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

Greek shoppers are notorious in
demanding only the freshest ingredients
and sometimes mix up to
thirty different kinds of greens and
herbs in their legendary hortopittes
(greens pies).
A visit to the herb and spice emporiums
on Evripidou street around
the Athens Central Market highlights
the importance of herbs to
city dwellers. One corner shop, no
bigger than a closet, boasts 300
varieties for sale, neatly stacked in
cellophane envelopes like office
files. A larger neighbor, with sackfuls
of familiar and arcane seasonings,
never has fewer than 10 cus-
tomers standing at the counter,
contradicting the notion that
Greek cooks hesitate before experimenting
with new tastes. Says one
shopkeeper, “You can't predict
what people will buy. One day
everyone will want mountain tea,
the next it might be branches of
wild rigani.”
In fact, there are signs that imaginative
entrepreneurs are beginning
to look beyond the local market for
customers. From the covered market
in Chania to tourist shops in
Plaka and dozens of resorts, prominent
displays of attractively packaged
herbs from all over the coun-
16 GREEKGOURMETRAVELER
try show that herbs are fast becoming
trendy souvenirs. And why not?
Tastes and memories are inseparable
and herbs capture the very
essence of Greece: light, warmth
and rocky soil. Oregano might well
grow in a northern climate but it
will never develop the oils that we
associate with that extra something
in our village salad.
As Andrew Dalby concludes in Siren
Feasts, a history of food and gastronomy
in Greece, the reliance on
certain herbs since time immemorial
means that “Europe's oldest
cuisine has never lost its original
and unique flavor.”
Herbal infusions are
a longstanding tradition
as Greeks have
always thought of
herbs for their therapeutic
as well as aromatic
qualities.