Intro and history
The Cretans were throughout their history very close to the sea, and a large part of the inhabitants were either fishermen or merchants by sea, so both fish and seafood were usually a central part of Cretan cuisine. Cretan seas offer fish of supreme quality. The Libyan Sea especially at the south of Crete has a higher content than usual in salt and iodine and the fish sourced from it is of outstanding quality and has a very special taste.
Fishing was one of the major activities for Minoans living on the coast, but there is as yet no clear evidence for the way in which they organized their fishing. However, the rich variety of marine motifs on the frescoes and in pottery design implies that the Minoans felt a deep familiarity and empathy with marine life.
The Cretan seas are said to be relatively unproductive because they lack an extensive continental shelf, are particularly deep and do not have any sizable rivers providing nutrients. Despite the generally unfavorable conditions, Crete of the Hellenistic-Roman period provides a record of fishing as an activity of considerable scale and organization. Fish resources were, in some cases, so substantial to the local economy that they were included in treaties between rival cities.
In ancient times fishermen were among the poorest members of the population. Their appearance was characterized by ponos (hardship) and penia (poverty). In Hellenic historical sources they are portrayed as old men who have to carry out hard labor. The surviving statues of fishermen mostly show unkempt individuals with a primitive and somewhat stupid facial expression. Fishermen generally wear a simple cape made of fur or soft material bound at the shoulder and a cone-shaped cap made of felt or a sun hat with a brim.
The profession of the fish merchant, however, appeared to be quite profitable.
There is clear evidence that the Greeks had a large amount of fish in their diets. Since they had no refrigeration systems the fish had to be eaten promptly before they spoiled. The poorer Greeks could only afford little fish, usually pickled, such as anchovies and sapts (a type of squid). Only the wealthy could afford bigger, fresh fish like tuna, sea bass, and red mullet. Eel was considered the greatest fish delicacy in ancient Greece and was sold at the fish markets at a relatively high price. There are references in many ancient texts in Classical Era Athens where the purchase of all fish by a wealthy citizen was considered an undemocratic act since he left nothing for the rest of the people.
Fish were depicted on small artifacts (particularly pottery and metal vessels) and in mosaics as a symbol of prosperity and affluence. Fish mosaics are often found in dining rooms as a direct evidence of the abundance and richness of food offered.
The most striking evidence for the importance of seafood in Graeco-Roman culture comes from the remarkable development of ancient fish farming. Extensively described in the ancient, fish farming reached a high stage of technical perfection, developing techniques for spawning and rapidly raising to maturity a wide range of maritime species, including the common eel, conger eel, moray eel, several species of grey mullet, sea bass, gilthead sea bream, red mullet, dentex, saddled sea bream, the angler or monkfish, and the rhombus, most likely either sole or turbot, many of which proved highly suitable for cultivation, but are only rarely farmed today.
Nutrition
Pliny the Elder (24-79 A.D.) reports on remedies which consisted of pickled, cooked and raw fish. According to him, the octopus was highly valued for its supposed ability to increase sexual desire. On the other hand, ray liver was considered to dampen desire in men and make it easier for women to give birth. It was believed that pickled barbels helped prevent pregnancy. Fish gall bladder was employed in ophthalmology, while the electric shocks from living torpedo rays were regarded as a means to alleviate headaches.
There are many stories and myths, over the centuries that attribute to certain foods the stimulation of erotic desire. Seafood and especially oysters are usually mentioned because of the dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) and zinc (Zn) they contain. The truth is that the zinc contained in seafood, in addition to boosting the immune system, seems to boost testosterone production in men. In addition, it positively affects the quality and motility of sperm, according to a study by Justus Liebig University in Germany.
Fish and fasting
The Orthodox Church recommends a total of 180–200 days of fasting per year. Fish and seafood are allowed in some cases when meat and dairy are not and avoided in others.
Fish are avoided on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year. During the 40 days preceding Christmas, fish is allowed while meat and dairy are not, Wednesdays and Fridays being the exception. During Lent fish is allowed only two days, on March 25th and Palm Sunday, whereas meat, dairy products and eggs are avoided. For a total of 15 days in August (the Assumption) the same dietary rules apply as for Lent with the exception of fish consumption which is allowed only on August 6th. Seafood such as shrimp, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, lobsters, crabs as well as shellfish are not considered fish and are allowed on all fasting days throughout the year because they don’t bleed when cut.
