Olive Me, Why Don’t You Take Olive Me …

The German couple down the street, the group of French students, the Spanish honeymooners, and my family are all seeking the same thing.  We are searching for authentic Greek cuisine.  Here on Crete, our goal is more specific; we want to eat traditional Cretan food.  Unfortunately, the tavernas seem to have been notified of our quest, and each advertises “traditional Cretan food” of mousaka, spinach pie, and pizza. 

Traditional Cretan Dishes

Since we are absolute cretins when it comes to distinguishing the quality of tavernas, my mum did what she does best—she asked a local.  He recommended to us the place where he eats.  The food there was fresh and filled with entirely new flavours.  My favourite was the stuffed zucchini flowers, which I snatched from my mum even though she ordered them.  My dish, fresh dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), were served hot, and unlike those we get canned at home, weren’t uniform in shape. 

We have all experienced the Greek restaurants in Canada trying to create the “authentic Greek experience”.  They have pillars, whitewashed walls, photos of Greece, and fake vines.  They all fail at creating the ambience of the tavernas here.  The Greek tavernas in Greece have an easy atmosphere filled with laughter, a warm wind and happy people having fun with their food. 

An Open Air Market with Local Produce

Feta in North America is mostly an imposter.  We learned that feta, by definition, is made with 80% goat’s milk and 20% sheep’s milk.  If it is made with cow’s milk, then it is called by a different name: though it smells as sweet it is NOT Feta!  The taste and texture of feta here is varied and delightful.  In the supermarkets there are a plethora of Feta options, different brands, different styles, and different ages.  Each Greek salad I eat here has a large slab of Feta perched on the surface of the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and onions.  Of course, the vegetables are almost swimming in a sea of olive oil.  Interestingly, Greek salad is still called “Greek salad” in Greece. 

Cretan Cheese

I came to Greece with the idea that olive oil would be used copiously on everything: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I was delighted to discover this is completely correct.  No one buys olive oil here; everyone seems to get it from friends or their own family farm.  At restaurants, the salt- and pepper-shakers are inconsequential.  Instead there are vials of olive oil and red wine vinegar dominating the table.  While, the olive oil in Vancouver can sometimes have a bitter aftertaste and be very heavy, all the olive oil I have tasted here is not only light, but each family’s has a distinct flavour.  We are all wildly dipping our bread in olive oil at every possible opportunity.