Producing, buying, and cooking Greek! Article by: Angelos Rentoula in Kathimerini Newspaper
Article by: Angelos Rentoula in Kathimerini Newspaper
How our country can become the organic orchard of Europe.
"A branch without root does not grow. This is the root I want to know and contribute to new flowering."Evi Voutsina, Lefkaditika Cooking, 2008
These days I keep thinking about the resounding ‘slap in the face’ that Greek winemakers have received. An industry that has worked hard, boldly and efficiently in recent years. We enthusiastically applaud the imaginative creative energy of the producers, their innovations, and we pride ourselves in their progress. The wound that recently opened up in the industry with the closure of restaurants is deep and will take a long time to close, even when they eventually reopen. And we still do not know to what extent the new reality has affected exports. One thing is clear: now more than ever, there is an undeniable need to support labelled Greek wine.
Now more than ever, the production of quality Greek food as a whole must be supported. I think about the potential of our country, how robust the primary sector could be.
I count the local peculiarities, the rare products around the world, the wondrous biodiversity, the spartan polytropy of Greek gastrogeography. Our oils, our cheeses, olives, our honeys, our herbs. I lose count: "We have about 6,000 aromatic plants, of which 1,700 are endemic," Moschos Polysiou, Professor Emeritus of the Agricultural University, said in an earlier interview with Gastronome Magazine.
The numbers are dizzying, and they speak for themselves.
It's time for a reset.
See the original article here