Greek Food Near Me

In recent years, contemporary Greek food has begun to truly make its mark on American cuisine, surging in popularity and popping up in cities all over the country. Contemporary Greek cooking makes use of vegetables, grains, fish, wine, and meats such as lamb, rabbit, and pork. Greek food also incorporates olives, cheese, lemon juice, vegetables, yogurt, herbs, and bread to create a variety of one of a kind dishes.

Are you interested in finding Greek food near you? Simply browse Greek food near me on the map below and find a list of Greek food restaurants located in close proximity to your current location. Need a bit more information on Greek food? Read on for interesting facts, trivia, and more on Greek food! You might just learn something new.

Greek Food Near Me – Find it on the Map

Greek Food Near Me – Greek Food Trivia

When did Greek cuisine first develop?

It shouldn’t come as a shock that Greek food has a culinary tradition that stems back some 4,000 years ago as a major part of history and culture of Greece and the Greek civilization. The flavors of the food change based on the season and geography, with an early emphasis being placed on frugality. Ancient Greek cuisine was born from a mindset of frugality which was built upon the foundation of the Mediterranean triad: wheat, olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being consumed quite a bit more. This trend in the Greek diet was steady for hundreds of years, continuing onto the Roman and Ottoman times with fairly little change. It has only been in the past few decades where technological process have made meat more available and thus more prevalent in Greek cuisine. Of course, wine and olive oil have and always will be a central part of Greek cooking, along with cheese and vegetables. Greek cuisine also implements many more flavorings than other Mediterranean cuisines, including oregano, garlic, mint, dill, onion, basil, thyme, and fennel seeds. As you search Greek food near me, consider the roots of this cuisine and just how little it has changed since its earliest inception in ancient times.

greek food near me

Greek food typically involves fresh in season ingredients.

True or false: Wine used to be consumed at all times of the day in Greek culture.

One thing that you might not know about ancient Greek cuisine and day to day life was the true prevalence of wine. According to historians, wine was the main drink of the Ancient Greeks other than water. Water was often a tiresome task that was delegated to the woman of the house. Though the Greeks loved water, wine was consumed at every meal and throughout the entire day. Historians believe that they made red wine, white wine, rose and port wines. The main regions for producing wine were Thasos, Lesbos, and Chios. Despite the apparent love of wine, the Ancient Greeks never actually drank their wine straight. In fact, drinking straight wine was considered a barbaric and uncouth move. Instead, all wine was cut with water. The Greeks believed that wine was to be consumed for pleasure and taste, not for the intention of getting drunk. By cutting the wine with water, they could enjoy more wine throughout the day without the risk of getting buzzed or drunk. The focus was then on enjoyment rather than an end goal of getting blitzed. As you search Greek food near me, consider how attitudes on alcohol and especially wine have changed since the time of the Ancient Greeks.

Greek Food Near Me – Greek Food Facts

A Typical Meal in Ancient Greece

If you’re searching Greek food near me, then you’ve likely heard all about the Mediterranean diet that’s currently trending on many social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram. The diet promotes healthy eating in a Greek or Mediterranean fashion. This diet may just be another passing fad, but do you know what a typical meal in Ancient Greece was actually like? For starters, the Greeks always had bread. It was a huge part of the Greek diet and still is. Historians believed that the Greeks ate between 50 and 70 different varieties of bread, all of which were to be enjoyed and savored. In addition to bread, the Greeks obviously loved wine. They even employed rules on how it was best enjoyed and how to properly drink wine. It was especially important for the symposia, which was a meeting of men to talk about ideas and culture. Olive oil was another huge part of the Greek diet. To this day, nearly all Greek dishes are cooked using olive oil. Greeks still consume more olives than any other country in the world. When it comes to meat, most Greeks did not eat meat. Since Greece is surrounded by water, fish was the primary source of protein and used in many dishes. Many varieties of fish were used in cooking. Typically the Greeks frugally used whatever was in season or the catch of the day. Most Greeks believed that eating actually meat was something that only barbarians did. They believed themselves to be far more civilized than those who consumed and hunted for meat. As a result, they almost never ate meat.

Four Meals A Day

Something that many people would be intrigued to learn is that Greek individuals traditionally eat four meals per day, beginning very early in the morning and ending late in the evening. The tradition is to begin the day with a small breakfast of a beverage and either a sweet bread or pastry item. Then they pick up a mid-morning snack, which is typically a sesame covered bread ring or something similar. The Greeks eat their biggest meal of the day, dinner, at around two to three o’clock in the afternoon. Many Americans eat this meal between five and seven o’clock at night. After dinner, most Greeks take a two or three hour nap. During this time, most businesses and offices are closed. Folks begin returning to work at around 5:30 PM and either shop or spend time with family until their late evening meal. As you search Greek food near me consider how dinner times are varied all over the world. What you may experience in your daily life can be entirely different from someone else.

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