Macedonian cuisine (Greek: Μακεδονική κουζίνα) is the

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

of the region of Macedonia in northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Contemporary Greek Macedonian cooking shares much with general

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and wider

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

cuisine, including dishes from the Ottoman past. Specific influences include dishes of the Anatolian Greek, Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian, Slavic, Armenian and

Sephardi Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

population. The mix of the different people inhabiting the region gave the name to the ''

Macedonian salad Macedonia or macédoine is a salad composed of small pieces of fruit or vegetables. Fruit Macedonia is a fresh fruit salad and is a common dessert in Greece, Romania, Spain, France, Italy and South America. Vegetable Macedonia or ''Macédoine de ...

''.

History

A continuation from the ancient period are dishes such as lamb cooked with quince or various vegetables and fruits, goat boiled or fried in olive oil: modern recipes from

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...

and

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...

offer lamb with quince, pork with celery or leeks. The arrival of Greek refugees from

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in the early 20th century brought also Anatolian and

Constantinopolitan la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

elements in the cuisine of the region. Some current specialties are

trahanas Tarhana is a dried food ingredient, based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk, found in the cuisines of Central Asia, Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Dry tarhana has a texture of coarse, uneven crumbs, and it is u ...

with crackling,

phyllo Filo or phyllo is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and börek in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Filo-based pastries are made by layering many sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter; the pastry is t ...

-based pies (cheese, leek, spinach) and meat plates (such as pork,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

and buffalo). Others are ''tyrokafteri'' (Macedonian spicy cheese spread) and (cuttlefishes in wine). Unlike

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, the traditional

pita Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, also ...

bread for the popular

souvlaki Souvlaki ( el, σουβλάκι, , ; plural: , ), is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with ...

usually is not grilled, but rather fried. (Information included from 'Greek Gastronomy', GNTO, 2004) Various products are produced from the buffalo meat. There is breeding especially around

Lake Kerkini Lake Kerkini ( gr, Λίμνη Κερκίνη - Limni Kerkini) is an artificial reservoir in Central Macedonia, Greece that was created in 1932, and then redeveloped in 1980, on the site of what was previously an extremely extensive marshland. L ...

Appetizers/local products

* ''

Ajvar Ajvar ( ; Cyrillic script: Ajвар, Aйвар) is a condiment made principally from sweet bell peppers and eggplants. The relish became a popular side dish throughout Yugoslavia after World War II and is popular in Southeast Europe. Homemad ...

'' (

Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...

), spicy dip *'' Krokos Kozanis'' (saffron) *'' Melintzanosalata'' *'' Kavourmas'' *'' Kolokythopita'' (zucchini pie) *''Koulouri Thessalonikis'' (a type of

simit Simit is a circular bread, typically encrusted with sesame seeds or, less commonly, poppy, flax or sunflower seeds, found across the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire, and the Middle East. Simit's size, crunch, chewiness, and other character ...

) *''Kichí'' of

, a type of

tyropita Tiropita or tyropita (Greek: τυρóπιτα, "cheese-pie") is a Greek pastry made with layers of buttered phyllo and filled with a cheese-egg mixture. It is served either in an individual-size free-form wrapped shape, or as a larger pie that i ...

with cheese *Mushrooms (large production around

Grevena Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Ath ...

region) *''Manitaropita'', mushrooms pie *''Pinakotí'', bread from Mount Athos *'' Pastourmas'' *''

Skordalia Skordalia or skordhalia or skorthalia (Greek: σκορδαλιά , also called αλιάδα, aliada/aliatha), is a thick purée in Greek cuisine made of garlic in a base of potatoes, walnuts, almonds or liquid-soaked stale bread mixed with o ...

'' *'' Spanakorizo'' *'' Tahini'' *'' Taramosalata'' *Various cheeses, like Anevato,

Kasseri Kasseri or Kaşar (Greek: κασέρι, Turkish: ''kaşar''Merriam-Webster Unabridged ''kasseri''/ref>) is a medium-hard or hard pale yellow cheese made from pasteurised or unpasteurised sheep milk and at most 20% goat's milk. "Kasseri" is a pr ...

Manouri Manouri ( el, μανούρι) is a Greek semi-soft, fresh white mixed milk-whey cheese made from goat or sheep milk as a by-product following the production of feta. It is produced primarily in Thessalia and Macedonia in central and northern Gre ...

, Batzos, Metsovone, Petroto,

Kefalograviera Kefalograviera (Greek language, Greek: Κεφαλογραβιέρα) is a hard table cheese produced traditionally from sheep's milk or mixture of sheep's and goat's milk. According to the PDO filing with the EU (see below) the name applies only ...

and ''

Tirokafteri Ktipiti or htipiti ( el, χτυπητή), also known as tirokafteri ( el, τυροκαυτερή) or kopanisti (not to be confused with the cheese of that name), is a cheese-based spread from Greece. The preparation of the dish varies, but the ...

'', a spicy cheese spread or dip made of whipped

feta Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it ...

cheese with hot peppers and olive oil *'' Tirokroketes'' * Red peppers of Florina: can be

roasted Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

, sliced and served by adding olive oil and garlic
, Anonymous (n.d.). ''Naoumidis peppers''. Retrieved from http://www.piperiesflorinis.gr/en/

Specialties

* , lamb meat with quinces * , lamb with spinach (

) * , pork meat with celery * (Μάντζα), vegetables * , meatballs with garlic sauce (

) * , mushrooms soup * * , meat plate * Mussels with saffron * , amix of legumes * (), a type of * , cuttlefishes in wine * , ''

Souvlaki Souvlaki ( el, σουβλάκι, , ; plural: , ), is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with ...

'' and '' Kontosouvli'' * , fried pork * , may be soup * , wild boar meat * , Christmas food in the region of

, meat and rice in pickled cabbage-leaf * Various dishes with buffalo meat * Various fish plates, especially and , fished in the lakes of the region * Various types of , sausages

Desserts

*'' Akanés'' (

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

) *''Armenovíl/Armenonville'' (Thessaloniki) *''

Bougatsa Bougatsa ( ) is a Greek breakfast pastry (sweet or savoury) consisting of either semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat filling between layers of phyllo. Origin The name comes from the Byzantine Greek πογάτσα (pogátsa), from the a ...

'' *'' Halvas'' *'' Kourkoubinia'' *'' Laggites'' *''

Moustalevria Mustalevria ( el, μουσταλευριά) or must jelly (also mustpie and mustcake) is a traditional Greek kind of pudding made of grape must mixed with flour and boiled until thick. Moustokouloura, must biscuits or must cookies is the biscuit (c ...

'' *'' Moustopita'' *'' Pandespani'' * ''Poniró'', from

*''Roxákia'' *'' Revaní'' (

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...

) *''Sáliaroi'' (Saliaria) from Kozani *

Spoon sweets A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily fo ...

*''Trigona Thessalonikis''

Drinks

Vineyard in Naoussa, Central Macedonia, Greece

* Frappé coffee, invented in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in 1957 *

Retsina Retsina ( el, Ρετσίνα) is a Greek white (or rosé) resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2,000 years. Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with Alepp ...

* Tsipouro * Greek wine, Wine.

References

Sources

External links

Moussaka from The English Times of Katerini
*

*
Greek Macedonian Wines (Info)
{{cuisines Macedonia (Greece) Greek Macedonian cuisine