Cretan cuisine is a healthy and flavorful cuisine that reflects the island’s history, culture, and geography. It is based on the goods that the island offers, as it is a self-sufficient place with a rich culinary tradition and its own unique identity.
In addition to wine, significant products of the Cretan land are olive oil and olives, citrus fruits, various other fruits, cheeses, sausages and ham, wild herbs, honey, and rusks. Cretan cuisine uses herbs such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, mint, cumin, diktamo, and fennel. In the mountains of Crete, there are sheep and goats that benefit from the island’s unique flora, making their meat very tasty and healthier.
Cretan cuisine places special emphasis on the art of cooking and on simple and fresh ingredients.
Cretan diet, which has its roots in the Minoan civilization and it is still followed today, it has been extensively studied by scientists and it is considered one of the healthiest diets in the world. One of the most important aspects of the Cretan diet is the use of olive oil, as well as other products, such as vegetables, legumes, wild herbs, fruits, and honey.
With all these pure ingredients, the Cretans create delicious foods that combine with local wines and create wonderful culinary experiences. Cretan tables are welcoming and filled with many different dishes.
Dakos, chochlioi (snails), pies, dolmades (stuffed vines leaves), staka (cream of milk), cooked rabbit, skioufichta (homemade pasta), stamnagathi (wild green), Cretan graviera (gruyère cheese), gamopilafo (rice cooked in the meat broth), adikristo (meat cooked across the fire), goat leg with greens are just some examples of dishes you can come across on a Cretan table next to a Vidiano, a Liatiko, a Thrapsathiri or a Mandilaria wine.
Cretan cuisine is also known for its desserts, which are made with local ingredients such as honey, nuts and cheese. Kaltsounia, xerotigana and spoon sweets are just some examples.