of vegetable consumption. In fact, they consume three times the amount of vegetables than Europeans! That, too, is part of their secret for a long and healthy life. This dietary habit provides the average Cretan with an abundance of fibers, vitamins, and other nutrients required for human sustenance.
At the same time vegetables contain trace elements many of which are essential in metabolism or for the production of essential compounds, while deficiency in those elements causes metabolic syndromes. Vegetables promote the good operation of the intestines and ward off cancer of the large intestine. Their contribution to the operation of the digestive system is remarkable, and they are rich in vitamins necessary for the metabolism of various tissues. Much of the vegetables consumed in large quantities on Crete are rich in fatty acids which prevent cardiac diseases and most forms of cancer.
The linoleic acid contained in the variety of vegetables consumed by Cretans is a true shield of health! It protects the heart and the circulatory system. Some of the most common garden produce of Crete originates from other regions of the world, e.g. the tomato, which revolutionized the Cretan cuisine and shaped the character of Cretan diet as we know it today.
Cretan tomatoes are naturally ripened and free from hormones. Other agricultural products of Crete, cucumbers, marrows, etc., are cultivated in the lush valleys of the island under the most favourable weather conditions -- no snow during winter and moderate temperatures at the heart of the summer.
Areas that are considered most favourable for vegetable production are mainly found in the south of the island, in niches where even the swallows do not need to migrate further south, to Africa. The garden produce of Crete grows in a natural environment, under the moderate temperatures of a slanting golden sun and within a naturally scented environment. Cretans have a particular affection for the soil that provides them with the means for a good, long life. Technology is good as long as it does not violate and debase their dietary codes the observance of which gave Cretans the title of the lowest heart-attack risk, the lowest death rate, and the greatest life expectancy in the Western world.
Garden produce is cultivated in the southern, coastal regions of Crete, mainly at Ierapetra, Messara, south of Rethymnon, in the coastal area of Selino, of Kisamo and elsewhere.

Cretan aromatic herbs

ROSEMARY
(DENTROLIVANO)
It is called rosemary, its’ Latin name is Rosmarinus officiualis, and belongs to the family of Labiatae.
It is an evergreen plant, bushy, of dark green color, with dense, very thin, lance-shaped leaves and a very pleasant scent.It is self-sown, grows all over Crete and has been known in Greece since antiquity.
It is being used fresh or dry, in sauces made for seafood and fishes, and as a beverage.
It is being used in the pharmaceutical industry since it has healing properties (weakness, insomnia, indigestion, alopecia, hysteria, cellulite).It also favors apiculture.

SAGE
(FASKOMILO)
It ia a self –sown bush, with lanceshaped, saw-like, leaves, which have an ashen-green color and strong scent.
It flowers in the end of spring and its’ flowers are whitish and cluster – shaped.
The word itself (sfakos + milea) is of ancient origin.
It is mainly used as a beverage, either alone or with malotira and dittany.
When cooking braised meat, red sauces or vegetable dishes, add only 1-2 leaves of sage because it has a very strong scent.
It mainly is a pharmaceutical herb and warming tisane.
By distilling it, you can make an essential oil useful in pharmaceutics and soap making.

DITTANY
(DIKTAMO)
The ancient Greeks named it ‘’artemidion’’, since it was Artemis gift to them, so as to cure the wounds that she sometimes carelessly made with her arrows. It is one of the most important healing herbs of antiquity – the plant named ‘’diktamnon’’ of the Dikti mountains since it was considered to be a cure for most illnesses.
The words diktamo or erontas, stamatohorto, livanohorto and many other synonyms are used to name this rare aromatic plant that only grows in Crete, usually in great highs and steep cliffs.
It is a perennial, self-sown moss and has 3 variations, according to the size of its’ leaves: narrow-leafed, broad-leafed and medium-leafed.
It is being used as a tisane, either alone or with sage and malotira.
Two or three leaves are enough for one cup, more of them would make the tisane slightly bitter.
It is a tonic and refreshing tisane, ideal for cold winter nights.
It has tonic, stimulating and healing properties.
Erontas is being used to make a stimulating drink.
Put 30 gr. Of this herb in 1 litre of white whine, soak it for 2 weeks, and drink 1 water glassof the mixture daily, for 1 week.
Avoid long-standing use.
Pregnant women should not use it since it has aborting properties.

MALOTIRA
Malotira or Malothira. A mossy, bushy and brushwood-like plant that grows in mountain areas.
You can drink it as a tisane, with some honey or combined with other herbs (sage, dittany).

LOUISA
Louisa or lemongrass, with the characteristic smell of lemon.
The plant comes from America but is completely acclimatized in Greece.
It is a bush but can also grow to be a small tree-depending on the pruning and it sheds it’s leaves in the winter.
The flowers grow in bunches, sometimes to the top of the plant.
The gathering of the leaves, sprouts, flowers is done in the summer.
All the parts of the plants are used in healing.
From the leaves – dried – a tisane is made (10-20 gr. For a liter of water), which is a tonic, a remedy for fever, soothes the bronchial tube and the nasal cavity, perspiring, diuretic, against diarrhea and bleeding.
Also, with poultice it is good in nerve pains and headaches, as well as pain in the ears.
The oil is used in industry in several ways (perfumery, confectionery, distillery etc.).

CRETAN HONEY
The honey produced in Crete is golden, almost amber, of very good quality and without foreign admixtures.
The bees feed on thyme, other fine Cretan aromatic herbs (found in the Cretan Madares, Omalos and else where), coniferous trees therefore the honey has a pleasant & quiet scent, a rich flavor and therapeutic qualities.
It is eaten row and is also used in pastry making and cooking.
It should be noted that it is ideal for our organism if we eat a spoonful of honey before anything else in the morning and then drink a glass of water.
This activates our metabolism and at the same time the honey is beneficial for the stomach and the nerves.

Cretan olives

GREEN CRUSHED OLIVES (Tsakistes)
Taken big green olives (tsounates), wash them and then crush them with a flat stone taking care not to break the pip.
Put the olives in a big pot and pour boiling water over them.
Let them stand for half an hour. This way their color does not fade.
After draining them, put them in a big glass or earthenware jar full of fresh water.
Change the water morning and evening for 5-6 days.
This will draw the bitterness.
It might take a couple of days longer.
Dissolve half a cup of salt in a glass full of lemon or sour orange juice.
Pack the olives in this ‘’brine’’ and pour some olive oil to cover them.
This will prevent the olives from ‘’breathing’’, otherwise they will go mouldy.
Recipe designed for a five –kilo jar.


BLACK SALTED OLIVES (pastes)
Or seliniotikes or alatsolies.
Use small, black olives.
First wash them and then soak them in water for three days.
After draining them, layer them in a straw basket with coarse salt on top of each layer.
Leave 25 cm at the top of the last layer so that when you shake the basket every 5-6 days, the olives can be evenly salted.
Remove the excess salt with a big sieve 18-20 days later.
Wash, drain and oil the olives by hand before serving.

PICKLED OLIVES
(Ksydates)
Use big black olives.
Slit them making sure not to touch the pip.
Soak them in water and freshen them for 5-6 days as for the above Tsakistes.
Pack them in a jar with water where you have dissolved a small quantity of quicklime (the size of a walnut per kilo).
After 4-5 hours remove, drain, and soak the olives in vinegar for one day.
Drain and preserve them in olive oil.