Methods of fishing
Today the methods to catch fish are numerous, some of which are illegal and destructive. In the ancient times things were simpler. Net fishing was the most important technique, occasionally from the shore, but most often from a range of sea craft, ranging from small to ships of significant size. Spears, rip hooks and other wounding gear, terracotta pots used by ancients and moderns for trapping octopus, were all employed and are well-attested. We also have good evidence for the care taken by Graeco-Roman fishermen in observing the habits of different fish and exploiting this information in their fishing methods, adapting baits for each and developing a range of lures from artificial flies to sexual lures, acoustic lures, chum and various chemical lures as well as light.
Some mention should be made of the use of trapping barriers and fences and wooden fish pots and fyke nets, often employed in connection with extensive fish farming, especially of euryhaline species such as grey mullet, sea bass, and gilthead sea bream, in natural lagoons, rivers, or canals.
Plato, Aelian and Oppian describe in detail the ways fishermen used to catch fish. According to them, there were four different methods: with a net (diktyeia, bolos or sarene), with a rod (kontosis), with a fish trap (kyrteia) and with a fish hook (angistreia). Quite a bit of fishing took place during the night – same as today – and fire was used to lure the fish close to the fishermen.
According to Aelian, net fishing leads to prosperity as “numerous and varied fish [enter] the net”, lowered into the water from one or two boats. Fishing with a rod, spear, trident or harpoon with several prongs are the most manly and courageous ways to catch fish. The hunter needs physical strength to slay the creatures, primarily octopus or tuna.
Selecting fish
A fish market should smell like fish, but it shouldn’t smell like low tide. If it does, consider purchasing your fish elsewhere. Same goes for the fish itself. If it smells pungent, it’s past its prime, and cooking or adding sauces won’t do anything to solve that.
Keep in mind that there may be fish in every season, but that does not mean that you can find them. Generally it is advisable to choose fish that do not swim at great depths. Good choices as anchovies, sardines, mackerel, bogue (type of sea bream), and pike. These fish may be considered common but they are not so expensive, plus they will be fresh and Greek, and most importantly, they are richer in the good fatty acids.
Naturally, the fresher the better when it comes to the quality and taste of seafood, but unless you’re a fisherman or caught the fish yourself, determining how fresh it is can be a challenge.
Choose whole fish with clear and bright eyes to ensure you’re getting the freshest possible fish. Flesh, like eye color, fades with age and becomes more dull. The flesh on fresh fish has a metallic and shiny hue and their gills should be bright red, not dark red.
When purchasing lobster or crab or any other live seafood, the more movement, the better. Check with the owner of the fish market when the new shipments come in to ensure the fish is fresh.
Although you can purchase frozen fish to retain freshness, especially if you live far from the sea, be aware that not all fish freezes well — oily fish, for example, doesn’t freeze well. Great options for frozen fish include flash-frozen whole shrimp, octopus, squid, vacuum-packed scallops, tilapia, sole, and snapper.
When purchasing fish in packing and the liquid inside is milky, pass on it. If you see liquid around the fish it’s okay; just make sure it’s clear.
Fish guide
Choosing whole fish can be difficult since most of us are not fish experts and rely on labels to identify the fish we purchase. At the Greek fish market you will see labels with the fish name and price per kilo. Below is the fish name in Greek and its English equivalent.
