Foraging for Flavor Greek Herbs/Bean Cuisine / Spa ... - Kerasma

and constipation, parsley for kidney
disorders and hypertension,
and sage for almost everything else
that ailed them, from lack of energy
to colds, sore throats, and
memory loss.
In addition to basic remedies that
were common knowledge, every
village had its mendicant, a wise
man or woman with special
expertise in plant cures. To this
day, people go to the herb vendors
in urban markets and rely on their
advice for healing various ailments.
Over time, some areas became
famous for their folk healers. One
of these was the Vikos Gorge district
in Epirus. Specialists known as
komboyiannites, a composite word
perhaps deriving from herbal pack-
ets (kombi) and Yiannina, the town
nearest the gorge, used to gather
herbs from the mountains and
then travel around the Ottoman
Empire selling them and dispensing
their cures. Interestingly, when
spelled with one 'n,' the word also
means quack.
But there was no doubt as to the
benefit of Greek herbs and a diet
based on them--although it would
take Westerners until a few
decades ago to realize this. As
Paula Wolfert reports in her book
Mediterranean Greens and Grains at
the turn of the last century, an
Ottoman physician dispatched to
Crete complained to his superiors
in Constantinople: “Everyone here
is his own doctor. The people eat
14 GREEKGOURMETRAVELER
only herbs, greens, and olive oil.
They don't need me.”
They were just doing what came
naturally. Linear B tablets
unearthed at Mycenae document
trade in such herbs as coriander,
cumin, mint, and fennel. Although
they were probably used in essential
oils and perfumes rather than
condiments, there is strong evidence
from molecular analysis of
clay cooking pots that herbs found
their way into ancient stews. We
also have the recipes of Athenaeus
and later Greeks and Romans (who
always had Greek cooks) that call
for seasonings such as fennel,
aniseed, basil, oregano, rue, savory
(throumbi), sage, and thyme, to
mention just a few. The Romans
Herbs capture the
very essence of
Greece: light,
warmth and rocky
soil