Re: Medit.-style eating - green almonds and other things...
I am sure there are better qualified than I to answer this, but my
neighbours here consider Basil a 'Holy herb'. All households have one in the
courtyard, but you are right most do not cook with it at all. Especially
around Easter men wear a sprig in their buttonholes, or behind their ear.
Me I can't get enough of the stuff, it goes in salads, sauces, chopped on
freshlycooked veg, and of course over spaghetti etc as Pesto.
regards Janet b
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Beer <sazci@hotmail.com>
To: <green@pangeanet.it>; <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2000 4:21 AM
Subject: Re: Medit.-style eating - green almonds and other things...
> I was going to grab onto this one too, and forgot.
>
> In Greece, people also eat the green ones here and there, though it seems
to
> be a local thing, some people know about it and other think it's insane.
In
> Iran, the green almonds are also cooked in a stew with lamb; the slightly
> sour flavor of them goes well with it. Unripe grapes are also cooked this
> way.
>
> Incidentally, those of you who live in the Los Angeles area, with it's
very
> large Iranian population (the city is sometimes joked about as
"Tehrangeles"
> by local Iranians), you can buy green almonds in the markets in late
spring.
>
> Walnuts are also used green - they are treated in a rather complicated
> process in lime and become a really delicious "glyko tou koutaliou", or
> "spoon sweet". The island of Thasos is especially known for this sweet.
I
> can get a recipe if anyone wants it. The test is to stick a needle into
the
> green walnuts; if the needle goes through with no resistance the shell is
> still not present.
>
> Pistachios are commonly sold green in Greece, the flavor is very mild.
>
> In Turkey, aside from almonds, hazelnuts are also commonly sold green in
the
> Black Sea area. These are the long type, resembling an acorn, and the
> shells are very thin. You just crunch them with your teeth and shell
them.
>
> A small green plum, known as "erik" there, and "eriki" in Greece are sold
> all over Turkey in the still-crunchy sour stage, and eaten with salt.
They
> are preferred this way to ripe, where they become a little bland in
> comparison with other types of plums. I think they may be as "greengage"
in
> English.
>
> One that surprised me but is also very good is chickpeas (Turk. nohut)
sold
> green on the plants. You buy a bundle of them, and pick and shell them.
> It's reminiscent of Japanese edamame (green soybeans) but you eat them
raw.
>
> Loquats are a favorite fruit of mine in spring, but you have to be a bit
> picky - some are really good and flavorful, and others are completely
> tasteless.
>
> One thing that always struck me as odd is that in most of Greece (I don't
> know about Corfu - let us know!), basil is grown very commonly but never
> eaten. I remember a friend's mother telling this "funny story" about
being
> in a pansion with an Italian family - "...and she just started cutting the
> basil up and throwing it into the tomato sauce!!!" She may as well have
> been cutting up a philodendron and stewing it, for the surprise it
elicited
> from the Greek woman. :) They grow it for its smell, and there is a
custom
> of giving a spring to visitors when they leave.
>
> Bob
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