Balkan Beats 43 - Food

Balkan Beats

A BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE BY THE VOLUNTEERS OF THE UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS

The 43d Edition

“

One of our physiological needs, just a need for some, great satisfaction and happiness for others, a companion of meetings, indispensable for special days, a celebration indicator of precious moments, the savior of boring nights and yes, what we are talking about is food.

Before we tackled the topic of food, we had forgotten what a broad perspective it actually is. In superficial conversations and daily life, we may not give the necessary importance, but the food is not just something we consume every day. So many essential sub-topics come within it and need to be examined.

As volunteers in this magazine, we have tried to address the striking and not to be underestimated issues that will make you think about them once more while discussing the food issue. From food waste to the

FOOD

by Ezgi Gungordu, Alex Humbert

sugar-free trend, we bring together many interesting topics and present our own observations, experiences and ideas.

Eating is an enjoyable activity, yes, it is true, but there are many steps besides just eating; researching for recipes, cooking, sharing with others and many more. So we hope that when you think of “food”, more things come to mind and these articles will be helpful for the enthusiasts!

P.S. Make sure you have a full stomach before starting to read the articles!

Balkan Beats, a part of Balkan Hotspot

Balkan Hotspot is the ESC (European Solidarity Corps) project of “United Societies of Balkans”, a NGO founded in Thessaloniki in 2008 by a team of active young people.

The Balkans and Eastern Europe are geographical regions with many cultural features which offer a broad spectrum of actions and youth involvement initiatives. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of con-

www.balkanhotspot.org

stant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment.

Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia production.

This magazine is distributed free of charge.

United Societies of Balkans is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in Thessaloniki in 2008, by a team of active young people. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia production (webradio, videos, documentaries).

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO 8, Delmouzou str., Thessaloniki Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 | www.usbngo.gr

Main goals of the organization

• To promote the values of non formal le- aring,volunteering, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for European youth.

• To promote human rights, solidarity and respect for diversity.

• To build healthy cooperation bridges between countries of the Balkan area and that of Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe.

• To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies.

• The break down of prejudices and stereo- types between Balkan countries.

Property of Balkan Beats

The United Societies of Balkans, NGO, does not necessarily share the opinions expressed in Balkan Beats. It is illegal to reproduce any part of this publication without referring to the source.

© Ezgi Gungordu

Cover Photo: “Bon Appetit”

Sugar free Experiment

The period when I lived without sugar for a year and a half was a time in which my life changed in many ways. I want to explain with some examples and suggestions how I decided to remove sugar from my life and how I made it sustainable.

In a casual conversation with a very close friend in 2018, she told me that she never ate anything sweet. She stated that she was very impressed by a documentary and followed the sugar-free diet for 21 days.

by Ezgi Güngördü

The documentary’s name is: That Sugar Film.

I never thought before that I could quit sugar, even if I knew about its harms and believed it has negative effects on the human body and mental health. But, impressed by my friend’s perseverance and determination, I watched the documentary and saw what she was talking about.

In the documentary “That Sugar Film”, Damon Gameau, while embracing healthy eating as his lifestyle, decides to experiment and ingest 40 grams of sugar per day for 60 days, a total of 600 teaspoons. This is the average daily amount of sugar a person takes in. The only condition is to do this with healthy and diet products in the markets.

At the beginning of the experiment, he is given various tests, and a dietitian is arranged. Later, Damon goes shopping and buys hidden sugar products that he will use for his experiment. Packaged fruit juices, yogurts, cereals, sauces, cold teas, ready-to-eat packaged meals... Sugar directly affects our brains, causing sudden changes in our moods. When we take a sugar-containing substance into our bodies, our blood sugar rises. The body releases insulin in response to this, and our blood sugar drops suddenly. Then, the hormone adrenaline sends our brain the signal to eat sugar again. In such a cycle, we become addicted without realizing it.

The documentary also touches on what all sugary substances cause in general. Observing

That Sugar Film... Perhaps the documentary brought the biggest change and awareness in my life

how Damon changed during this process directly reveals that sugar is responsible for that.

After I finished watching the documentary, I didn’t even have to go through a decision process. Everything was clear in my head. And my sugar-free life began (even if I didn’t know for how long).

I didn’t realize anything on the first day. Of course, there were days when I had not consumed refined sugar for a couple of days before. But my headaches started at the end of the 3rd day when I did not consume anything containing even a small amount of sugar. I tried to hold on, thinking these pains were good. At the end of a week, I forced myself to endure as much as I could. But, of course, I have yet to see any change.

Everyone around me was constantly consuming sugary things; fruit juices, sweets, and coca-cola were always around me. I was just accompanied by drinking water and trying to be content with the situation. Yes, because I was sure I was doing something good for myself.

It took a while to see the results, but since I did not set a time frame for myself in this process, I got used to the absence of sugar and did not even think of consuming it again.

As I haven’t done any health tests or measurements like in That Sugar Film, I don’t know what changes my body has made other than losing fat. But the difference I experienced mentally and spiritually was definitely incredible. I could easily see how sugar numbs the brain and provides short-term happiness and satisfaction. I felt more energetic, happier and more muscular.

Everyone around me noticed this, and some from my close circle gave up sugar thanks to me. This made me happy because it was delightful to encourage a positive state and observe their changes.

So what happened, and a year and a half later, I started again?

I don’t know the answer to this question yet, either. A year and a half was a long time, and at the end of this period, maybe having a special diet tired me. I am thrilled to experience it, even though I know it is not suitable for me to start consuming sugar again. I have two suggestions to everyone reading this article: watch That Sugar Movie and give your body what it needs.

96 Hours Without Food: My Experience Fasting

by Silvia Sanz Linares

Eating is one of the greatest pleasures in life, one of those little satisfactions we actually need to survive. When we eat, we nourish our bodies, but we also feed our souls. So, why would anyone cut off eating for several days? What are the effects of such deprivation?

This article does not seek to encourage or promote unhealthy eating behaviours; it’s only intention is to spread the author’s personal experience and the information obtained through research. Always consult a doctor before making extreme diet modifications such as a prolonged fast.

Over the past decade, fasting has become a movement on the rise, claiming weight loss, overall health benefits, and even an increase in the life span. However, food intake restriction is much more than a hip health movement; it is,

indeed, an historical and religious approach to both physical and spiritual health.

Those promoting it swear by its therapeutic benefits and its power to develop spiritual strength through resisting temptation and mastery of the body. Abstinence from food is, hence, a deft strategy to connect with one’s physicality, needs and desires.

The bettering health outcomes are what first drew me into the practice of not eating for short periods back in my teenage, and, despite the fact that most of the advantages of fasting can be attained with a healthy lifestyle, I still love the challenge and the perpetual fight between will and lust occurring in my head. So, for all of you wondering what fasting feels like, here’s my experience of not consuming any foods or drinks (other than water and unsweetened mint tea) for four days.

Day one

As I just mentioned, I am not a rookie when it comes to fasting. I have put my willpower to the test periodically for nearly ten years. As a result, I didn’t navigate this way blindfolded, and I knew what to expect. However, I deemed fasting more complicated this time, given I currently coexist

Hippocrates of Kos, the father of modern medicine, advocated for fasting and prescribed strict fasts for all acute fevers and diseases.

Source: 1881, Young Persons’ Cyclopedia of Persons and Places; Silvia Sanz

with about 20 people, meaning food was very present throughout my entire journey.

Yet, day one was the easiest for me. It usually happens like this, and it remained the same on this occasion. While, for others, the simple idea of facing a day without food can seem like hell, for me (at least at this starting stage) does not have much of an effect.

During this first day, my energy levels were high and steady. I simply couldn’t feel the absence of food in my system, and my mood was overall pretty good. Only when I was getting closer to the 24-hour milestone did I begin to feel peckish; fortunately, water and tea easily killed that sensation.

Now, that was what I felt: a wholly personal and subjective experience. Of course, not everyone will endure fasting in the same manner. Still, the underlying biological processes will be the same. So, let’s take a look at what occurs when we deprive ourselves of food:

• 4-8 hours: The sugar in the bloodstream slowly decreases, and the body stops insulin production.

• 12 hours: All the food in the digestive tract is consumed; consequently, the digestive system shuts down.

• 14-16 hours: As the body runs out of glucose, the pancreas releases glucagon, a hormone

that helps regulate blood sugar. Likewise, Human Growth Hormone begins to increase, which means the body-healing process begins.

• 24 hours: Without any glucose left in the system and all the glycogen reserves dramatically low, the body swaps its strategy. Now, ketones, an alternative energy source from fat, become the fuel.

Day two

More than 24 hours had passed by the time I woke up in the morning, and my body was already showing some signs. It is true that

Source: 2022, Robert Klitz Any fast under 24 hours is considered intermittent fasting, one of the most popular fasting strategies.

I didn’t feel any hunger after my sleep, but I could sense my energy levels had decreased.

Some very notorious changes set in; my muscles were feeling feeble, my body incredibly heavy, and I could notice my heart pumping faster and harder. Unfortunately, I did not measure my glucose during this experience, but I was probably hypoglycemic.

The mental challenge had also just kicked in; I dreamt of food twice over the night. So, I can confirm (from this and previous fasts) restrictions and prohibitions can only make that banned object more desirable and lively in your mind.

The afternoon was rough. I experienced nausea, migraine and numbing in my hands. Even

though my energy levels were back to (almost) normal, I couldn’t wait for that day to end.

The most remarkable biological changes during this period include:

• 36 hours: Autophagy, the process that recycles old cells and improves their operation, increases by 300%.

• 40 hours: Autophagy continues to increase up to an extra 30%. Likewise, the immune system reboots, and the body’s inflammatory response plummets.

Day three

Nothing had changed when I woke up on the third morning of my fast. Luckily, hunger was non-existing. My body strength was absent as well. The headaches continued, and the tiniest effort, such as climbing a few stairs, meant draining my batteries.

Surprisingly, I was tremendously focused most of the morning. Even so, by midday, it began to switch with the smell of my housemates’ food. As it usually is, day three was hideous: I was lightheaded, exhausted, moody, shivery and having mild headaches. To make matters worse, I couldn’t get food out of my head; I longed for it, so I considered quitting my challenge.

Autophagy (self-eating) is an intracellular degradation system in which old damaged organelles, proteins and pathogens are sequestrated and broken down for resources.

