What is in season in Greece now?

[nm1999]

I am trying to understand Greek cooking on a different level than what I do now. Whenever looking up recipes, that is all it is to me - a recipe. I know that in Greece, there is a notion of seasonality that somehow gets lost when I read a cookbook.

So, it is approaching mid-May. The weather here is really starting to get good. In Greece, I am sure it is also lovely, but the growing seasons are different than what I experience.

What is in season now in Greece? I want to figure out how foods are prepared throughout the year in Greece, I think it will help me understand seasonality in general.

 

[PemiKanavos]

I am trying to understand Greek cooking on a different level than what I do now. Whenever looking up recipes, that is all it is to me - a recipe. I know that in Greece, there is a notion of seasonality that somehow gets lost when I read a cookbook.

So, it is approaching mid-May. The weather here is really starting to get good. In Greece, I am sure it is also lovely, but the growing seasons are different than what I experience.

What is in season now in Greece? I want to figure out how foods are prepared throughout the year in Greece, I think it will help me understand seasonality in general.

Growing up in Greece in the 80s and early 90s. All the food we would eat would be seasonal. Even the fish and meat were somewhat seasonal as well. There was certain fish we would eat in the winter and other during the summer. Lamb and goat would be mor in abundance during spring and summer rather than winter.
Veggies and fruit was the same. We could not find tomatoes in December or January, we couldn’t find strawberries in in the dead of the winter.

So you can imaging that the home cook would make certain dishes at certain times of the year. Gemista was only done in the summer, as well as fasolakia (green beans). Fassolada and baked beans were eaten in the winter.

Fast forward to 2023, Greeks still eat seasonally, but most of the fruits and veggies can be found all year round, but tend to be more expensive. But even so Greeks still like eating seasonally.
Here is a list of fruits and veggies out in may.

Fruit : orange , grapefruit ,
Strawberry, Cherry , loquat, nectarine
Loquat

Veggies : dandelions, green beans, artichoke , asparagus , cucumber , eggplant , peas , squash , cabbage, amaranth, lettuce , beats , peppers, radishes , spinach , broccoli

 

[k_tsoukalas]

Growing up in Greece in the 80s and early 90s. All the food we would eat would be seasonal. Even the fish and meat were somewhat seasonal as well. There was certain fish we would eat in the winter and other during the summer. Lamb and goat would be mor in abundance during spring and summer rather than winter.
Veggies and fruit was the same. We could not find tomatoes in December or January, we couldn’t find strawberries in in the dead of the winter.

So you can imaging that the home cook would make certain dishes at certain times of the year. Gemista was only done in the summer, as well as fasolakia (green beans). Fassolada and baked beans were eaten in the winter.

Fast forward to 2023, Greeks still eat seasonally, but most of the fruits and veggies can be found all year round, but tend to be more expensive. But even so Greeks still like eating seasonally.
Here is a list of fruits and veggies out in may.

Fruit : orange , grapefruit ,
Strawberry, Cherry , loquat, nectarine
Loquat

Veggies : dandelions, green beans, artichoke , asparagus , cucumber , eggplant , peas , squash , cabbage, amaranth, lettuce , beats , peppers, radishes , spinach , broccoli

This is a great list of seasonal produce. I noticed a similar thing while visiting Greece. You can find certain things year round, but it depending where in Greece I was. Since the non-seasonal produce is so expensive, I have also found that most Greeks tend to eat seasonally.