Introduction The Pontic Greeks, besides their long and distinguished history, have a special and important culture and identity, elements of which are still preserved and active by their descendants a century after their settlement in Greece. One element of their identity and culture is their basic yet diverse cuisine, which is an important and recognized local cuisine in contemporary Greece. This study aimed to identify the most common foods, ingredients, and dishes found in Greek Pontic Cuisine. Methods Six cookbooks, two cooking magazines, four folklore books, and four folklore magazines were reviewed in this study. A considerable amount of data was collected and processed using a text analysis tool. Results and discussion The study provides the most frequently encountered dishes, foods, and ingredients that feature in the publications. The most common dishes are soups, including tanomenon sorva (soup with coarse grains, salty strained yogurt, and mint). Among other dishes, siron (a pre-baked filo-based pastry dish), chavitz (a thick corn dish resembling porridge), and foustoron (an omelet with fresh cow butter) are quite common. Common staples are anchovies and greens. In cookbooks and cookery magazines, ingredients include butter, wheat, eggs, tomatoes, milk, bulgur, corn-flour, and cheese. Meanwhile, the study publications are an excellent way of passing down traditional food knowledge intergenerational, as they are largely descended from Pontic Greek progenitors. Conclusion After analyzing all the publications, it was declared that dairy products, grains, and vegetables were commonly used in Pontic cuisine. It was concluded that cookbooks are crucial for the preservation of the Greek Pontic culinary tradition.
Furniko flour (FF) is a traditional roasted flour derived from a maize landrace, commonly consumed by Greeks of Pontic origin in the northern regions of Greece. Despite its perceived nutritional benefits, there is a lack of scientific data to support and highlight its value. This study aimed to compare the nutritional, physicochemical, anti-nutritional, functional, and antioxidant characteristics of FF with those of traditional and non-traditional types of maize flour. Furniko flour (FF) presented the highest values for protein (10.86 ± 0.36 g/100 g), fat (5.05 ± 0.08 g/100 g), K (539.93 mg/100 g), Mg (126.38 mg/100 g), P (296.4 mg/100 g), Zn (2.44 mg/100 g), and total phenolic content (TPC) (156 mg GAE/100 g). However, FF exhibited lower levels of Fe (3.83 mg/100 g), carbohydrates (70.55 ± 0.24 g/100 g), and antioxidant activity (0.27 ± 0.02 µmol of TE/g) than other types of flour examined. Furniko’s functional properties make it an excellent source for porridges, while its low content of antinutrients reduces the possibility of low bioavailability of Fe, Zn, Mg, and Ca. Due to its significant and functional characteristics, Furniko flour could be considered an important material in the food industry, especially in bakery goods and health-oriented foods like energy bars, breakfast cereals, and gluten-free pasta. More research is needed, however, to thoroughly investigate its dietary potential and compatibility with other components.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.