| Achinos – Sea urchin |
| Achivada – Clam |
| Astakos – Lobster |
| Atherina – Mediterranean sand smelt or Silverside |
| Babrbouni – Red Mullet |
| Bakaliaros – European hake and Atlantic cod |
| Christopsaro – John Dory |
| Chtapodi – Common octopus |
| Fagri – Red porgy, Common sea bream |
| Galeos – School shark, tope shark, soupfin shark |
| Garida – European shrimp, shrimp, prawns |
| Gavros – European anchovy |
| Gopa – Bogue |
| Hippoglossos – Halibut |
| Kalamari – Squid, European squid, Common squid |
| Karavida – Crawfish, crayfish |
| Kavouri – Crab / Blue Crab |
| Kefalos – Flathead grey mullet, striped mullet |
| Kolios – Mackerel, Atlantic chub mackerel |
| Koutsomoura – Striped red mullet |
| Lavraki – Bass, sea bass, Mediterranean sea bass |
| Lythrini – Red Snapper |
| Marida – Picarel, whitebait |
| Marida – Whitebait |
| Melanouri – Saddled sea bream |
| Mydi – Mussel, Mediterranean mussel |
| Palamida – Atlantic bonito |
| Peskandritsa – Anglerfish, monkfish, goosefish |
| Pestrofa – Trout, brown trout / rainbow trout |
| Regga – Herring |
| Rofos – Dusky Grouper |
| Salahi – Ray, skate |
| Sardela – Sardines, pilchards, sprats |
| Sargos – White Seabream |
| Sfyrida – Grouper |
| Sfyrida – White Grouper |
| Skaros – Parrotfish |
| Skorpina – Red scorpionfish, rockfish |
| Soupia – Common cuttlefish |
| Sreidi – Οyster |
| Synagrida – Dentex |
| Tonos – Bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, albacore tuna |
| Tsipoura – Gilthead sea bream |
| Vlachos – Wreckfish |
| Xifias – Sword Fish |
Seafood preparation
Fish consumption in the traditional Mediterranean diet was mainly limited to small fish like sardines and anchovies sometime fresh, but many times salted or marinated.
In Crete the great variety of existing fish is eaten mainly in 4 ways: grilled, as soups, as fish stews/casseroles and pan fried.
A particular fish can be cooked in a multitude of ways although some cooking methods tend to prevail for certain fish types.
Big fish, such as fagri (red porgy), lavraki (European bass), sargos (white sea bream), sinagrida (common dentex) or skaros (parrotfish) are eaten char grilled mainly in fish taverns and more rarely at home. Skaros especially is unique to the Libyan Sea, really delicious and is probably the only fish whose entrails are edible. They are served with ladolemono, an olive oil, lemon and oregano dressing. This dressing is served with grilled fish (not fried) as there has been no other fat added during preparation. The dressing brings out the taste of the fish and as an added benefit, olive oil, lemon and oregano are excellent sources of potent antioxidants making the fish even more nutritious.
Cretans also prepare delicious fish soups made of fish and fresh vegetables. A fish soup is usually made with bakaliaros (European hake fish), christopsaro (Zeus Faber), peskantritsa (angler/monkfish) or rofos (dusky grouper fish). Fish soups can be also prepared with rarer fish types, such as mougri (European conger), smerna (Mediterranean moray) or skorpina (scorpaena fish).
Another great way that Cretans prepare their fish is as oven cooked casserole dish, a type of fish stew. A very common fish casserole is made with tomato and herbs and is known as plaki. Most commonly bakaliaros or magiatiko (greater amberjack fish). Another type of fish casserole is with olive oil and oregano, known as ladorigani, and this is a very common way to prepare sardeles (sardines). Fish could be also combined with potatoes and various vegetables such as zucchini and carrots.
Cretans also love pan fried fish such as barbouni (striped red mullet), koutsomoura (red mullet), gopa (bogue), atherina (Mediterranean sand smelt) or marida (spicara smaris). Note that in Crete fried fish is not battered but rather dredged with flour before pan frying. Furthermore, olive oil is used for frying with greatly improves the produced taste.
At the restaurant
There is a whole ritual for fish ordering in Crete and in Greece in general. The consumer is actively involved in the selection of the fish they will eat. It is customary to ask at the fish tavern what fish is available, if it’s fresh, then to go in the kitchen and look at the fish and choose the one you want. The proprietor will weigh it for you and you have to decide how it will be cooked. All these steps require that you know a bit about how a fresh fish looks like but it presents you as a knowledgeable consumer. A whole fish on the table maybe a bit unusual to some, but in Greece it is not only common, it is a way of knowing where the fish you are eating is coming from. Some simple guidelines: fresh fish should smell like the sea, their eyes should be shiny, the scales should be shiny and attached to the body and the gills should be red. There should be no mushiness or dullness or brownness anywhere.
A word of caution: you may see larger fish on the menu, but that does not necessarily mean they are from Greek waters. These fish are scarce in the summer months and they may be imported from countries like Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco. To find such fish from Greek waters you should either go to a fish tavern that catches its own or somewhere that you can trust provides Greek fish.
