This document discusses Mediterranean cuisine and its characteristics. It notes that Mediterranean cuisine comes from countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, spanning from Portugal to Morocco. Key features include flexibility and regional variations, with herbs and spices dependent on local growing seasons. The cuisine is built upon wheat, olives, and grapes. It also discusses the influence of French, Italian, and German cuisines on European cooking techniques and standards. Specific regional cuisines from France, the Middle East, and Italy are also summarized.
2. Mediterranean cuisine is the food from the cultures
adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea
There are a dozen and more countries around the Med.
Starting on the Iberian Peninsula going clockwise, there is:
Spain, France, Italy, Armenia, Greece, Turkey, Cypress,
Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Algeria, Libya,
Tunisia and Morocco, not including several other smaller
and island nations.
Despite this, given the geography, these nation-states have
influenced each other over time in both food and culture
and the cooking evolved into sharing common principles.
Mediterranean cuisine is characterized by its flexibility, its
range of ingredients and its many regional variations.
3. Each region has specific techniques and
background flavors
Herbs and spices are geographical and
dependent upon trade, commerce, and
growing season
Mediterranean culinary tradition is built upon
three ingredients: wheat, olives and grapes
4. Have produced some of the most widely
known cuisines
French, Italian, and German have a direct
impact, especially French Classical
Earlier chefs wrote and set the standards
from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century
techniques from France and Italy
Cooking of Europe relies on the basic
foundations of cooking stocks and sauces
5. French is a standard for classical cuisine
French chefs were imported everywhere
In France, cooking is
dominated by tomatoes, olives, eggplants, garlic, and onions
Herbs including thyme, rosemary, lavender, savory, lysop,
marjoram
This is one of the regions notable for its production of foie gras or
fattened goose or duck liver. Cheesemaking, pork products, and
pâtés
Foie gras with mustard seeds and
green onions in duck jus
Basil salmon terrine
6. A rich assortment of fish is available
Olives, oil, and tapenades are from this area
This is one of the regions notable for its production of foie
gras or fattened goose or duck liver. Cheesemaking, pork
products, and pâtés
Desserts include soufflés, profiteroles, Bavarian creams
7. The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree
of homogeneity. Some commonly used ingredients
include olives and olive
oil,pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, m
int and parsley. Some popular dishes
include kibbeh and shawarma.
Middle Eastern dishes are made with a paste called tahini
which is sesame paste made with hulled seeds, unlike its
Asian counterpart.
Baklava is an important dessert. Hummus is made
from chickpeas, which are staples of the diet.
Baklava
Hummus, served with pita
bread
8. Italian cuisine is also well known (and well regarded) for its use of
a diverse variety of pasta.
The main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its extreme simplicity,
with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients.
Cheese and wine are a major part of the cuisine, with many
variations.
Coffee, specifically espresso, has become important in Italian
cuisine.
Desserts include tiramisu, pannacotta etc..
Tagliatelle with bolognese sauce.
Tiramisu
9. The principal aspects of this diet include high olive oil
consumption, high consumption of legumes, high consumption of
unrefined cereals, high consumption of fruits, high consumption
of vegetables, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly
as cheese and yogurt), moderate to high consumption of fish, low
consumption of meat and meat products, and moderate wine
consumption.
Olive oil contains a very high level of monounsaturated fats, most
notably oleic acid, which epidemiological studies suggest may be
linked to a reduction in coronary heart disease risk
Olive oil