Regarding the biological aspect of the process, not many changes occur during this phase: Source: 2018, MBInfo Defining Mechanobiology

• 54 hours: The insulin levels reach their lowest point while the ketone levels continue to increase, preventing muscle breakdown.

• 72 hours: At this point, the insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) will decrease, triggering the production of stem cells and new immune cells. Moreover, oxidative stress will also be reduced, preventing ageing.

Day four Day four came with an improvement in my physical condition; I had a lot more energy this day, and the headaches were way less intense than the previous days.

Overall, my mood and mental performance were sharp during the morning. Regardless, the idea of eating was constantly in the back of my mind (even if I did not feel hungry at any time).

My original plan was to fast for five days, but after walking for ten minutes and undergoing joint discomfort and muscle soreness for a couple of hours, I felt miserable. My final milestone seemed unreachable, and I crumbled. Hence, after realizing I had gone 98 hours without food, I broke my fast with a scrumptious roasted courgette.

I do believe it was the right move, as at this stage, all those ‘healing’ processes are maintained for about 24 more hours. After that, there are only changes to them once they slow down and, eventually, come to an end.

Conclusions

I reckon fasting is a remarkable experience despite all the ‘suffering’ it makes you encounter.

It is a powerful tool that, when used correctly, can do wonders for your health. But, most importantly, it’s an eye-opening exploration of yourself capable of humbling you.

When you fast, the connection between mind and body becomes crystal clear. So does the meaning of food; the recreational and social dimensions take over your mind and assert how they’re just as important as nutrition.

Fasting is a stress-causing experience, yet I see it as valuable training for the real world. Of course, it is full of tough moments, and your willpower is challenged every minute. Still, it allows you to develop, train and uphold mental strength, a mastery essential to navigate life.

Sources:

Rothman, N. (2022). What happens to Your Body While Fasting (Hour by Hour) + Benefits of Fasting. Rothman Health Solutions.

https://drnicole.com/what-happens-to-your-body-while-fastinghour-by-hour-benefits-of-fasting/

Stem cells are cells with the capacity to multiply into the 200 different cell types forming a human.

Source: 2021, Yourgenome.

When winter is coming…

A selection of typical dishes from our volunteers’ countries

by Alex Humbert

Beyond the cliché of hot chocolate with a blanket in front of the chimney, we all have typical foods or dishes which we eat, especially in winter. So let’s take a look at which ones!

All United Societies of Balkans’ volunteers come from different countries with other cultures, traditions and of course, food. Whether it is soups, starters, main courses, desserts or drinks with more specific products, here is a non-exhaustive list of the dishes they eat at home. Sometimes you might be surprised at how similar your meals and theirs can be.

Austria - Eintopf

An Eintopf is like a stew with vegetables: potatoes, carrots, lentils, beans, peas and also cereals like bread, pasta, pearl barley. But in fact, it depends on the recipe because sometimes you have more ingredients as meat or sausage and sometimes you have fewer ingredients, it’s up to you.

rice, meat (lamb or beef), and garlic. Sometimes people use vegetables when they boil/ poach the meat to add some flavours, it depends on the recipe.

Egypt - فتة

This Egyptian dish, called fattah/fatteh in the Latin alphabet, is composed of pieces of bread,

France - Fondue Savoyarde

Cheese, cheese and cheese! That’s why we French people love this dish. But I forgot to write about another essential ingredient: bread. Otherwise, how will you be able to eat the cheese? And no, with a fork or a spoon, it doesn’t work,

Source: Pixabay

Source: our volunteer

Source: Pixabay

Eintopf

Fattah

Fondue savoyarde

or if it does, it’s not the same, and above all, you can’t do the challenge game and guess when the piece of bread will fall into the pan.

Germany - Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut wasn’t created in Germany, but now, this dish composed of fermented cabbage is very famous in Europe and keeps its German name. But with many different recipes, like Kapusniak, Pierogi with sauerkraut, or even Choucroute Garnie.

eral centuries and unlike other recipes around the world, there is no meat in it.

Italia - Pancotto

This soup is prepared with pieces of stale bread boiled in broth or water and seasoned with some vegetables and herbs, but sometimes with hot pepper or different vegetables, depending on the recipe.

Greece - Φασολάδα Φασολάδα, or fasoláda in the Latin alphabet, is a soup made with beans or white beans, some vegetables and of course, olive oil. This dish has a long history, its creation dates back sev-

North-Macedonia - Zelnik

This dish is a traditional salty pie in North Macedonia and Bulgaria. It is made with filo pastry, cheese (sirene or feta), eggs, sorrel, browned meat, leeks and sometimes rice.

Source: Flickr/Marco Vech

Source: Shutterstock

Source: Dobrica Nasevikj

Sauerkraut

Pan Cotto

Zelnik

Fasoláda

Source: Flickr

Slovakia - Goulash

Goulash is a famous dish in Europe. In Slovakia, it is made with meat (beef, Burgundian or pork), onions, tomato, peppers and seasoning. Also sometimes carrot, potato and leek.

Turkey - Salep

For the last country, it’s not a dish but a beverage. This Turkish drink is composed of salep powder from an orchid, the powder is mixed with sugar and milk and the mixture is sprinkled with cinnamon.

Spain - Cocido

This dish, composed of chickpeas, is very long to cook because it must simmer for several hours. In addition to chickpeas, it can be composed of meats such as chicken or beef but also chorizo and vegetables (potato, carrot, onion).

There is only one choice per country, but of course, there were multiple responses. Especially for some countries because the regions have their own typical dish. Like in Italy, they eat fried pizza on Christmas in the area where one of our volunteers lives or the hometown of another one, Veles, which have their own traditional dish called « veleška pita pastrmajlija ».

As I mentioned above, this list is incomplete. All around the world, we all have our own traditional winter food or dish. By the way, I said « winter foods », but it is possible to eat them whenever you want in the year. Don’t repress yourself! You are free to eat what you want when you want since you are happy!

“Don’t repress yourself! You are free to eat what you want when you want since you are happy!”

Source: Wikimedia

Source: Flickr

Source: Flickr

Salep

Goulash

Cocido

Close the circle

How a Thessaloniki-based organization is promoting circularity and sustainability in Greece by working against food waste

by Carolin Kretzer

When it comes to food, most people probably start to instantly think about eating their favourite meals or getting supplied with nutrients but what’s happening with the leftovers after eating is a heavily underestimated topic. With a share of 8-10% of all global emissions according to the UN, food waste is a massive contributor to the climate crisis, but also socially and economically, it’s a great loss. To tackle this, urban food systems need to be transformed into circular systems, but how can we archive this?

Κ λείσε τον κύκλο or “Close the Circle” is the motto of InCommon, a civil non-profit organisation based in Thessaloniki with parallel action in the capital city of Athens, which is working on the promotion of a circular economy through community activation. Its goal is to tackle some key-problems Greek cities are facing together by introducing the citizens, businesses and local authorities to the principles and practices of the circular economy. Contrary to the linear take-make-waste model currently used in western societies, this circular model regenerates both the environment and the people.

InCommon, which means Innovative Communities Onwards, starts at the local level and implements these practices by empowering communities, raising awareness while conducting research and developing replicable project methodology. In an interview with the General Director and one of the Co-founders of InCommon, Mara Angelidou, I had the honour to learn more about this organisation. Mara Angelidou is an architect engineer with expertise in environmental development, or as she calls herself, she is an urban sustainability expert.

Before talking about their projects to reduce food waste, we discussed their specific ways of solving problems and conducting their projects. As already mentioned, their solution to

Source: https://incommon.gr/our-work/

all these interconnected social, economic, resource and climate crises is circular economy practices. The problems we face are interrelated, and so our solutions should be. Therefore, instead of providing one size fits all solutions implemented by people not actually affected by the problems and focused on only fighting the “symptoms”, they focus on long-term solutions that include everyone and provide the whole community with tools to address interconnected problems simultaneously.

Something that helps them a lot to see all the multiple facets of a problem is their interdisciplinary team, which consists of people from very different fields of expertise. Together with the local communities, they explore solutions, provide them with tools & resources and keep supporting them. .

InCommOn was initially founded in 2016 under the name “Filoxenia International” by a group of volunteers that undertook a lot of social and housing projects, but they expanded their organisation in 2019 to be able to address the causes of urban problems rather than only reacting to their results. Now they have several independent projects in Thessaloniki, Athens, Kilkis and Karditsa, all combined under the organisational “umbrella” of InCommOn. When I asked her about their projects against food waste, she told me that each of their projects has to do with how the community and how the society of Greece can be activated to act based on the circular economy principles.

One example of ICO’s projects is kaFsimo, a community-based project that collects used coffee grounds from 70 cafes in Kilkis and Thessaloniki and converts them into biofuel or compost. As a country known for its coffee culture, Greece produces 100,000,000 kg of coffee waste that ends up in the landfills every year. kaFsimo is a project not only aiming to reduce this waste but also to change the mentality of the people. Instead of viewing the coffee grounds as waste with no use, people can learn to see them as valuable resources that can easily be recycled and thereby form a circular coffee-drinking habit. In waste man-

Source: https://incommon.gr/our-work/

“The problems we face are interrelated, and so our solutions should be.”

agement terms, this is called “separation at source” and that is what kafsimo does; it trains the participating cafes, the restaurants and the hotels and achieves behavior change. The coffee ground is collected with an electric van from the cafes and the two bins located in the office of Kyklos in Ano Poli and the University of Macedonia, where citizens can leave their coffee waste. It is then transferred to Karditsa, a small town between Thessaloniki and Athens, where through the collaboration with the Energy Community of Karditsa SYN PE (ESEK) the coffee ground is converted into biomass pellets, which can be used in houses, local indus-

tries and public spaces for heating; the collaboration between kaFsimo and ESEK is taking place within the context of the European project BECoop H2020. This year (2022) they have gone to a nursery school to help them heat in this harsh winter we have in front of us. With this project, kaFsimo has saved more than 30 tons of coffee waste from landfill, which means more than 135 tons of CO2.

