Cuisine
A beautiful island, nestled in the heart of the Adriatic sea, seems unlikely, but is the crossroads of cultural exchanges. Its gastronomy has survived and is still living to its advantage as being the centre of civil, commercial and cultural exchanges. For over 400 years Venetian domination and periods of English, Russian and French rule have left their mark, the knowledge and the ingredients used in the western European cuisine through the recipes of traditional Corfiot dishes. Overall, Corfiot cuisine and especially that found in the villages, includes simple ingredients and recipes, originating from the Ancient Greek and Roman cuisine. A cuisine that has managed to survive through time and is rich in colour and imagination.
Olive oil, onion, garlic and pepper are the basic elements of almost every recipe and, of course, from an original Corfiot table, greenery is never absent. Green vegetables are always boiled. Fresh salads, with the most popular being roka and glistrida (not found anywhere else but in Corfu), together with the locally produced mellow and lightly flavoured wine which, when drunk by the Corfiots, induces them to burst into song.
Olive oil, used pure or cooked, is one of the major ingredients in the Corfiot cuisine as well as in the cuisine of all the Mediterranean countries.
The blossom-honey, an excellent and delicious addition to any breakfast table, with its delicate taste can be found almost everywhere in Corfu as the humidity, the flowers and the bees are the major factors in its production.
The koum-kouat, as liqueur, dessert sweet, jellied fruit or marmalade, is one of the characteristic Corfiot souvenirs. This delicious fruit, like small oranges, is a product of numerous graftings, originating from Japan and was introduced to Corfu in 1846.
