There are many things that have carried on from the time of the ancient Greeks; food is a huge part of every culture and Greeks had an eating style and cuisine all their own that continues today. Since we are talking about ancient Greece, we have to consider how little we know about specific recipes or ingredients used. However, knowing the evolution of Mediterranean style of cooking, the availability of meat, vegetables, grain, and fats in the region, has given us some hints about what their eating habits traditionally were like.
Breakfast
If you look back on ancient times, breakfast usually didn’t have much variety. It was often bread made from barley dipped in wine, the breakfast of champions. The wine was most likely used to soften the tough, yet nutritious bread for easy eating.
Some Greeks also feasted on a teganites, Greek style pancake made with curdled milk, honey, olive oil, and wheat flour and usually topped with cheese or honey.
Lunch
Greeks treated lunchtime as a midday snack – typically light foods including olives, more bread, cheeses, salted fish, and figs. Wine once again is part of the ritual, enjoyed on its own, not just for the softening of bread.
Dinner
In Ancient Greece, dinner was the main course of the day. It was not just a time of feasting, but a time of revelry with others, a time of engaging minds, and discussions of the current events. It’s the most important time of day when most of your food would be consumed.
The Greeks would enjoy delectable cheeses, bread, figs, fish, beans, hens, olives paired with seasonal vegetables such as arugula, cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, and asparagus. Meat was for those with wealth and status; and those who were fortunate enough to have meat likely had the pleasure of also being served by a personal servant.
What Did They Drink?
Well we know one thing, the Ancient Greeks loved their wine, but they never drank it straight up. They always cut it with water. They didn’t drink to get drunk; they drank for the enjoyment. The Greeks enjoyed port, rose, white and red wines, but water was always the primary beverage. It was a daily task for the women to bring the water to their homes
Dessert?
Yes, please. It wasn’t the variety show we have now, but dessert was basic and enjoyed using honey as the primary sweetener. Yes, more olives, cheeses, and figs drizzled in raw honey would finish off the final meal of the day.
