Living in the Mediterranean on an island endowed with a great abundance of natural locally grown products is a blessing that many people envy. This does not mean we have access to everything. True, it is much easier in Crete to rely on one's own garden or locally grown produce than elsewhere, but we still rely on many products brought over from the mainland, eg rice, grain (ie bread), apples and potatoes, among others.
There are some products that never see the light of day in Hania. Raspberries and blueberries are two products that I would be happy to pay a dear price for every now and then, even though I know that this is not a sustainable way of feeding myself or my family. I have NEVER seen fresh raspberries or blueberries being sold in Hania; MAICh once grew them for experimental purposes, which said project is now, alas, over, but the Botanical Park Restaurant is making headway here by growing them successfully as part of their commitment to the sustainable growth of non-endemic plants in Crete. I love these berries, and I must admit to over-indulging in them during my last two trips to London, even though the fruits I bought there were actually produced in Holland!!! Just imagine never being able to make blueberry muffins (these fruits aren't available in frozen or tinned form either) or cranberry sauce, something I have often read about in American recipes, but can only imagine its taste.
The isolated image of Crete that I have protrayed is totally reversed in the mainland. In Athens, such exotic items are sold in even mainstream supermarkets. With the spread of gloablisation, the recent influx of Northern Europeans buying retirement properties in Crete and the rise in travel-for-pleasure to foreign countries among the Cretan people, I suspect that very soon, we will be able to get them here too, once the gourmet supermarket AB Vasilopoulos opens its doors for business close to my workplace. Already, cheddar cheese, coppa, prosciutto and chorizo sausage are now being sold in most deli counters of most supermarkets in Hania, all of which were once considered 'exotic'.
Wild rose berries are something I had never heard of myself...
... until I received an Alaskan tea sampler containing these organically grown fruits, along with some tinned Alaskan salmon. This little gift has added an exotic element to my very basic and highly localised pantry.
Thank you very much, Laurie!
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Enjoy them Maria!...Laurie is such a sweetie!
ReplyDeleteI bet it was so fun to receive and open up that package!:-) Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteYes, I do miss the wide variety of groceries I was used to purchasing in my local supermarkets in the UK. But I've adapted, we do lust after somethings.... especially when making Asian food, baby sweet corn, mangetout,coriander (I've tried and tried but just can't get it to grow..)
ReplyDeleteA friend of ours is actually successful growing rasberries, we savour them!! Turnips, parsnips and swede are other root vegetables we, and our friend have tried to grow with some success.
xxoxox!
ReplyDeleteI had to giggle at the thought of Cheddar cheese being thought of as exotic! Here it is the 'default', common-or-garden cheap cheese, the one that's used with everything. Nothing wrong with that, I love the stuff, but exotic it certainly isn't :D
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the salmon and other treats. Alaska is famous for them:D
ReplyDeleteThe "wild rose berries" are simply the rose hips which develop on (wild - or any other) roses after the petals drop. They are a great source of vitamin C.
ReplyDelete(P.S. I love reading your blog - I grew up in Canada but my father's family lives in Galata, so seeing your pictures and reading your posts is just so interesting (because I learn something new) and yet familiar (because I was swimming at Kalamaki in September, for example).)
We grow raspberries, black berries, red and black currants and of course strawberries in our tiny garden in Vienna. These are real treats.
ReplyDeleteBut so many fruits and vegetables, which you have in abundance result in a very poor harvest.
hi stamatia - maybe we can go swimming at kalamaki together next time you come to greece!
ReplyDeletejackie - i had to laugh at the comment about cheddar - i grew up on cheddar cheese in nz, so you can imagine how much i missed it when i began to live here!
eva - every place has its own natural resources, which should be appreciated by the locals. i guess i'll just have to be content with bumper harvests of courgettes in the summer and cabbages in the winter...
it's one of the simple pleasures in life to open up a mystery parcel - it was really fun!
Very sweet of Laurie! Maria, I am surprised that the blueberries and blackberries are not grown in Crete. In Southern Turkey around the Mediterranean (where I lived), I never saw these berries in markets, however, they used to grow wild in bushes along the road. When we were kids, we used to pick them and eat them, but they were never considered as a fruit to have at home. Little did they know how highly prized they are in other countries! The wild ones taste so much better than the ones I've eaten here from the supermarkets in the U.S. Although, I am sure the Alaskan ones taste much better. One of my best friends who lives in Alaska, picks them from the wild and she really loves them.
ReplyDeletei never expected this post to generate so much interest.
ReplyDeleteNihal, i've seen the stems being sold on occassion here in hania, but no one seems to show any interest in these berries except perhaps non-locals. my husband is in charge of the garden, and i cant say we share the same plant tastes, which is the main reason why i havent tried growing them here. he's very much a mediterranean gardener.
on a funnier note, when I once pointed them out in a plant nursery, he said he doesnt need any more 'vatous' growing in his soil than already do grow. wild blackberry vines (vatous) grow in the village, strangling unattended orange and olive trees (the ones you say grew in your area). the berries are not as big or delicious as the fat blackberries and raspberries that i remember eating in other countries, and i am the only greek that i know who picks them
Those tins of Alaskan salmon are gold...do enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHaving struggled (and bled) with wild blackberry vines, I totally understand your husband's feeling! They do have thornless berry vines now, but maybe not at your nursery. Blueberries grow on bushes (no thorns) that are quite ornamental and have nice fall color. You could put a blueberry bush in a spot away from the veggie garden as sort of a stealth fruit.
ReplyDelete~ Lulu
What a great gift from Laurie! I love both blueberries and raspberries and really miss them here. You know in Turkey they have fantastic raspberries and last time I was there I bought a kilo for something like 1 euro, ate it all in one go and them spend a day in the toilet... :-)
ReplyDeleteThat was nice of your friend to send you such a lovely care package!
ReplyDeleteI'm usually the one reading with envy about the bounty of fresh produce you have access to - like your recent post on finding wild greens in unexpected places such as parks and one's own backyard! So it's interesting to be reminded that there are foods I take for granted because it's so common where I live but considered an exotic somewhere else. It's a reminder that I should appreciate those items that are grown locally and in abundance. Still, I love being able to find tropical fruits that would never grow in Minnesota!
ReplyDeleteI've no complains,we get all kinds of fruits here,some very seasonal though.Enjoy your exotic tea flavors:)
ReplyDelete