While this is a really great achievement, an ultimate goal of InCommOn is zero food waste. For this to become a reality, the brown bins, which were only recently introduced in Greece, need to work properly. Until now, there are more often two bins used in Greece, the blue containers for recycling material and the green ones for all the remaining rubbish. Following EU directives, brown bins for separately collecting organic waste were introduced. Since this is “very new system in Greece and nobody is familiar with that”, Mara Angelidou tells me that InCommon is “trying to accelerate somehow the transition to the use of brown bins and tries to avoid the problems that we have with the blue bins, which are working for 20 years and even until now they are not being used correctly”. They have a specific project for this, called Close the Circle of Food, which is located in Athens. This awareness and activation citizen initiative focuses entirely on educating people on adequately using brown bins. This training that actively involves the citizens is crucial in making the transition happen because they are the ones using them. Providing brown bins is not enough: for the people it is also significant to learn that “whatever they have just eaten

Source: https://incommon.gr/our-work/

should not be wasted”; instead, they should see it as a valuable resource.

Another educational program worth mentioning is “FoodTreasure”. In this project, the InCommon team goes inside schools and works there with the whole community, the students, the teachers, the parents, the canteen workers and the municipality workers as well to create a different mentality on how we manage food waste through workshops based on experimental education. The goal is to get the people to know the proper separation and

management of their food waste and minimise the food waste of the school’s cafes, canteens and by extension the households. Ideally, the schools should have their own compost in the yards afterwards.

Besides all these projects, they also have activities inside other projects that are not mainly focused on eliminating food waste. One of these activities was organised by Kyklos, InCommOn’s lab based in Ano Poli, Thessaloniki, and together with another volunteer, Steffi, I participated in the gastronomic walk. Starting at the office of Kyklos, we got equipped with a map, and from there, we walked through Ano Poli, visiting all the restaurants and cafes Kyklos is cooperating with and trying their food made out of food waste that otherwise would have been thrown away. Everyone brought their lunch boxes, and we had a great time trying the food they created, ranging from dry bread turned into Croûtons and tomato balls to carrot cake and bruschetta. From what I have seen, all the people participating and the people working in the restaurants enjoyed the walk a lot, so I asked Mara Angelidou “How is the response of the people, especially in the neighbourhood of Ano Poli?”

“

I can tell you that all the different cases exist. We have people that are super eager, we have people that really believe there is no point in doing anything because this isn’t something that will change the world, we have people that laugh at us, and we have people that were super neutral but slowly slowly with our activities, workshops and sessions have started to

be more eager in participation”. But, and this is something she told me is one of their biggest successes so far, they were able to build a community around Kyklos in Ano Poli. Since they aim to try out and investigate how a circular neighbourhood would function in practice, the Ano Poli neighbourhood was their biggest success. Due to the ability to address multiple problems simultaneously with different projects, e.g. Kafsimo, Kyklos lab and the activities for citizens’ activation, it was the perfect test ground. “When we say circular, we mean both

on an environmental, social and economic level”, and this is something they could achieve in Ano Poli by working so closely with the people.

Finally, when I asked her about the goals for the future, she told me that “for the next three years we want to be able to see the CO2 reduction in numbers and also have numbers on their social inclusion”. I think that InCommOn perfectly shows what can be done if you work with this holistic approach to see all different perspectives and find adequate solutions based on the needs of the people. Summing this all up in a circular neighborhood

“Nothing and nobody is wasted.”

“When we say circular, we mean both on an environmental, social and economic level.”

Combating food waste: a double win opportunity

How

Gyros, Pizza, Sushi. Food is essential to us as a species and our cultures. We enjoy eating. But as much as we enjoy eating, we also enjoy wasting our food. When was the last time you had to throw out a food item because you realised that it had gone bad? Food waste is a large-scale problem in today’s time. The global annual average of food waste per capita is 74 kg. Greece is in first place in Europe with 142 kg per capita (UNEP Report 2021). According to estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, about one third of all food produced is wasted which amounts to 1.3 billion tons per year. Meanwhile, over 800 million people go to bed hungry every night and are unable to cover their daily food needs. So much high-quality surplus is wasted that just needs to find the people that need it most. This outcome is a disgrace, and it represents a global paradox. Despite producing enough to feed 10 billion people, 1 in 9 are undernourished

Stefanie Thaller

tackling this global paradox can fight hunger and climate change by

(UNICEF). Reducing food waste will not only improve global food security and world hunger, but it will also save money and resources and most importantly it’s a crucial part of fighting climate change. More than half of the wasted food could be avoidable as research suggests.

“The global annual average of food waste per capita is 74 kg. Greece is in first place in Europe with 142 kg per capita (UNEP Report 2021). ”

What are food waste and food loss?

We distinguish between food waste and food loss. Food transforms into waste in two areas: before the point of sale and after. Food loss occurs between production and distribution and is prevalent in low-income countries. Food waste on the other hand mainly occurs due to consumer behaviours such as neglect or excessive purchasing, especially in developed countries. More than 2 thirds of all food waste occurs after purchase. Meanwhile, 800 million people suffer from hunger. None of them will be fed immediately if we throw away less food. Nonetheless, the more we waste, the higher the demand on the world market and thus the prices. Therefore, throwing out food has consequences for developing countries when they cannot afford their food.

© https://lens.monash.edu/@science/2018/07/25/1355841/new-approaches-to-forsaken-food

The reasons for food waste are manifold. Discarded food occurs at all stages of the production and supply chain. During processing, loss happens due to transport damage or incorrect storage. Very strict trading requirements and high standards result in food loss because fruit and vegetables that don’t have a perfect appearance are sorted out. Better-looking produce sells better while “cosmetically challenged produce” is left behind. While harvesting, many agricultural products are sorted out because they don’t meet the standards. Imperfect-looking food is often discarded even if it’s perfectly edible. Another reason for food waste is the so-called “illusion of abundance”. People shop visually. This means that the consumer always wants full shelves of fresh produce. The last lonely apple is often left on the rack because the purchaser thinks it is left there for a reason and must be bad. That is why supermarkets often overbuy products that inevitably go to waste after.

“Imperfect-looking food is often discarded even if it’s perfectly edible. ”

Food waste has a substantial negative impact on the environment due to the wastage of energy required to transport and prepare it as well as the methane gases it releases during landfill decomposition. It costs resources, such as those needed for fertilisation, transportation, and storage, which increases energy use and fastens climate change. The food that ends up in the trash, wastes important supplies that are urgently needed in other countries. Food loss and food waste are responsible for 8 – 10 % of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP Report 2021). A head of lettuce for instance will take 25 years to decompose in a landfill, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, which warms the planet. Food waste on a global scale contributes more to climate change than air and ground transportation combined. Food waste is a preventable problem and addressing it means tackling both climate change and hunger.

“Food loss and food waste are responsible for 8 – 10 % of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP Report 2021).”

Initiatives against food waste

To spread awareness a lot of campaigns against food waste have been founded. Initiatives such as food sharing and platforms like “too good to go” are taking the first step in the right direction but they are only a drop in the ocean. In order to tackle the problem fully, policymakers must enact more binding regulations.

What causes food waste? Why is excessive food waste happening?

How does it affect the climate? What are the environmental consequences?

Governments play a crucial role in setting the agenda for fighting food waste. Some countries are leading the way, for instance, France: Since 2015 supermarkets must donate leftover food. Wasting perfectly fine food will be punished.

What can the consumer do?

At every stage of the supply chain, there are tangible solutions to these issues. Even though food waste is a structural problem that requires top-down regulations, the individual must do their part. 61 % of food waste happens in households. We as consumers have it in our hands to make a change. That begins with lowering our standards. A lot of the waste in our society comes down to our choice and wanting to have the option to eat everything at any time. We expect an abundance of food in supermarkets because that is what we are accustomed to. We need to gain an awareness of the amounts of resources and energy that lie behind full shelves. The same goes for customers’ wishes on what the appearance of food must look like. Produce with beauty faults that are in perfect condition gets thrown away because it doesn’t meet our aesthetical standards. Therefore, we must appreciate imperfect food more and refrain from expecting standardised, flawless produce.

Another way of preventing food waste is making friends with your freezer. By freezing your leftovers you can extend the life expectancy of your food and use up the items you already have without buying new products. Even though strolling around the supermarket aisles with no aim is very enjoyable, the most effective way of avoiding food waste is making a meal plan and having a list while shopping. A general misconception is the expiration date. Most people throw out a product when that date has been exceeded. In fact, that date is merely an indicator of how long that food retains its typical properties such as taste, colour, or nutritional values when correctly stored. This date is chosen by the manufacturer rather than being mandated by legislation, so it can be set arbitrarily. The expiration date indicates that it’s best before not poisonous after. Relying on your senses usually tells you if the food has gone bad. What tastes, looks, and smells good, is good in most cases. So next time you want to throw out an item that exceeded the expiration date, have a second look if it has genuinely gone bad.

We must collaborate on all levels to distribute the resources we already have because food waste is an avoidable issue. After all, food waste is a global problem with an enormous impact on world hunger and climate change. At the moment, the dimensions that the problem has taken on are concerning. The good news is however that we can make the change. The first step is to value our food again.

Special thanks to Elena Konstantara for her support in providing scientific research from her University.

© https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/ lebensmittel/auswaehlen-zubereiten-aufbewahren/landwirtschaft-obst-gemuese-und-kartoffeln-im-schoenheitstest-59573

Greek fast food

Nowadays, what we conventionally understand as fast food in almost every country are burgers, fries and sandwiches from American brands like Mcdonald’s. The American fast food chains have spread over European countries and dominate our perception of fast food.

However, when you arrive in Greece, you will have difficulty finding some of the branches you would typically go to to buy fast food. For example, there are only 28 Mcdonald’s stores all over Greece. Coming from Germany with 1,428 Mcdonald’s stores, it’s almost weird to walk through a city without seeing the “big M” for Mcdonald’s everywhere.

What do Greek people eat as fast food when they don’t visit the standard American chains?

To learn more about the local habits towards fast food, Marion Chalampalaki gave me her expertise on the topic. I met Marion while she was volunteering with some of my friends and she has lived in Thessaloniki since she was eighteen. When we discussed food before,

by Elena Leiterer

she always mentioned how vital nutrition is to Greek people. By asking her about fast food, I realized that Greek fast food’s definition needs to be clarified.

