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How is modern Greek food different from Ancient Greek food?

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greek_ggirl

greek_ggirl

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Does anyone know what types of food the ancient Greeks were eating? Is there any chance that they were eating food that we see in Greece today, or was it completely different? I have no idea how we would even know this, perhaps the types of food Greeks were eating was depicted in ancient art and paintings.
 
Some of the foods and drinks are, obviously, the same - grapes, figs, wine, honey, etc... But in Ancient Greece didn't have access to the same as modern Greece does today. Dishes such as soutzoukakia, pastitsio, and mousaka didn't exist because Europeans had not explored the Americas yet - these dishes all contain tomatoes which is native to the Americas. So what dishes today does Greece eat that were also eaten by Ancient Greeks? Loukoumades, fasolada, pasteli, oranges with honey, horiatiki, and baklava are some of the most well known dishes that are still eaten today
 
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I think some of the foods have ancient origins - like fried bread and I was reading, even Koulourakia, which are thought to have originated with the Minoans, or at least some version of the cookie. There have been outside influences too, though. For example, Greece become influenced by French cooking, I think it was in the early 1900's (don't quote me on the timing) and that is when the likes of "Bechemel" entered Greek cuisine and changed some of the dishes. If you can get ahold of the Frugal Gourmet cookbook about Ancient Cuisines (it is out of print but you can still find copies online) you can learn more about Ancient Greek food. The book covers three ancient cuisines, Greek being one of them.
 
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