Αρχείο ετικέτας Cretan diet

Chamomile Tea Benefits and Uses!

Chamomile is one of the most beneficial herbs with many healing properties.

chamomile

It took its name from its scent and its low growth. Humble in appearance, but with very important properties, it is considered to be one of the most useful medicinal plants. It is worth mentioning that chamomile, among other things, contains potassium, magnesium and calcium.

Healing properties

1.It calms the nerves and relieves of intense emotional problems.

2.It is used against insomnia (enhancing sleep), anxiety and nervous tension

3.Sedative in conditions of stress, migraines, neuralgia and dizziness

4.It cures wounds, burns and soothes eczema

5.Antiseptic and anti-irritant action

6.Anti-inflammatory properties for the stomach and protective against the ulcers

7.Antipyretic and anti-allergic properties

8.It is menopausal and relieves the pain of the period

9.It relieves children of dentition pains

10.Useful for nerve indigestion, colic, bloating and gasses

11.Increases appetite in cases of anorexia

12.It is beneficial for hyperactive and restless children

13.Useful in gingivitis and as ophthalmic wash (in eye pain or barley)

But let’s not forget that he wants attention to overconsumption as it can cause nausea, headaches, heart rhythms and insomnia. In addition, essential oil should be completely avoided by pregnant women.

How to make chamomile drink

2 tablespoons of chamomile

600 ml of water

Put the herb in a teapot, pour over boiling water. Cover it and leave it for 10-15 minutes. Strain and add sugar or honey.

If you want, you can visit www.cretaneshop.gr to find excellent quality of Chamomile!

Dittany or Diktamos of crete!

dittany

Diktamos is the most famous of the Cretan endemic plants. Dictamοs is also said ‘’erontas’’ that means love. It grows in mountainous and steep limestone. On steep slopes of canyons and also on steep coastal rocks. The plant is scaly and has a velvety texture. The leaves are green-white, the flowers of pink, and the perfume of the delicious. It is rare, because the place where it is produced is small and the goats eat it because they like it.

Diktamos was known from antiquity and his ancient doctors attributed many healing properties.

In antiquity, the goddess Artemis, which among other things was also a protector of the women, brought a wreath of dictamos in its head.

Also, the dictamos was able to reject the iron bows from the wounded bodies.According to the ancient writers this became known from the Cretan Aigagros of Crete who, when the arrow on their body was hurt and dying, ate dictamos and this fell instantly. The most well-known species is Origanum dictamus or dictamos of Crete, with gray-green, fluffy leaves, which traditionally boil and drink as tea. In addition to a delicious drink, dictamos also has healing properties.

Healing properties

The dictamos plant from antiquity has found many uses in several health problems. Nowadays, in its already known healing properties it has been added as a stomach medicine It is ectomacous and very digestible.

In headaches and toothaches, it does well when you chew for a long time dictamos leaves. It fights the bad breath of the mouth and helps in the treatment of gingivitis. It is recommended for nervous disorders, nervous headaches and other nervous system diseases, due to its properties.

For its antiseptic properties it is used in fevers, flu and colds. Finally, it is used as a haemostatic bruising.

How do we make tea?

To prepare the dictamos tea, put 10-15gr leaves of the plant in half a liter of water. Allow to reach boiling temperature. Let it cool for about 20 minutes before filtering it and drinking it.

When we dry his dried leaves in powder and we shed it into a wound it stops the blood.

The plant can also be used in the bath. Boil plenty of leaves and flowering peaks in plenty of water and add the water to a warm bath. We stay for 15-20 minutes. These healing baths are sedative, tonic, increase erotic mood and are believed to keep youth.

If you want, you can visit www.cretaneshop.gr to find the amazing herb: dittany!

The amazing rakomelo!

What is Rakomelo?

Rakomelo is a spirit drink made from honey by the process of fermenting sugars of honey. The rakomelo can be bought bottled, ready to serve after it has warmed up. It is prepared by combining raki (tsikoudia) or tsipouro with honey and various spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom or other local herbs. Prepared in Crete and other islands of the Aegean Sea as well as in the Greek mainland, and consumed mainly in the winter months as a hot drink. It should not be confused with the roasted raki, which is a local Amorgos drink and is made from raki, sugar and more spices while it is served at room temperature.