When it comes to traditional fast food, Marion’s answer is simple: “Traditionally, we have souvlaki or gyros, with pita or without.” Here in Greece, traditional fast food is synonymous with “souvlaki “. Souvlakia includes gyro, kebab and others. However, it is most often meat of some sort served with fries or bread. Souvlaki, in its simplest form, is sliced-up roast meat on a stick. This stick even gave the dish its name. What makes souvlaki unique is its ancient history. It dates back to ancient Greek and is known as “obelisks”. Aristophanes or Aristotle even mention “obelisks” in their work. Archaeologists even discovered stone barbecue holders for skewers.

This form of fast food survived till today. And there are a lot of shops or street stands serving the delicacy. Greeks preserve this old traditional fast food.

Will traditional Greek fast food retain its supremacy?

Is this local traditional Greek fast food the reason for the minor success of American fast food chains in Greece?

Marion points out two reasons for the circumstance: “Greek people tend to support local Greek business.” According to her, Greeks feel they must support local businesses. Another reason is the dominance of the brand “Goody’s” in Greece.

Marion explains: “They took what Mcdonalds and made it Greek.” Goody’s sells burgers and fries but has a customized menu with gyros and souvlaki to meet the taste of Greeks. The Greek chain has 166 stores all over the country and is the most popular fast food chain in contrast to other countries.

Moreover, the financial crisis played a role in the has resulted in decrease American fastfood consumption due to less spending power.

A regular gyro costs around 2 to 5 euros and is, therefore, cheaper than most food you can get in fast-food restaurants.

The same goes for cheese pies, pastries or “bougatsa”. Cheese pies especially enjoy significant popularity among the Greek population. “Greeks enjoy cheese pies or bougatsa in the morning and for lunch. We have a lot of pies that we eat. in different variations. They are cheap and filling”.

With so many options, American fast food has a different standing in Greece than it has in other countries. However, especially young people are open to new things. “Nowadays, for young people, it’s as popular to eat falafel as pizza or burger.”

Marion states. “If you ask younger people, they will tell you they have to choose what kind of fast food they want. Like American Burger, Pizza or Falafel. So we try a lot of things.”

The old and new generations have different understandings of fast food. “If you ask people about 40 what kind of fast food, they will tell you that Greek fast food is souvlaki and gyro.” Nonetheless, local, traditional shops will remain; the younger people have a more diverse choice.

In the end, I wanted to include a hilarious quote from Marion. “Sometimes we say when we go for gyros, we might eat dogs. You never know.” But that will not scare the Greeks away from going to their local small shops.

Sources

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/01/15/mcdonalds-strugglesin-greece-but-will-open-new-stores/ https://greeklandscapes.com/food-in-greece/#Fast_and_Finger_Food_in_Greece

https://www.athensinsiders.com/blog/the-history-of-greek-souvlaki-a-national-treat

https://greekreporter.com/2020/10/06/the-ancient-roots-ofgreek-souvlaki-the-worlds-first-fast-food/

http://www.athensinfoguide.com/eatingfastfood.htm https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/gastronomy/46859-26th-mcdonald-s-restaurant-launched-in-greece.html

The Mediterranean Diet is Dead

by Silvia Sanz Linares

The Mediterranean diet. You have probably heard of this way of eating dozens of times. For decades, it has been preached as one of the healthiest lifestyles in the world, but what makes it so unique and why are its countries abandoning it?

Mediterranean diet is a broad term referring to the way of eating in the 22 countries washed by the Mediterranean sea. It includes diverse cultures and various approaches to diet and food; however, when experts address this diet, they specifically refer to the lifestyle of south European countries such as Greece, Italy, Southern France, or Spain.

This diet is not a representative conceptualization of the cuisines of the Mediterranean but an

assortment of traditions shared by the region’s inhabitants, including preparations and elements from every corner of the Mediterranean basin with a common core: fresh plant-based foods.

Vegetables, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, spices, and extra virgin olive oil constitute the key elements of traditional Mediterranean cuisine, while fish, seafood, dairy, and poultry make occasional dishes. In short, the Mediterranean diet is based on what the crops have to offer.

Source: 2020, Maria del Rio, Popsugar

The Mediterranean diet, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, revolves around agriculture and seasons.

Why is it so popular?

For decades, nutritionists and doctors have been mesmerized by the Mediterranean diet’s richness, affordability, healthiness and nutritional value. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that experts encourage the population to pursue this lifestyle.

Ever since The Seven Countries Study (the first major study linking diet and health), the Mediterranean diet has proven to be an ideal strategy to curb the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and risk factors such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Moreover, today’s researches also connect this diet with a lower risk of stroke, the prevention of cognitive decline diseases such as Alzheimer, an improvement in rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation-related health issues, and even a reduction in the chance of developing mental health diseases such as depression.

Yet, what makes the Mediterranean diet so popular is its feasibility. It is not a strict and

restrictive regime but a permissive diet emphasizing the relevance of flavour and the importance of human connections built around meals; here, food is a way to enjoy life.

The Mediterranean diet is dead

However, despite all its benefits, we’re experiencing an abandonment of the famous diet. Greeks, Italians and Spanish are slowly stopping to eat traditional foods to give room for a more ‘westernized’ diet.

The data gathered in this respect is absolutely concerning, and everything seems to point to the eventual disappearance of one of the healthiest lifestyles in the world. The situation is crystal clear, to the point that even the World Health Organisation stated in 2018: ‘There is no Mediterranean diet anymore’.

According to João Breda, Special Adviser of the World Health Organisation, ‘those who are close to the Mediterranean diet are the Swedish kids’. Meanwhile, in the south of Europe, obesity and obesity-related disease rates are skyrocketing.

Those countries once admired for their longevous and healthy populations are now home to the most overweight kids on the continent. They are now the place where type 2 diabetes is more prevalent and where more stroke treatments are delivered.

The Greek case

Greece is one of the Mediterranean countries where this lifestyle shift has been more notorious and its aftermath more aggressive. The changes are dramatic; nowadays, Greeks have some of the highest rates of obesity in Europe and make up one of the populations with the fastest-growing rates in these terms.

In The Seven Countries Study, Ancel Keys explored the diets of Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Finland, Japan, and the United States.

According to Eurostat, Greece ranked as the 11th fattest country in the continent in 2016, Source: 1961, Time

with 66% of adult men and 55% of adult women being overweight, and 18.3% of adult men and 16.4% of adult women being obese; numbers that are way above the European Union average.

To top it off, this country is gaining weight by leaps and bounds. As informed by the Global Health Observatory, Greece went from having about a 10% share of obese adults in 1975 to almost reaching the 30% in 2016.

Unfortunately, the data is not more encouraging when we look at the youngest members of the Hellenic population. Greece holds the shame of having one of the most considerable weight problems among children in the European Union, with 42% being overweight and 21% obese, as the World Health Organisation informed in 2018.

How did we get here?

Overweight and obesity are becoming one of the biggest threats to public health and the weakened southern European healthcare systems. According to Cancer Research UK experts, the gravity of the situation is such that it has turned out to be a severe problem that

could even displace cigarettes as the leading cause of cancer. But how did we get here?

While some could quickly blame the escalating obesity on the quantity of olive oil Mediterraneans pour into their plates, the reality is that the excruciating situation is the consequence of a profound societal transformation.

Socio-economic factors are to blame; in the ‘50s and ‘60s, a large part of the population inhabited villages and lived a more humble life, meaning they were ‘forced’ to consume those cheaper products that were, actually, healthy such as pulses and leafy greens.

But they soon moved away from villages to occupy bigger cities with an utterly different lifestyle pace. With a more hectic routine and the unavoidable incorporation of women into the workforce, the time to prepare homemade dishes decreased, pushing the families to consume the premade meals that had just started occupying the supermarket’s shelves.

During this period, those once proud of their ‘plumpness’ started to develop an interest in health and self-care. And, paradoxically, the popular classes adopted the consumption of

Childhood overweight and obesity are among the most concerning outcomes of the change in diet.

Source:

2018, European Commission

less healthy products as a sign of wealth and social improvement.

Likewise, the economic advance gave the general population access to foods once restricted for the better-off. As a result, meats, eggs, and seafood gained relevance in the diet leading to a nutritional transition that lasts to this day with the incorporation of highly processed foods and a booming fast food culture.

A tendency reinforced and confirmed by the economic crisis, which pushed those with fewer resources to lower quality, yet affordable foods. Turning the people with lower education and financial possibilities into victims of a system sustained by convenience and the power of the immediate.

It’s not too late

The Mediterranean diet is undoubtedly fading away, but it is still not gone. Therefore, we still have the chance to step back and question the modern lifestyle that replaced our tradition and find a balance that allows us to regain our health.

The costs of an unhealthy society are not only personal but social. For this reason, recovering

Supermarkets are flooded with convenient and affordable foods that save us time but don’t help our health.

the Mediterranean diet means protecting the feeble southern European healthcare systems from the catastrophic costs that a largely overweight society would mean with indirect and direct resource consumption. It also means giving people, specifically the less privileged, the opportunity to live a healthy life worth living. In conclusion, protecting the Mediterranean diet is the way to maintain our heritage and the ancient practices that preserve one of the biggest gifts in life: health.

Sources:

Michail, N., (2018), The Mediterranean Diet is Gone Says WHO Chef, Food Navigator. Extracted from: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2018/05/24/The-Mediterranean-diet-is-gonesays-WHO-chief

Sanidas et al., (2019), The impact of financial crisis on coronary artery disease burden in Greece, Hellenic Journal of Cardiology, pages 185-188. Extracted from: https://www.sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S1109966617305481

Jones et al., (2018), ‘People Just have less time now’: is the Mediterranean diet dying out?, The Guardian. Extracted from:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/25/peoplejust-have-less-time-now-is-the-mediterranean-diet-dying-out

World Health Organisation, European Commission, (2013), Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Greece. Extracted from: https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0013/243301/Greece-WHO-Country-Profile.pd

Chronic overweight and obesity are among the leading causes of death and disability in Europe, according to the WHO.

Source: 2021, Eurostat

Breakfast Culture

by Ezgi

Living in a house full of volunteers made me realize what different nationalities eat and what ingredients they use in their meals. When I wake up and go to the kitchen every morning on weekends, I see that everyone is consuming something different for breakfast. Some preferred small portions and quick snacks, while others preferred filling, nutritious (as well as eye-pleasing) breakfasts.

