Greek name and pronunciation: Maratho, μάραθο, pronounced MAH-rah-thoh (soft th sound)Wild fennel is also known as malathro (μάλαθρο, say: MAH-lah-throh) At the market: The most commonly used fennel leaves in Greek cooking are fresh, sold in bunches or attached to the root. It is sometimes sold under the name “anise” because of the similarity in tastes, but […]

Greek name and pronunciation Roka, ρόκα, pronounced RO-kah At the market: Arugula, also known as rocket, is sold either loose-leaf or banded in bunches, in the green grocer section. Physical description: Arugula leaves are a rich, dark green color. It has a peppery, mustard-like flavor,is a rich source of iron, and is high in vitamins […]

Byzantine cuisine basically evolved from the ancient Greek gastronomic tradition. The type of ingredients, preparation methods and quite often the names of foods employed in both periods are testimony to this fact. Byzantine cuisine had already developed at a time when the European diet was still frugal and unrefined. As in ancient times, formal Byzantine dinners were […]

Due to fasting, the Byzantines incorporated fresh vegetables and wild greens in their meals much more often than the ancient Greeks, although the varieties consumed in both historic periods did not vary considerably. Compared with the modern age, fresh vegetables and wild greens were given different names and varied in their cooking method; for these […]

Egypt had always been the chief grain supplier to the great empires of thr Eastern Mediterranean, both the Byzantine and Roman. When Egypt fell into the hands of the Arabs at the turn of the 7th century BC, the plains of Thrace took its place as the chief source of grain for the region. In […]

As was the case with earlier historical periods, the Byzantine era also yielded abundant and often vivid information on nutritional habits and patterns. Our knowledge, however, of general culinary practice and especially of specific recipes and quantities of ingredients is disappointingly meager. An exception to this general dearth, albeit a minor one, is information traced […]