Recipe for rakomelo

What we need:

1 liter of raki

honey as long as we want (the ideal for this quantity is 4 tablespoons)

2 cinnamon sticks

2-3 cloves

How do we do it:

In a saucepan, heat carefully raki, then remove from the fire. Then, pour in stirring honey, cinnamon and carnation … and just getting a boil is ready!

It is served hot and is the best cure for colds. (Because raki contains a lot of alcohol, you should be careful not to boil and pour out of the pot because there is a risk of fire.)

If you want, you can visit www.cretaneshop.gr to find handmade and delicious rakomelo!

How do bees make honey?

It takes about 60,000 bees to travel up to 90,000 km to visit more than 2 million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just half a pound of honey!

Once the bees collect the nectar, they store it in their extra stomach where they are mixed with enzymes. Τhen passes into the mouth of another bee. This process is repeated until the nectar is digested “partially and then deposited in a honeycomb.

Τhe bees flutter the liquid nectar with their wings, helping the water evaporate and create the thick stuff we know as “honey.” This honeycomb is then sealed with a liquid discharge from the bee belly, which hardens and becomes the beeswax known to us all. As reported in Live Science

“Away from air and water, honey can be stored indefinitely, providing bees with the perfect source of food for the cold winter months.”

Light honey, like honey made from orange blossoms, tends to be gentler, while dark honey, like those made from wildflowers, tends to have a stronger flavor!

We prefer cretan honey from cretaneshop.gr!

Ouzo: the famed drink of Greece!

One of the most traditional alcoholic beverage in Greece and one of the most beloved of Greeks! It can be found in nearly all cities, towns, and villages and mainly it served with “mezedes” (the Greek version of tapas) such as octopus, salad, stuffed grape leaves, calamari, fried zucchini, croquettes and it is only made in Greece!

If you’re a fan of Italian Sambuca or French Pastis you’ll love ouzo!

Ouzo production begins with distillation in copper stills.

copper still

Anise is added, sometimes with other flavorings such as star anise or mastic. Like any other anise-flavored spirit, if you add a little water to ouzo, it’ll get milky. So place one or two ice cubes in a small glass. Pour a small amount of ouzo over the ice and enjoy!

You can also mix ouzo in cocktails! Some good flavors to mix ouzo with are citrus juices, cranberry juice, banana, and mint!

Try some experimentation or take a look to our suggestion below:

Ingredients:

2 ounces ouzo
4 fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
Soda water
Orange slices, for garnish

Directions:

Place the ouzo, mint and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain over ice and top with soda water. Garnish with an orange slice and serve.

Visit our e-shop and explore your ouzo selections!

www.cretaneshop.gr

The recipe is from: here

Homemade Nougat Recipe!

Nougat

Ιngredients

220 g sugar

150 g Honey, preferably thyme

100 g water

50 g glucose

One large egg

300 g Almonds peeled, roasted in a large non-stick pan

125 g Pistachios unsalted (weighed cleaned)

Powdered sugar or leaf white for nougats

5 drops of mastic oil or 1/4 tsp. Sweet mastic, sharpened

Cooking recipe

Put in a pot of sugar, water and glucose. In a second pot, pour the honey. Put the pots on fire.We pour the veggies into the mixer bucket and beat them in a meringue. When the honey temperature reaches 130 ° C (we check with confectionery thermometer), it is slowly added to the meringue with a steady flow. We continue to “hit” and when the temperature of the sugar-water-glucose mixture reaches 145 ° C, we add it to the meringue in the same way. We keep hitting for about 15 minutes. Stop the blow and add almonds, pistachios and mastic oil or mastic.Sprinkle well the bottom of a 16×16 cm square trunk and 4 – 5 cm high with enough sugar or cover it with 1 nougat leaf. Empty the mixture in the stirrup and press it with your hands to spread evenly everywhere. Cover the mixture with another sheet of nougat or powder. Allow the sweet to stand for several hours and cut it into elongated sticks. Roll each piece in a cooking membrane.

nougat flavors

Visit our e-shop and choose your favorite flavor!

www.cretaneshop.gr

Συνταγή για χειροποίητο μαντολάτο!

