Greek Food Products

A Greek Clean Monday

February 23, 2017 greekbrands 0 Comments

Clean Monday (Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα),  is the first day of Great Lent in the Orthodox Christian Pasha. This day is also called Koulouma.

This day in Greece is celebrated as a National Holiday. The whole family gathers around a table full of mezethes, made specially for the day. If the weather allows it, it also involves outdoor acitivities of flying kite and Maypole which is a custom brought from the refugees in Greece, but also has special dishes such as lagana, halva, tarama and various others.

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Kite flying

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The Maypole Dance Custom(Γαϊτανάκι in Greek)

Gastronomical Customs of Greece
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The most famous eating costume is that of Lagana, that is unleavened bread made just  for that day. It is a flat bread with sesame, which is made with yeast and is ususally oval shaped. Every bakery shop in Greece is selling tons of Lagana bread on this day!
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The other famous delicacy of the day is tarama salad, made with preserved fish roe. It is made with olive oil or sunflower oil, fish roe, bread and onions.
Among these foods, there is also a loved delicacy. The famous Dolmathes or dolmadakia.
They are made with vine leaves and filling of rice and herbs. It is a difficult handmade process that requires experience and knowledge, but that is what makes this dish so special.
Another sweet delicacy of the day is Halvas.

Halvas is called the dessert made with sesame paste and glucose syrup, often found with almonds, cocoa or vanilla. Τhis halva is very nutritious as it contains sesame which is one of the Greek superfoods.

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There are also other 2 types of halva.The semolina halva made with semolina, olive oil, sugar and water & Halva Farsalon which is made with corn flour, sugar, olive oil, water and almonds.
semolina halva with carrot sweet preserve
<noscript><img decoding=async class=alignnone wp image 616 lazyload src=httpsgreekfoodproductscomwp contentuploads201608semolina halva with carrot sweet preservejpg alt=semolina halva with carrot sweet preserve width=306 height=230 ><noscript> Semolina Halva
farsala type halva with caramel
<noscript><img decoding=async class=alignnone wp image 590 lazyload src=httpsgreekfoodproductscomwp contentuploads201608farsala type halva with carameljpg alt=farsala type halva with caramel width=330 height=248 ><noscript> Halvas Farsalon

Also there are many other dishes that are enjoyed on Clean Monday. Some prepare giant beans in tomato sauce, seafood like mussles and shrimp in tomato sauce, or fried in olive oil. Other enjoy a shrimp spaghetti dish, or a mydopilafo which is rice with herbs and mussles.

Clean Monday is a day that we have fun, spend time with our loved ones and enjoy valuable moments with great tastes.
Are there any culinary customs in your country?
Have a Great Clean Monday!
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Lagana

A Greek flatbread traditionally baked on the first day of the Great Lent.

Tarama Salad

is a meze made from tarama (the salted and cured roe of the cod, carp, or grey mullet) mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, and a starchy base of bread or potatoes.