Olive oil, Greek Mediterranean diet heritage and honoring the past to secure our future: Priorities for research and education
This combination of tomato, olive oil, garlic, onion and herbs in ladera increases the amount of polyphenols and carotenoids. Lightly frying vegetables with olive oil makes the vegetables healthier.
Antonia Trichopoulou | doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.1058402 | Mediterranean Diet
Introduction
The Nobel prize winning Greek poet Odysseas Elytis wrote, “If Greece is completely destroyed, what will remain is an olive tree, a vine and a boat; this is enough to begin again”1. Indeed, some plants, like the olive tree, and the grapevines, have evidently been in Greece forever. In the 1953 Rockefeller Report entitled “Crete: A case study of an underdeveloped area,” Allbaugh mentions: “Olives, cereal grains, pulses, fruit, wild greens and herbs, together with limited quantities of goat meat and milk, game, and fish consist the basic Cretan foods... no meal was complete without bread… Olives and olive oil contributed heavily to the energy intake... food seemed literally to be “swimming” in oil”2. In traditional Greek cuisine, olive oil is used in almost all culinary practices and applications. The cooking term ladera, originates from the word ladi, Greek for oil, and generally describes vegetables cooked in plenty of olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes and various herbs. These are the initial steps of making ladera dishes and the cooking practice of Greek cuisine called tsigarisma (sautéing)—basically to “sauté.” Onions and garlic would first be wilted or softened, for seconds, in a frying pan with a few tablespoons of hot olive oil, a practice that adds a certain depth of flavor. Subsequently, vegetables, grated tomatoes, various aromatic herbs, and a small amount of water is then added and the food is essentially left to cook on its own, traditionally over a low flame3.
This combination of tomato, olive oil, garlic, onion and herbs in ladera increases the amount of polyphenols and carotenoids. Lightly frying vegetables with olive oil makes the vegetables healthier. Olive oil has the ability to act as a food excipient, which helps to release and absorb bioactive compounds from garlic, onion and tomato4.
Indeed, we know the importance of olive oil both culturally and for health—but do we still respect our heritage? What are Greek people eating today? Are they still eating the “healthy” traditional Mediterranean diet5? A diet with olive oil at its core and which has been a central part of Greek culture and daily life evidently forever6.
Eλύτης O. O μικρóς ναυτiλoς. Athens: Ikaros Publishing S.A (1985).
Allbaugh LG. Crete: A Case Study of an Undeveloped Country. New Jersey: Princeton University Press (1953), p. 99–100.
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