Μαντολάτο

Υλικά (για 700 γραμμάρια περίπου):

220 γρ. ζάχαρη

150 γρ. μέλι, κατά προτίμηση θυμαρίσιο

100 γρ. νερό

50 γρ. γλυκόζη

το ασπράδι από 1 μεγάλο αυγό

300 γρ. αμύγδαλα αποφλοιωμένα, καβουρδισμένα σε μεγάλο αντικολλητικό τηγάνι

125 γρ. φιστίκια Αιγίνης ανάλατα (ζυγισμένα καθαρισμένα)

ζάχαρη άχνη ή φύλλο λευκό για μαντολάτο

5 σταγόνες μαστιχέλαιο ή 1/4 κουταλάκι γλυκού μαστίχα, κοπανισμένη

Εκτέλεση

Βάζουμε σε μια κατσαρόλα τη ζάχαρη, το νερό και τη γλυκόζη. Σε μία δεύτερη κατσαρόλα ρίχνουμε το μέλι. Βάζουμε τις κατσαρόλες στη φωτιά.

Ρίχνουμε τα ασπράδια στον κάδο του μίξερ και τα «χτυπάμε» σε μαρέγκα. Όταν η θερμοκρασία του μελιού φτάσει στους 130° C (ελέγχουμε με θερμόμετρο ζαχαροπλαστικής), το προσθέτουμε σιγά σιγά με σταθερή ροή στη μαρέγκα. Συνεχίζουμε το «χτύπημα» και όταν η θερμοκρασία του μείγματος ζάχαρης-νερού-γλυκόζης φτάσει στους 145° C το προσθέτουμε κι αυτό με τον ίδιο τρόπο στη μαρέγκα. Συνεχίζουμε το «χτύπημα» για 15 λεπτά περίπου. Σταματάμε το χτύπημα και προσθέτουμε τα αμύγδαλα, τα φιστίκια Αιγίνης και το μαστιχέλαιο ή τη μαστίχα.

Πασπαλίζουμε καλά τον πυθμένα από ένα τετράγωνο τσέρκι 16×16 εκ. και ύψους 4 – 5 εκ. με αρκετή ζάχαρη άχνη ή τον καλύπτουμε με 1 φύλλο μαντολάτου. Αδειάζουμε μέσα στο τσέρκι το μείγμα και το πιέζουμε με τα χέρια ώστε να απλωθεί ομοιόμορφα παντού. Σκεπάζουμε το μείγμα με ένα ακόμη φύλλο μαντολάτου ή με άχνη. Αφήνουμε το γλυκό να σταθεί για αρκετές ώρες και το κόβουμε σε μακρόστενα μπαστούνια. Τυλίγουμε κάθε κομμάτι μέσα σε διαφανή μεμβράνη.

Εναλλακτικά, τυλίγουμε το μαντολάτο σε σχήμα κορμού. Απλώνουμε το μείγμα που φτιάξαμε στη μέση κατά μήκος ενός φύλλου μαντολάτου και πολύ προσεχτικά φέρνουμε τις δύο άκρες του φύλλου προς το κέντρο πιέζοντας ώστε να σχηματιστεί ο κορμός.

Βρείτε υπέροχα χειροποίητα μαντολάτα στο www.cretaneshop.gr και απολαύστε τις ιδιαίτερες γεύσεις του!

μαντολάτο με γεύσεις

Nougat

What is nougat?

The nougat is a kind of sweet with almonds, a typical Venetian sweet. During the Venetian domination, the nougat was the favorite sweet of the aristocracy.

What does it contain?

The nougat, except for almonds, contains honey, sugar, egg whites, beaten in meringue. Its name comes from the Italian word ‘’mandorla’’ (almond).

It does not contain any preservatives. With its pure ingredients, traditional mantled is a special source of energy for the body. It is no accident that some nutritionists include them in the diets they recommend.