As someone from Turkey, one of the countries with the broadest breakfast culture, what other nations eat began to seem very interesting to me. Therefore, in this article, I will examine the breakfast foods of some cultures that I have compiled as a result of both the insights I have gained from the volunteers and the research I have done.

How did the process of defining breakfast as a ‘meal’ begin in Turkish culinary culture?

Some factors are the transition to European style table setting in the 1850s, the opening of Western restaurants and cafes in Galata and Pera in the 1900s, and the emergence of products such as sauces, creams, tarts, biscuits and cakes that can be eaten before coffee. The innovations brought by time in connection with the living conditions of the people and the population structure of Istanbul consisting of different religions, languages, cultures and peoples were adopted by the majority.

The habit of drinking tea and coffee before lunch is one of them, with the introduction of European flavors into Turkish cuisine. The tea

Every culture has its own characteristics and habits. However, some of the most interesting of these features for me have always been about food. That’s why I wanted to examine different cultures’ breakfast and brunch habits and gain diversity, flavors and information that I was unaware of before.

Is Brunch a Thing for You?

Güngördü

culture, which became widespread in the Ottoman Empire because the majority of the people preferred it, and the snacks offered in coffee houses to those who wanted to eat something before drinking coffee in the richer sections, were also reflected in the home kitchens, and “feeding the stomach” before starting work was instrumental in the adoption of breakfast by the public.

What is the beginning of breakfast culture in Europe?

In the 1920s, governments and doctors in Europe especially emphasized the importance of breakfast, stating that starting the day with a healthy and satisfying breakfast would increase energy and performance in the person. However, even finding breakfast products became a problem when the Second World War began.

How did breakfast habits emerge in other culinary cultures?

I want to state that the breakfast culture was accepted as a meal in all countries after the Second World War, taking into account the working laws and working hours. But, again, pointing out the similarities, it should be remembered that there is a difference between

early and late breakfast, which is preferred on weekends, for those working in some countries of the world.

This is such an excellent topic. Our local cuisines are different, our regional cuisines are different, and even our district cuisines within the regional cuisines have significant differences and are all wealthier than each other.

For example:

Hatay cuisine breakfast

There are products such as oily anklet olives, crushed olives, Sürk (mould cottage cheese), salty yoghurt, olive salad, zahter herb salad, pepper with walnuts (muhammara), kaytaz pastry, pepper bread, Antakya cheese, kıtte (acur) in Kahramanmaraş. Head and foot soup with sumac sour is drunk for breakfast.

Van cuisine breakfast

There are herbed cheese, feta cheese, dill and spring onions, Van cacık and honey, molasses, rose jam, if these are not available, kavut, which is consumed by pouring granulated sugar, eggs with sausage, fried eggs, and roasting mıhlama.

Rize cuisine breakfast

Kaygana, kuymak, fried pickles, string cheese, spicy hazelnut paste and mulberry molasses; Rize bagel, also known as bald simit and Hemşin halva are frequently consumed for breakfast.

Denizli cuisine breakfast

Roasted tomatoes, french fries with tomato sauce, steamed potatoes, roasted peppers, chopped onions on boiled eggs, egg salad, walnut honey served with fresh cream, tarhana soup, fried eggs with tomato paste and butter, butter on hot phyllo, red pepper flakes and the wrap made by adding cheese.

But let’s see the classic Turkish breakfast, which we usually eat every Sunday. (Since it’s the perfect day to prepare everything calmly and cook for everyone to eat): It starts with Turkish tea, many kinds of cheese, fried tomatoes and peppers, dressing the sliced cucumbers with olive oil and black pepper, tahini molasses and honey cream, butter and various jams according to the season, green and black olives.

For bread, bagels, pancakes, crepes and all kinds of pastries from different regions. Eggs are

one of the most important items of breakfast in Turkey. However, depending on its consistency, boiled, fried or menemen with peppers and tomatoes is always preferred. Also, meat products such as sausage and pastrami are usually on the table if you have a Turkish breakfast.

What About In the World?

-English breakfast: It consists of toast, sausage, beans, eggs, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, and milk tea.

-French breakfast: It consists of coffee and fruit varieties consumed with croissants, baguettes and French toast.

-Italian breakfast: Cornetto and cappuccino duo is one of the most famous breakfasts in Italy. For Italians, everything besides coffee can mean breakfast. Although eating habits differ according to the region, it is possible to find biscuits and various sweet and salty dishes from the patisserie in the Italian breakfast.

-Russian breakfast: Porridge, cottage cheese pancakes and curd cheese mixed with milk or kefir and added to it with sugar and fruit.

-Mexican breakfast: Toast made by adding bacon and eggs between tortilla bread, fried eggs with spicy salsa sauce on tortilla bread, hot chocolate made from the avocado paste and hot dark chocolate mixed with sugar and cinnamon as a beverage.

-Chinese breakfast: boiled eggs, a bowl of rice porridge topped with peanuts, pickles or meat, and deep-fried dough dipped in steamed soy milk in a large bowl. Another delicacy that ac-

companies the breakfast is the ravioli-like bun filled with sweet red bean paste, which they call ‘bāozi’.

Let’s See Our Volunteer’s Breakfast Routine!

“ What do you prefer to eat for breakfast?”

-Aysel Çakır: “Are you asking about the breakfast that I really like? Let me tell you right away: cottage cheese on toast, red and green sautéed peppers on top of that, and eggs on top. The most important point is the sweet red powdered pepper. As a beverage, I prefer green tea. Even though I don’t eat this every day, I can say it’s my favorite breakfast!”

-Elena Leiterer: What I often eat for breakfast is porridge and yoghurt. And of course with lots of fruit. My favorite fruit for breakfast is bowler, banana, and apples.

-Muhammet Lord: “Eggs (omelette) with peppers with potatoes, different types of cheese, tomatoes, black tea, chocolate spread, honey cream, butter.”

-Anthony Veillard: “Like a Sunday morning back in France, coffee/tea with bread (baguette is perfect) with butter and jam (perfect one is the homemade/grandma one), and you can have one croissant and an orange juice that you have just squeezed. It’s perfection!”

Two countries at the same table

by Yusuf Taskiran

What do Turkish and Greek cuisine have in common? Is Baklava Greek or Turkish? And rolled grape leaves? Which country made the first olive oil? What about phyllo pastry? One thing is sure, these two countries, situated side by side in the Mediterranean sea, have both been heavily influenced by their Mediterranean culture, which comes out in their culinary traditions. They share a similar climate, the prosperous Mediterranean sun, and many of the same landscapes. While their histories differ, they both have a shared but unique heritage, which is beautifully and subtly reflected in their cuisine.

To better understand their cooking, let’s take a look at their history. One of the first residents of Greece, (2700 BC), the Minoans, domesticated grains, made the first wines from wild grapes and pressed the first olive oil, which soon became foundational to the Greek economy.After that, the ancient Greeks arrived from the Ural mountain area, bringing with them cattle and bees for making honey. These people invented bread, developed the wine-making process, cultivated orchards of fruit and nut trees, ancient olive groves, figs, pistachios, and gathered greens.

Turkey, on the other hand, by its mere location, was influenced by Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe, and of course Greece. It is one of the few self-sustaining countries in the world, thanks to its size and diversity. Much of its culinary heritage can be traced back to the period of the Ottoman Empire, but it also comes from many of its neighbors: wine from Greece, sugar, rice and sweets from Persia, skewered meats (shish-kebabs) and flatbreads show nomadic influence. The Ottomans, among other things, served to bring variety, freshness, color, and refinement to Turkish cuisine, which has been exported throughout the world.

Some dishes are virtually the same within the two countries, while others radically differ. Both the Greeks and Turks have a delicious chicken soup they make, both with a bit of lemon, but the Turks add a bit of yogurt (a Turkish invention) to theirs and use only egg yolks, while the Greeks use whole eggs. The herbs, spices and vegetables are slightly different as well. Both the Greeks and the Turks make tasty salads from a variety of raw fresh vegetables; the Greeks may add Feta cheese, while the Turks may spice it up with peppers.

The Mediterranean Cuisine, a common legacy for Greeks and Turks

Both the Greeks and the Turks prepare stuffed vine leaves. The Turks have a traditional recipe invented for the Ottoman sultan that uses cherries, dried currants, cinnamon, parsley, dill, and allspice along with long grain rice, lemon juice and olive oil. A typical Greek such preparation (called dolmades) would be made of risotto rice, fennel, mint, onions, lemon juice and olive oil. And of course, baklava is a heralded treat of both nations. The Greeks refined the pastry, perhaps first developed by the Assyrians, into its famous thin leaf appearance (phyllo means leaf in Greek) and concocted the pastry with honey and walnuts. It was the Ottoman empire that added the pistachios and other spices like cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. To eat Turkish or Greek cuisine is truly a celebration of the blending of peoples, ideas, and flavors, all subtly woven together in a savory tapestry, a delight for the eyes.

Turkish and Greek cuisine share many more similar traits than just similar names; in fact, the two cuisines are remarkably similar. Wheth-

er it’s dolma in Turkish or dolmades in Greek, both cuisines share a fascinating journey into the senses with a variety of scrumptious food. Elements of both cuisines are a mixture of Western and Eastern food.

“ The similarities the two cuisines share are a long story which cannot be covered in just one chat. Greek food has been influenced by İzmir, Istanbul and the surrounding areas coming to what it is now, a mixture of the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans. However, every recipe, like every song or dance, travels from place to place, gets molded and takes on a different character. The differences are small and simple, and they just take on a bit of a different character, but there is no secret if you think about it, each place adds its own flavor to the dish.”

Elias Mamalakis, a well-known Greek TV Chef. When we think of the similarities in the two cuisines, the first things that come to mind are dolma and imam bayildi.This dish dates from Ottoman times, where the word dolma comes from the Turkish verb doldurmak, meaning to fill.The similarities are legion standing at their kitchen table and chopping onions to prepare imam bayıldı, a famous dish whose name literally means “the imam fainted.” It is a dish from Ottoman cuisine using a whole eggplant stuffed with onions, garlic, and tomatoes.Explaining the dish’s colorful name, she related,

“The legend said that a Turkish imam who greatly enjoyed the flavor of the dish fainted out of pleasure.”

In Greece they prepare papoutsakia and In Istanbul we called it karnıyarık. So the food at its base is the same. Each country offers a bit of a different touch to a dish, without changing it completely, but just adapting it to the country’s needs.

