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Yes! This is the feeling I got when walking through the Thursday market in Rethimno. Yes, because when you think Mediterranean you think colors, freshness and buzz. And this what I experienced.

A rainy day

No a good start of a day when you do vacation on Crete: gray clouds and increasing amounts of rain. But this cannot stop a market aficionado, better get wet than missing a chance. And it was worth it, as there were a guy selling cheap umbrellas and friendly vendors with their large enough marquees.

Colors

Stepping around some water peddles I came across approximately 60 stalls each with its own small truck in the back with replenishment. It was a feast for the eyes, everywhere local produce of the season in all their colors: tomatoes, peppers, grapes, beans, apples, pears, leaves, okra, clementines, potatoes, nuts, beets and much more. I saw freshness everywhere, and the produce were not standardized and photo perfect as what I am used to find in supermarkets. It was great to see that the produce had their own personalities aka. shape, color and size, their roots certainly have touched some real soil. Nothing seemed to be coming from a wholesale market. I saw apples which the size of apricots, and they had their distinct taste. Just great to see, smell and eat that.

No butchers by the way.

Buzz

This market does not focus on products for tourists. Certainly, there was nicely packaged olive oil, herbs and honey available, ready to bring back home on a plane, but this was something everybody bought anyway. The market was clearly made for local consumption, people were walking around selecting their fresh produce by themselves, the mostly large quantities handed to the trader to be weighted and paid for.

The crowd was astonishingly relaxed and even the partly heavy rain die not create a bad mood. As the vendors had large marquees, there was shelter for some people at least. The umbrella vendor probably had a good time as well.

Still what impressed me most, is that the people really looked at the produce, smelled and touched it before making their own selection. This to me is a sure sign that people still have and interest in good food, and put a high value into tasty, satisfying meals.

Viagra

Quite a few vendors were able to speak at least a few words in English making interactions possible, something I really love about markets, they produce nice little stories and memories which pop up from time to time when I am day dreaming.

This way I learned about the Cretan Viagra. “I got one son from it!” the cheese monger said, “it is Viagra” pointing at the cheese I could not identify and looked a bit different from the others (check picture gallery). “One son!” he said again. With a help of a friend he explained me that this hard cheese was made from goat milk and ripened in a kind of goat skin bag. A must buy, as it is so rare to see. I still have some at home, easy to preserve. Unfortunately I forgot its name. Anyway, the aroma is intense as can be expected from an aged cheese, yet does not remind too much of goat or goat skin. And I cannot confirm the Viagra part of the story.

Buying as a tourist

When I am visiting markets outside my own city, I often buy produce like sausages, cheeses etc. because of easy transportation and no need of refrigeration. As I wrote after my visit at the Fresh Market in Bratislava: it is a mistake. First of all it narrows down the experience and secondly the opportunity to expand aroma knowledge.

This time I took besides cheese, nuts, almonds and herbs some grapes, apples, mandarins, yogurt in small quantities. It was worth it and it was possible to consume it without refrigeration. Okay, I had to hurry up a bit.

Many tourists on Crete like the market hall in nearby Chania (see my post). It has a wonderful architecture, there are some nice places to sit down and eat small dishes. But it has transformed over time and the availability of local flavors has decreased. I had more fun at the Rethimno market as it represented to me more of Crete “authenticity” or at least what I believe it to be. The market was not fully of street food stalls, just a few pies were available, enough to get a taste, while not having the feeling ot be at a food court.

And despite the rain I had a good time. What do I want more?

All in all: a traditional Mediterranean outdoor market keeping up a great local experience in the middle of a tourist region.

A little link list:

• A short post with a map on other markets on Crete Island
• Another culinary must see in Rethimno: one of the last hand made filo dough makers
• A nice overview on the different Cretan cheeses with pictures & names
• And a little hint from the BBC on foods not to miss on Crete

The post Traditional in the city – Thursday market in Rethimno, Crete / Greece appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

In the old city of Rethimnon on the island of Crete in Greece, in one of the narrow alleys there is in an inconspicuous entrance in a house. And this is a bakery. A bakery that still produces its own filo dough by hand. It is run by an old couple who seems to be doing this business for ages. It is impressive to see them still working at this age with such great care. When I think of filo, I am rather guessing that these days it is produced in a more industrial way similar to puff pastry.

When we went into their bakery, we stepped into a room without windows. The daylight came in through the open door. The couple was just in the process of uncovering the individual filo layers on a very large table, spreading some flour on top of each layer, then stapling it and cutting it into smaller sizes of approximately 50cm and putting it into cardboard boxes. The filo is then used for Baklava style sweets, which can be bought directly in the bakery.

The old couple (George and Kathryn Hadziparshos) has been featured in several papers, magazines and blogs, which are displayed in a folder to be explored by visitors. Still, it is not a tourist show when you watch them working. And they had been very gentle to us.

Again a craft which looks so marvelous and will probably bee hard to find at all in the future.

Update October 2017:

The old couple is still pursuing their craft. That is really amazing. Now they are also supported full time by their son and his children help as well from time to time. And the whole workshop has been renovated. All good news to keep me optimistic for their future.

When we were there on a rainy October day, they were not producing filo dough as the high humidity would have not allowed it to become dry. So they were focusing on working on the threads for the Kataifi pastry. They claim to be the last ones in Greece to produce the threads in a non automated way. After a long pleasant chat we bought some Kataifi and Baklava and it was definitely worth it, it tasted so much better than the other ones we have tried over time.

Go visit them, buy some pastry and your kids will still be able to see such a fine craft being preserved.

Their address: M. Vernadou 30 in Rethymno – some times is written “Manouil Bernardou 30” – type what ever your GPS prefers.

A little link list:

• Nice blog with video from Walkabout Crete
• From the Greek Traveller blog

The post Hand made filo dough in Rethimnon, Island of Crete / Greece appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

The market hall of downtown Chania on the island of Crete in Greece is cross shaped, almost looking like a church when seen from above. Even looking to the iron construction and the glass of the roof reminds one of a church service.

The mix of stands is quite nice, the focus of the products is on basic foods: cheese, meat, vegetables, olives, fish. It looks like a market hall for locals. The way meat is presented is old fashioned or rather robust: whole chicken, sheep heads, whole rabbits etc. It is for sure not a supermarket presentation. And therefore really interesting.

There is lots of local cheeses, even though the variety is limited and often vacuum packed. Fish looks really yummy and seems to be an important part of the diet. Well, we are on an island.

The market hall is also very tourist friendly. It is easy to find some gifts to bring home, also home made raki, kind of a grappa, meaning that is does not taste like anise as usual in the Mediterranean region. Mix the raki with honey from Crete, it tastes nice. Local herbal tea is also sold in large quantities, people seem to enjoy staying healthy.

There are also some joints in the market hall for lunch, and it can really be recommended. Simple, tasty food and quickly prepared.

All in all: A nice market hall, worth a visit, especially for non-vegetarians.

A little link list:

• The official Chania market hall website
• A short description and pictures of the market hall
• A nice areal picture of the market hall plus additional pictures
• A nice blog entry from eatasyougo.blogspot.de

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