How is a fresh mantle recognized?

The hardness of the mantle demonstrates how fresh it is and how well it is made. To see if a nougat is fresh or not, tap it on a hard surface and it will crumble.

Visit our eshop: www.cretaneshop.gr and choose you favorite!

Μαντολάτο

Τι είναι το μαντολάτο;

Το μαντολάτο είναι είδος γλυκίσματος με αμύγδαλα, τυπικό γλυκό των Βενετσιάνων. Κατά την Ενετοκρατία, το μαντολάτο ήταν το αγαπημένο γλυκό της αριστοκρατίας.

Τι περιέχει;

Το μαντολάτο, εκτός από αμύγδαλα περιέχει μέλι, ζάχαρη, ασπράδια αυγών χτυπημένα σε μαρέγκα. Το όνομά του προέρχεται από την ιταλική λέξη mandorla (αμύγδαλο).

Δεν περιέχει καθόλου συντηρητικά. Με τα αγνά συστατικά του, το παραδοσιακό μαντολάτο αποτελεί ιδιαίτερη πηγή ενέργειας για τον οργανισμό. Δεν είναι τυχαίο που κάποιοι διατροφολόγοι τα εντάσσουν στις δίαιτες που συνιστούν.

Πώς αναγνωρίζεται ένα φρέσκο μαντολάτο;

Η σκληρότητα του μαντολάτου αποδεικνύει το πόσο φρέσκο είναι και πόσο σωστά φτιαγμένο. Για να δείτε αν ένα μαντολάτο είναι φρέσκο ή όχι,χτυπήστε το σε μια σκληρή επιφάνεια και αυτό θα θρυμματιστεί.

Επισκεφτείτε το www.cretaneshop.gr και επιλέξτε την γεύση που προτιμάτε!

Τhe treasure of Crete!

It is known as the “Black Gold” of Crete and its name is Carob!

Carob is native to the eastern Mediterranean, where it has been in cultivation for at least 4000 years. The plant was well known to the ancient Greeks, who planted seeds of this plant in in the southern parts of Greece and mainly in Crete.

the carob tree

Seeds were used to weight gold, therefore the word “carat.” As ancient traders traveled around the Mediterranean and surrounding areas, they turned to the carob bean as a unit of measurement. A gemstone would be weighed and put onto a balance, the other side would have carob seeds on it. A stone that balanced 5 seeds was said to weigh 5 seeds – then 5 carobs – then 5 carats.

carob

When the fruit of carob is unripe, its color is green and then it’s become brown. The fruit of carob is 15 to 30 centimeters in length and is fairly thick and broad.

Carob also has excellent nutritional value! It contains Magnesium, Calcium, Iron and also vitamins A, B, and D. It also has medicinal uses including the treatment of coughs, common cold and anemia. Because of the usefulness of Carob, there are a wide range of products from its fruits.

For example the carob syrup, Charoupomelo is the Greek name, is an natural sweet drink made by grinding the carob pods and then extracting the syrup by boiling the powder in hot water. Used in Crete as a natural sweetener, and is considered a natural source of calcium. It contains three times more calcium than milk and it can be used as a sweetener for hot and cold drinks, yogurt, ice cream, cakes etc.

Charoupomelo

Carob is an excellent alternative to chocolate! You can use the syrup, the same way as you would chocolate in almost all recipes. And you can enjoy your favorite sweet treats with fewer calories, fat, and sugar!!!

Carob Powder Cacao

Don’t miss the chance to visit our e-shop, to explore all these wonderful products!

www.cretaneshop.gr

Arolithos blog

Αρόλιθος – Παραδοσιακό Κρητικό Χωριό / Η Κρήτη & η παράδοσή της! • Arolithos – Traditional Cretan Village!

Αρχείο ετικέτας Cretan diet

Chamomile Tea Benefits and Uses!

Dittany or Diktamos of crete!

The amazing rakomelo!

How do bees make honey?

Ouzo: the famed drink of Greece!

Homemade Nougat Recipe!

Συνταγή για χειροποίητο μαντολάτο!

Nougat

Μαντολάτο

Τhe treasure of Crete!