We see that a 300-years of co-existence has affected the taste of the Turkish and the Greek people.The Turks were far superior in terms of the variety of dishes and the flavor their dishes shared that this came from the once-sprawling Ottoman Empire and the many lands it conquered. If you think about it, most of the spices and herbs Greek cuisine uses come mainly from their side. Greece has the Horiatiki salata (or Greek salad), which in “Poli” – Stavrou’s name for Istanbul – “we call çoban salatası,” adding that Greece has tzatziki and Turkey has cacık; it’s all the same. “Even the name holds the same root,” she said, explaining that çoban is Turkish for shepherd and horiatiki comes from the word horiatis, Greek for peasant. But apart from internationally known dishes like dolmades or dolma, or sarma in Turkish, there are also other less well-known dishes that are the same, she said.

The two nations are very similar in many ways, Stavrou said, and even share the same national food, the famous Greek fasolada or kuru fasulye in Turkish, which in both countries in-

cludes stewed white beans with olive oil, onions, and tomato sauce, in addition to celery in the Greek version.

Throughout the conversation, Stavrou spoke with excitement about the two countries, and shared several details from her secrets of cooking. “When it comes to sweet dishes, again we got most of it from the Turks,” Saftis said, adding that the Turks for their part might have been influenced by the Middle East. When we speak of syrupy sweets, the first thing that comes to our mind is baklava, he added, a rich sweet pastry made of layers of dough with nuts and honey syrup and a touch of cinnamon. “This is purely an Ottoman Turkish sweet which has also been passed onto the Greeks as well,” he said. “It is impossible not to connect the two countries and their cuisine. And it’s impossible not to enjoy their dishes, even with the small variations that might exist,” said Saftis.

The funny thing in those kinds of situations is that there will always be people fighting about who made it first in order to claim the originality of the recipe. For example, how to you call that kind of coffee, greek coffeeor Turkish coffee? To be honest I don’t know…it looks exactly the same to me and they are made exactly the same way.

Running around in Thessaloniki I managed to see a lot of restaurants that were serving almost the same foods like my mother used to make me. So both Greeks and Turkish know what papoutsakia is and both Greeks and Turkish know what baklava and Loukoumi is. Maybe they change the name a little bit from time to time but everything else remains the same.

If you look up a little bit the history of those two countries you will realize that they had and still have a lot of common things. They are like two people that love to hate each other but they are almost similar.

What’s behind two steaks on a grill?

by Maxime Ricaud

A few months ago, the feminist ecologist MP Sandrine Rousseau challenged the entire French media and political sphere with a single sentence. “We must change our mentality so that eating a steak cooked on a barbecue is no longer a symbol of virility”. The phrase may amuse some. Still, others have perceived it as a diatribe symbol of this “political righteousness” that would go too far. As MP Eric Ciotti criticized on twitter, “When the grotesque reaches its climax... Stop these delusions!”

Later Rousseau will return to her words denouncing “a system that sends us into the wall” and a sense of identity concerning meat consumption (a feeling more than proven because of the many photos of men doing their barbecue that she would have received following her criticism). But most of his detractors missed the opportunity of a debate and a subject too little documented but nevertheless obvious— the relationship between food and gender.

Because, yes, it’s real. At least, that’s what some people want to demonstrate. For the most part, this topic is documented by feminist

academics whose works are best known. One of Sandrine Rousseau’s defenders was French journalist Nora Bouazzouni, who, in 2021, wrote Steaksisme (Steaksism). Her script states the link between genders and various modes of eating. Based on the government report INCA3 there is a disparity between masculine and feminine diets.

Women generally prefer yogurts and cottage cheeses, compotes, poultry and soups. As for men, they are rather fond of cheeses, meats, cold cuts, potatoes and dessert creams (INCA3 ANSES)

Usually women and men do not have the same diet in general. In our shared culture, meat, specifically red meat, is associated with the masculine image. It is no longer a question of barbecues but of the level of consumption more or less induced by a sense of identity. But what is the reason for this? To our individual nutritional and caloric needs? The popular belief that red meat is the cement of male morphology? Or instrumentalization of preferences through advertising? Although men’s daily

What do Turkish and Greek cuisine have in common? Is Baklava Greek or Turkish? And rolled grape leaves? Which country made the first olive oil? What about phyllo pastry? One thing is sure, these two countries, situated side by side in the Mediterranean sea, have both been heavily influenced by their Mediterranean culture, which comes out in their culinary traditions. They share a similar climate, the prosperous Mediterranean sun, and many of the same landscapes. While their histories differ, they both have a shared but unique heritage, which is beautifully and subtly reflected in their cuisine.

How culture and gendered marketing influence our relationship with food

ratio is more significant than women’s, 3177g against 2720g (INCA 3), contrary to what some say, meat does not necessarily have to be part of the male menu.

During a debate on French news channel BFMTV following the controversy around Sandrine Rousseau, Nora Bouazzouni defended this fact by speaking of the “myth of protein”, this myth that would indicate that only meat consumption provides enough protein for the proper functioning of the body. At the same time, vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach contain between 34 to 49% protein. Popeye could have been one of the first analogies between virility and veganism.

What the journalist defended during this debate is that taste is not innate. It is a social construct whose origin dates back to ancient Greece or even to the beginnings of the sedentarization of humans. For example, Hippocrates’ theory of humour establishes a binary differentiation between men and women according to a dichotomy of qualities: women with cold and wet temperaments and hot and dry for men. This will subsequently influence the culture of female and male diets. Even if we can still imagine that a relationship of domination is noting many changes in the female diet related to beauty criteria of their time. Especially in the mid-19th century when women meeting the requirements of “La petite bourgeoise” had a diet that would be described today as masculine. It glorifies firmed forms, the milky body, and plump skin reinforced with false asses and corsets carrying the chest forward, like the Castiglione.

But the dominant has shown its influence differently because, since the end of WW1, we have been confronted massively with advertisements for food, drinks, alcohol, cigarettes,

Abs molded into the back of the “powerful yoghurt” yoghurt pot.

diets, and medicines. They are one of the first influences on our consumption, and since 2000, advertisements targeting the genre have increased with explicit slogans about the target audience. Based on the analysis of university professor and writer Emily Contois, I have encountered this type of advertising, although we are overwhelmed by them daily.

It takes little to understand that male hegemony is in every nook and cranny of meat or fast food advertising. Where masculinity is the protagonist and will be the hook of the ad, we can remember KFC ads which, in a loud voice, present their products, or Charal chants their slogan products with the same manly voice.

This gendered marketing works and adapts by modifying the costs, packaging, advertising message and functionalities of the product or service sold. We saw this during a campaign by Weight Watchers trying to defeminize diets. Proposing a menu in its advertising campaign keeping the elements of Dude Food and supporting its words with an attractive slogan, “Lose like a man”. Pizza, pepperoni pizza, burgers, cheeseburgers, wings, bbq wings, meatballs [...] Men don’t wanna live without it, and with weight watchers, we don’t have to [...] lose like a man.

A final factor in promoting the sense of identity surrounding certain foods is Dude Food. Already cited in Emily Contois’ analysis and one of these books, this phenomenon develops even more with social networks. It stars a sympathetic male character with a monopoly on meat and all kinds of fatty, cheesy, comforting dishes but whose elaboration is meticulous and passionate. But the motivations and ways to cook and promote the product are the same as a Burger King ad with hard rock in the background, flames and a close-up of blood-dripping red meat.

Apart from this sense of identity around meat consumption that can be denounced or mocked, what the detractors of this culture want to demonstrate are the damage caused by this excessive meat consumption. It is a social fact and not a specific need for the proper development of men. Through this sentence, Sandrine Rousseau wants to denounce a health problem, especially an ecological crisis. Let us remember that meat consumption represents 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions and 8.8% of bovine production alone. And beef is the leading food on a barbecue or Dude food, perhaps, although changing mentalities would reduce gender stereotypes above all, save the planet.

Clean eating

So there can be dirty food?

Like most trends nowadays, the “clean eating” trend appeared to me on social media. At a certain point, my “for you page” was filled with posts on healthy recipes, all with the hashtag clean eating in the caption. Without actively following the trend, I was suddenly in a bubble of highly ambitious young, primarily female influencers who promised their recipes and tricks would give me a healthy body and better quality of life.

So on Youtube, I searched for healthy and tasty recipes and discovered channels only dedicated to “clean” food and recipes. These videos and posts mainly worked for me in finding new recipes and trying to stay “healthy”.

And it’s undeniable how cooking by yourself with fresh ingredients can have good health benefits. However, after spending a lot of time in this bubble, I noticed how my mindset started to change. Yet how did the trend come about first?

by Elena Leiterer

Birth of the trend

Clean eating was first invented as a diet by the model Tosca Reno in 2006. With her book “The Eat-Clean Diet”, the trend started mainly as a diet to lose weight.

Nowadays the clean eating trend has turned into a lifestyle focusing mainly on natural nutrition. “Eating clean” superficially means consuming pure, fresh and unprocessed foods. But like with other diets, there is a more strict approach to the trend where the consumption of alcohol, sugar and animal products is prohibited. Also, their clean eating can mean following rules additionally, like eating many but small meals per day or avoiding fats in general.

Adverse effects of the trend on social media

Like almost every lifestyle-trend in today’s society, social media has put the clean eating trend in vogue. There are 47,6 million (15.11.22) posts with the hashtag #cleaneating only on Instagram. The trend spread by influencers and has developed into a flourishing industry. Most of these influencers promote “clean” products or their recipes.

Social media gives these food bloggers the power to influence consumers’ eating habits and mindsets, especially young people. The clean eating trend makes no exception. And that’s why video titles like this;

can be concerning. Under the haze of clean eating, the focus shifts from eating healthy to becoming obsessed with eating with the strict roles of the diet. The origin of the now “lifestyle trend” was to lose weight, and any diet promising that outcome can lead to an eating disorder for certain people. And that’s when the trend for the time being healthy can become unhealthy when people go to one extreme.

