For many years, cooking with the local wild herbs has been an important part of the Aegean cuisine and culture. In fact, these local herbs are used mostly to make main dishes such as salads, stir-fried dishes and even a pide which is mostly known as the Turkish Pizza all around the world. Some of naturally-grown herbs are used to flavour the meat by cooking together, and marinating meats with them. The actual reason why these herbs are significant for the Aegean cuisine is that they usually steal the spotlight as the main course. The focus on the natural, fresh ingredients helps the Aegean cuisine to be very light and healthy generally. In this article, some information will be given on how to obtain herbs, a few of the herbs’ healing properties, health benefits and recipes.
In the modern era, it can be said that humanity lost the connection with their nature when it comes to food habits. Because of having busy lives, most people get food from supermarkets, cook and eat them in a hurry or they order the food right through their home. Busy lives prevent people from thinking about and appreciating how foods are made and appear on their table. Cooking with herbs reconnects us to a healthy life and lets us reconsider and value the human nature.
When it comes to the benefits of natural herbs, one can already guess any green will be good for our bodies. However, all herbs have different properties if we utilize their medical aspect. Since they are full of vitamins and minerals, they are also widely used in alternative medicine. For example, baby’s tears is said to be good for bronchitis, constipation, diabetes, gastritis, stomachache, loss of appetite, respiratory and urinary tract infections. Another great one is cibez. It is really good for digestion issues and helps with constipation and appetite. Sea beans that grow close to the shores of the Aegean Sea are a great remedy for inflammation, scavenging toxins from the body. As it contains salt and sulfur, it is also known to be helpful for the urinary problems.
Such healing and healthy herbs may be really hard to find in grocery stores because they are locally grown. However, farmer’s markets are great places to obtain some of these herbs that are in season as they are usually hand-picked straight from the mountains and freshly bundled for sale. Buying local products help farmers get on with their occupations and they are budget friendly. Usually some of them might be bitter when they are raw. So, they might not be as good for salads as sea beans or lamb’s ears are. Nevertheless, when they are stir-fried, cooked with steam or blanched, they lose their bitter taste and can be put in pastries or enjoyable on their own with some extra drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy all of the healthy herbs and incorporate them into your kitchen however you want!
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