| If you wander about Corfu, you will easily see that the local cuisine is a distinctive mixture of the Mediterranean diet. Orchards, vineyards, fishing boats and flocks of sheep and goats are all evidence of the locals' agricultural habits.
Salads, vegetables, fish, a little meat, cheese, virgin olive oil and plenty of fruit are part of their daily dinner. Bearing the influence of Italy, the Balkans, England and based on the traditional ancient Greek cuisine, Corfiots cook masterpieces . They are particularly fond of red pepper (paprica), garlic, onions and parsley . Typical dishes include bourdeto (fish in paprika sauce), bianco (fish in garlic sauce), pastitsada (beef in red sauce and spaghetti), stakofisi, cod with onions, cuttlefish with pasta, vegetables in red, paprika sauce, veal lungs, sofrito.
Food in Corfu is accompanied by exquisite wine , especially " Kakotrygis " wine, known since the time of Thucidides.
Local desserts are not as easy to find as nowadays they are rare delicacies made from local, old specialists with experience and knowledge. It's mainly marmalade desserts , dry figs, fig pies (a dessert of dry figs and spices), mandoles (almonds and honey), pergamonto (plain or with chocolate), mandolato, as well as desserts based on almond kernel or whipped cream . You will recognise them by the fine scent of the Corfu bergamot (pergamonto) (a special white kind which only grows in Corfu), of the tiny tangerine and the kum-kuat .
"Earl Grey is traditionally scented with oil of Bergamot, a fruit which resembles an ugly orange found in Mediterranean climates. Corfu was the center of the Bergamot trade during the same decades it was headquarters for the British Mediterranean fleet, commanded by Lord Grey in London." Source: http://www.maryannastea.com/products/earl-grey-extra-fancy
"Everyone has their own story about the origins of this popular scented tea and how it got its name. It is generally accepted, however, that the Earl was named Charles, and his last name was Grey. He was the British Prime Minister under William the IV and may have been stationed at a British Naval base in Corfu, Greece, where bergamot trees were plentiful. " Source: http://www.duckylife.com/product-p/teaearl1.htm
"The bergamot was obtained from Corfu, Greece, which became the British naval base in the Mediterranean. Britain¢s tea loving, naval officers were then stationed in the world¢s primary market for bergamot. There is a notion that a British commander possibly introduced the tea to Grey. " Source: http://artoftea.com/wordpress/2012/10/01/earl-grey-tea/
"The commander in Corfu from this period was Sir Frederick Adam (1823-1832) who could been responsible for introducing the tea to Earl Grey" Source: Tea – How tradition stood in the way of the perfect cup, IAN Bersten,1939 | |