The healthy trend has the main issue. The word “clean” can lead to food shaming. It implies that particular food that does not fall under the definition of clean eating, like fats and processed food, is dirty and wrong and this obsession with eating clean can turn into:

Orthorexia Nervosa

The eating disorder, including this unhealthy obsession with “healthy food”, is called Orthorexia Nervosa. The eating disorder usually begins with a person cutting down on certain

food groups, such as red meat or processed foods, to make their diet “more healthy.” It can even go to a point where rules of the trend, for example, not eating any fats at all, can negatively affect one’s health.

By cutting out too many food groups, nutritional deficiencies can happen. Fats, for example, are often mistakenly considered unhealthy. Moreover, lubricants such as olive oil or avocado oil contain essential fats your body needs to support your immune system. Nutritional

deficiencies can lead to a weak immune system and brain fog (inability to focus, remember things, and use logic).

Besides the physical effect, Orthorexia Nervosa shows particularly in the psychical form. People suffering from eating disorders are constantly worrying about their food. Any situation concerning food can cause a lot of stress. Especially social problems like eating at a restaurant with friends or having dinner with your family because of the fear of not having anything to eat that’s healthy or pure. This behavior can significantly impact social relationships and make you feel isolated.

Concluding the “clean eating trend” can be healthy or not depending on how the person interprets it. The issue is with social media

promoting wrong standards and contributing to people taking the diet to an extreme where it becomes unhealthy. An additional problem and the problem with the trend is how it started as a weight loss diet. There are still unhealthy tendencies in the form of rules that can lead to eating disorders. Writing this article I learned to be cautious about obsessing about what I eat and try to keep the balance between eating healthy and allowing myself to eat what I want.

Sources:

(288) Essstörung Orthorexie: Zwanghaft gesund! | Muss ich mich besser ernähren? Folge 4/5 - YouTube

(288) Orthorexie: Gesund leben als Essstörung | Auf Klo - YouTube

Orthorexia Nervosa - Social Medias Dark Side | Nutrifix | Building Healthier Workplaces

Clean Eating - Was bedeutet dieser Trend eigentlich?

From the plate to the work of art

The artists’ fascination with food

by Alex Humbert

Since the dawn of time, food attracts artists, whether through the representation of everyday life, the diversion of food in the painted way or even in use as materials, food is entirely part of the art as well as landscapes or religious representations in the past.

Initially, food only served as a model for painting, sculpting or drawing, but as time went by, it became a material on its own. As a result, we can find it in many genres or artistic movements: still life, Surrealism, Minimalism, Pop Art, Hyperrealism and Dadaism, for the most important. If it was only in this kind of art at the beginning, now, food is also in installation art, fashion design or performance art.

From Antiquity to now: the path of food in art

The beginning of the representation of food is in Antiquity with Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Mesopotamians between the mosaics, the calculation’s tablets, the sarcophagi and also the amphoras or the vases. But the artists

didn’t only represent the food alone, there were also scenes such as banquets, gatherings and even preparations. In addition, thanks to this kind of representation, archaeologists and anthropologists could trace life and traditions.

If some readers think of older traces, such as the caves of Lascaux for example, they are considered animal art, moreover, the animals represented were not the majority that Prehistoric men consumed: they drew mostly aurochs, horses and other animals but fed mainly reindeer. So they can’t be really included in the chronology, the real first representations of food have been painted later.

As in Antiquity, there were many banquets, gatherings and preparation paintings in the

Timeline from Antiquity to the beginning of 20th Century.

Middle Ages, ut the paintings at this period were principally religious.

In the Renaissance, a new genre was born: still life and as a result, the representation of food began to change: food became the centre of the painting.

But since this era, many other genres have seen food become their object of fascination, not necessarily by representing it realistically as food. The most famous example is “Estate” by Arcimboldo, where he uses fruits and vegetables to represent a face.

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, food take another place in art. Artists are beginning to use it as a material: temporary art is slowly starting to emerge. Ephemeral art is a global word to discuss works that deteriorate or disappear. And with food, this term is logical because it is not eternal.

Another form of art is emerging and must be linked with food art: performance art and this one is also ephemeral.

Art is increasingly lived in the moment, no longer necessary in time; the only traces of this kind of art are the photos and/or videos.

Food art invaded your space

Now, food art is even beyond the museum, we can find it on social media, on television, in the street or also in your plate, this expression take another dimension with social media and the creation of a lot of new words invaded the hashtags’/internet world like: Foodie, foodporn, foodistas, food stylist, foodgasm etc.

For a few years, the number of emissions about food has increased: the principle of his programs is not only to cook but to make the cook creation as visually beautiful as possible. Generally speaking, if we talk about artists, we think primarily about painting, sculpture, this kind of art but cooking is also an art and the chefs or the home cooks are the artists. But moreover, we are talking about culinary art or food design and these two terms take all their meaning when we see the beauty of some culinary works.

In conclusion, food is an integral part of our lives: we need it to live but not only, it is also our guilty pleasure at times or a source of inspiration! Initially, it was only the artist and the chef’s inspiration. But now, most people are inspired by food, whether by staging photos to show their dishes or by cooking and discovering new dishes or flavours.

Timeline from the beginning of 20th Century to now. © Wikicommons

Beats on the table

by Laura De Cesare

If we have to think about the pleasure of life, we usually have in our mind food, but also music. Music to chill out, music to have fun, music to reflect, or music to dance. And why don’t you mix up the two pleasures?

Kali Orexi!

by Giovanni Stanislao & Yusuf Taskiran

After several months living here in Thessaloniki, we have come to a conclusion. Thessaloniki is culture, art, history but above all it is food.

Nothing represents this city like an iced coffee sipped while strolling along the seafront or a warm summer evening spent at a table in a taverna, eating good food and drinking good wine in good company. There is something special that inextricably links Thessaloniki to the Greek culinary tradition. In every corner of the city there are small bars, tavernas and restaurants of all kinds, so many that choosing is sometimes really difficult. There are also those who say that to find a good place to eat in Thessaloniki you need to cover your eyes, stretch out your hand pointing a finger in front of you and do a few pirouettes. Good food here is everywhere, wherever the finger points. To make things easier for you, we have decided to offer you our personal food guide to discover the city one bite at a time.

By scanning this QR code you will have access to a map that will show you our favorite places to enjoy a bite of pure magic. From breakfast to

dinner, from desserts to international cuisine, here you will find the best restaurants, bars and tavernas we have had the pleasure of exploring, savoring Greek and international culture in every dish.

To give you some more tips, we have also thought of suggesting typical dishes that you can taste to dive into the world of Greek cuisine. Here they are!

Bougatsa

Let’s start from the beginning. Breakfast!

The ultimate food guide to taste the city, one bite at a time

The bougatsa is a phyllo dough dessert filled with cream, with a dusting of icing sugar and cinnamon on top. Here in northern Greece the sweet version is the most popular, but in the south, like in Athens for example, savory versions filled with cheese and meat are also very appreciated.

We can’t imagine a better breakfast than this: a warm, freshly baked bougatsa and a nice take-away coffee, all savored on a bench along the seafront, looking towards the Gulf of Thessaloniki and enjoying the view of the splendid Mount Olympus, already covered in snow.

Mezes

Do you want to enjoy good traditional Greek food but there are so many options on the menu that you can’t choose? Here’s a solution. Instead of ordering one dish each, the Greeks have the habit of ordering a multitude of small portions of different dishes, to be shared with all those seated at the table, perhaps accompanied by a few glasses of Ouzo.

These mini portions are called mezes, which literally means “bite”. The typical mezes are a mix of cold and hot dishes, in small portions, which allow you to taste a little bit of everything.

Here are some examples:

- keftedakia: small meatballs

- saganaki: fried hard cheese

- tiropitakia: puff pastry filled with feta cheese - olives

- dolmadakia: the super popular grape leaves rolls filled with zesty rice and herbs

- any type of spread, such as taramosalata (fish roe-based spread), the timeless tzatziki or the more aromatic melitzanosalata (the Greek version of Baba Gannoush, a cream made with smoked aubergines).

And many more!

Revani

Are you a sugar lover? Sweetness is never enough for you, especially if in the form of a cake?

Then this is the dessert for you. Revani is a typical Greek dessert that is also very common in Turkey: the list of ingredients is very simple but the mix is a bomb of sweetness.

Semolina, sugar, flour, butter and eggs, with the addition of vanilla, rose water or orange/ lemon zest are all that make this cake the sweetest you have ever tried. With a delicate aroma, this semolina-based cake is completely soaked in sugar syrup and is perfect if accompanied by a dark coffee.

Moussaka

The Greek comfort food par excellence, the one that reminds you so much of the dishes that your grandmother used to cook. Moussaka is a mainstay of Greek cuisine: eggplant, potatoes, ground beef, cheese, all stacked in a layered dish full of flavour. There are also vegetarian and vegan versions, to satisfy all palates!

Dakos Salad

Dakos salad is one of the best known and most popular Cretan dishes in all of Greece.

The ingredients are few but very tasty: starting with the dakos, i.e. hard barley croutons that usually form the basis for the rest. Fresh cherry tomatoes, feta or mizithra (a traditional Cretan cheese), capers, oregano and lots of olive oil. Perfect to enjoy in the summer!

Spanish Flavours

5 Hassle-Free Meals to Enjoy Tradition at Home

by Silvia Sanz Linares

If you love to eat and try different flavours but don’t really have a knack for cooking, this article is for you. Here you’ll find five budget-friendly, easy-to-cook Spanish recipes to comfort your belly and spirit with authentic traditional food.

When thinking of Spanish meals, you probably can’t help to stumble upon paella, churros or potato omelette. Those are, inarguably, insignia meals of Spanish cuisine loved by both locals and outlanders. But there is much more to this Mediterranean country’s gastronomy!

For that reason, today, I want to introduce you to five traditional everyday meals that will delight the traveller inside you without having to leave home. All the recipes you’ll find here are

vegan (you can find non-vegan versions on the Internet if you like), affordable and easy to prepare; some might take longer than others, but none require technical skills or crazy kitchen gadgets. So, I hope you give them a try and enjoy them.

Olla gitana

Olla gitana (meaning ‘gipsy pot’) is a dish from the region of Murcia in the southeast of Spain,

Source: 2013, Mariluz Piñeiro, Cuchillo y Tenedor

an area known for its fertile gardens. So, as you’ll see, this stew recipe is packed with fresh vegetables that simply taste like tradition.

• Recipe type: Main

• Preparation time: 20 minutes

• Cooking time: 2 hours

• Difficulty: Easy INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

•250g chickpeas

• 400g potatoes

• 150g green beans

• 150g pumpkin

• 1 tomato

• 1 onion

• 1 garlic

• ½ tsp paprika

• ½ tsp peppermint

• saffron

• 2 tbsp almonds

• 1 tbsp vinegar

• 1 bread slice

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• pepper

• salt

PREPARATION

Step 1

Soak the chickpeas overnight (you can use canned chickpeas for convenience, in that case, skip this step).

Step 2

Peel and chop the potatoes and pumpkin. Then, wash the green beans, string them and chop. Next, peel and chop the tomato, onion and garlic.

Step 3

Cook the chickpeas until they are tender. Once the chickpeas are soft, add the vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook everything for 20 minutes.

Step 4

Prepare the ‘majado’. Heat the olive oil in a pan and toast the slice of bread until golden brown. Then toast the garlic and almonds in the same pan. Remove from the pan and crush everything in a mortar with vinegar, saffron and peppermint (alternatively, you can use a blender to mash the ingredients).

Step 5

Make the soffrito. Using the same oil, prepare the sofrito by sautéing the onion over low heat until soft. Add the tomato and paprika, season and cook for 10 more minutes.

Step 6

Add the soffrito and ‘majado’ to the pot containing the chickpeas and vegetables to boil everything together. After 20 minutes, your meal will be ready; enjoy it hot!

Fideuá

Fideuá is the most Mediterranean meal you’ll find in this mini cookbook. The traditional dish from Alicante uses seafood, but we will prepare the veggie version of this paella look alike.

• Recipe type: Main

• Preparation time: 20 minutes

• Cooking time: 1 hour

• Difficulty: Easy INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 250g short pasta noodles

• ½ courgette

• ½ red bell pepper

• ½ yellow bell pepper

• ½ aubergine

• 5 asparagus

Source: 2022, Héctor Medina, Bon Viveur

• ½ onion

• 2 large garlic cloves

• 2 tbsp tomato, grated

• 1l vegetable stock

• 3 bay leaves

• paprika

• rosemary

• olive oil

• salt

PREPARATION

Step 1

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. In a frying pan, cook the onion until golden brown, then add the garlic. Clean and chop the peppers, asparagus, aubergine and courgette. Add them to the pan and sauté until soft.

Step 2

Source:

Heat the vegetable stock.

Step 3

When the vegetables are ready, add the paprika, bay leaves, rosemary and salt to taste. Mix well all the ingredients. After a minute, add the tomato and stir until everything is evenly integrated.

Step 4

Add the noodles to the pan and toast them for about 3 minutes.

Step 5

Cover with the vegetable stock and simmer for about 5 minutes. Then, place the pan in the oven and grill until the noodles are toasted. You’re Fideuá is ready to be eaten!

Suggestion: serve the fideuá with aioli.

Ajoblanco

Ajoblanco (meaning white garlic) is the gastronomic cousin of gazpacho and salmorejo. This Andalusian soup is rich and silky, perfect for a

2012, Sonali Aka, The Foodie Physician

healthy starter —especially during the hot summer days—.

• Recipe type: Starter

• Preparation time: 15 minutes

• Cooking time: 0 minutes

• Difficulty: Easy INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 150g breadcrumbs (preferably a day old)

• 500ml cold water

• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

• 100g raw almonds

• 1 garlic clove

• 2 tbsp vinegar

• Salt

PREPARATION

Step 1

S oak the breadcrumbs in cold water for a few minutes.

Step 2

Place the soaked breadcrumbs in a jar blender with the water, the almonds, the clove of garlic,

the vinegar, and the salt. Blend for 1 minute at high speed.

Step 3

Reduce the blender’s speed and add the olive oil little by little, emulsifying well.

Step 4

Transfer the soup to a container and refrigerate for 4 hours or until chilled.

Suggestion: when serving, garnish with melon or white grapes.

Pisto manchego

Pisto manchego is a traditional farmers’ meal from La Mancha. Due to its humble origins, the recipe can vary depending on the season. Regardless, tomato and pepper always make it the base for this recipe that can be consumed as a main, side or pie filling.

• Recipe type: Side | Main

• Preparation time: 20 minutes

• Cooking time: 2.5 hours

• Difficulty: Easy INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 2 garlic cloves

• 250g onion

• 200g green pepper

• 200g red pepper

• 4 tomatoes

• 300g courgette

• salt

• black pepper

• extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

Step 1

Boil water in a large saucepan. Grab the tomatoes and make a cross-cut at their base. Then, blanch the tomatoes for about 20 seconds and place them in a bowl with ice water. Peel the tomatoes and crush them.

Step 2

Finely dice the garlic and onions. Wash and chop all the vegetables, making all pieces the same size. Then set aside separately.

Step 3

Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a casserole and fry the garlic and onion for 15 minutes over low heat. Next, add the green and red pep-

Source: 2018, Pedroches Gastronomía

per and fry for another 15 minutes. Finally, add the courgette and crushed tomato, season to taste, cover and cook for at least an hour and a half.

Step 4

Once this time has elapsed, remove the lid, turn up the heat and cook for 15 minutes or until the tomato water has evaporated. We want to remove the excess water released by the vegetables, but the dish to still be juicy. Once all the ingredients are well blended, serve or use as you desire.

Patatas a lo pobre

Patatas a lo pobre (poor man’s potatoes) is a medieval dish from the country’s south. As its name indicates, it traditionally was peasants’ food. However, this rustic meal with simple ingredients can lift anyone’s spirit.

• Recipe type: Side

• Preparation time: 10 minutes

• Cooking time: 30 minutes

• Difficulty: Easy INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

• 4 potatoes

• 1 onion

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 Italian green pepper

• ½ red pepper

• parsley

• extra virgin olive oil

• salt

• pepper

PREPARATION

Step 1

Peel the potatoes and finely slice them. Chop the peppers into medium-sized pieces and the onions into fine julienne strips.

Step 2

Add plenty of oil into a frying pan and pour all the ingredients with the oil still cold. Then confit the ingredients over low heat.

Step 3

After 15-20 minutes, the oil should begin to bubble. At this point, season to taste and slightly increase the heat to brown the potatoes.

Step 4

After 5 to 10 minutes, the potatoes will be ready. To make them extra crispy, increase the heat to the maximum and cook for a minute.

Step 5

Strain the potatoes and remove the excess oil with an absorption paper. This scrumptious side is ready!

Source: 2020, Mark Brancatisano, Torello Farm

The recipe of love

by Laura De Cesare

December has started. Lights on the streets were turned on and my grandmother was in turmoil to understand what to cook for Christmas.

During the first week of December a call arrived: “At 3pm meet me at home, we have to decide together Christmas food”. All the female part of the family was checking in, sitting on a table to make a brainstorming about the special menu for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St. Stephen’s Day (a Catholic festivity, celebrated in Italy on the 26th of December).

“At 3pm meet me at home, we have to decide together Christmas food”

Lasagne, spaghetti, clams, vegetables and pork. White wine, red wine, Fanta, Coca-Cola

and water. Everything was marked to be prepared to buy everything.

However, the main character of this meeting were traditional sweets. Mostaccioli, Taralli stuffed with grape marmalade and fried Scrippelle were on the schedule. They are typical dishes of my region in Italy, handed down generation after generation, with the secrets on how to make them delicious.

My grandmother used to have all the recipes in a little notebook, yellowed caused by the time and with a lot of leaflets inside, because she liked to collect delicacies for special events or just for the afternoon coffee in company.

The anxiety for preparing them started around the 15th of December, moment when my grandma, my mother, my aunt, my female cousin and me were around the table, this time for another meeting: baking sweets.

“

You grab the flour, you start to mix sugar with eggs and you put the chocolate in a bain-marie”, commanded my grandmother.

“The kitchen was a mess: flour everywhere, sugar on the floor, loud screaming and laughing, but one thing was in the right place, our love. ”

Yes, because it was our moment to stay together, the only moment when we could talk about what was happening in our life, old stories about my grandma when she was child. It was a moment to confront, to reflect and to express.

This was going on for the whole afternoon: cooking, talking, trying if candies were good and preparing coffee for the break.

In reality one day was not enough, maybe two or three. All the same.

Kilos and kilos of sweets that didn’t fit in just one cupboard, so we used two or three rooms. Bed, dressers and bedside tables were covered by candies and no one could enter inside in order not to destroy our work by eating everything.

Two days before Christmas, the division of the sweets started. A little part for the family and the others for friends and neighbours. Baskets and trays were decorated with rosettes and bows, because the presents had to be perfect, not only for the taste but also for the eyesight.

Day by day, the excitement grown and in the early hour of the Christmas Eve’s morning, my grandmother was already in the kitchen preparing dishes for the dinner. All day she was there, mixing and cooking without eating, because the tradition says that you couldn’t.

With dedication and care, she prepared everything for us, waiting until 8pm to start the dinner. The table was set up with the typical Christmassy tablecloth and we were all together sitting on the table starting with the aperitif (Campari and Prosecco) and continuing with starters, first and second course, coffee, Amaro and the famous candies.

“For three days the dining table became a “war zone”, but the most important thing was that in this “war” we were together.”

Since when my grandmother passed away, we continue to carry on the traditions she transmitted without missing nothing, especially the love for sharing and conviviality.

Balkan Hotspot Team

Alex Humbert, 26 years old, France

Laura De Cesare, 29 years old, Italy

Elena Leiterer, 18 years old, Germany

Maxime Ricaud, 19 years old, France

Carolin Kretzer, 18 years old, Germany

Silvia Sanchez, 26 years old, Spain

Ezgi Güngördü, 24 years old, Turkey

Stefanie Thaller, 22 years old, Austria

Giovanni Stanislao, 32 years old, Italy

Yusuf Taskiran, 24 years old, Turkey

General Directors: Aristodimos Paraschou Christian Cibba Sara Angioletti

Graphic Designer: Anna Maria Diamantidou

Find us: www.balkanhotspot.org Usb_ngo.gr

Editor: Ezgi Gungordu Alex Humbert

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European ERASMUS+ Programme, European Solidarity Corps. This project has been funded with support from the European Commision. This publication [communication] reflects the views of only of the author, and the Commision can not be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.