Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau
Wild greens (WGs) play a significant role in Mediterranean diets (MDs), reflecting botanical and cultural diversities, mainly influenced by a complex conglomerate of local human ecologies. This study investigates local ecological knowledge (LEK) linked to traditional gathering and consumption of WGs...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Foods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/22/3588 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850267349372895232 |
|---|---|
| author | Mousaab Alrhmoun Naji Sulaiman Shiekh Marifatul Haq Syed Abidullah Julia Prakofjewa Nikos Krigas Andrea Pieroni Renata Sõukand |
| author_facet | Mousaab Alrhmoun Naji Sulaiman Shiekh Marifatul Haq Syed Abidullah Julia Prakofjewa Nikos Krigas Andrea Pieroni Renata Sõukand |
| author_sort | Mousaab Alrhmoun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wild greens (WGs) play a significant role in Mediterranean diets (MDs), reflecting botanical and cultural diversities, mainly influenced by a complex conglomerate of local human ecologies. This study investigates local ecological knowledge (LEK) linked to traditional gathering and consumption of WGs in the Lasithi Plateau of eastern Crete, where human genetic studies one decade ago showed very peculiar patterns, hypothesising that the Minoan civilisation took refuge there before it disappeared. A field ethnobotanical study was conducted to document the diversity of WGs and their detailed local culinary uses in the Lasithi area by interviewing 31 study participants. Fifty-nine folk taxa (species and subspecies) were recorded, corresponding to fifty-eight botanical taxa. A quotation index was measured to assess the cultural significance of WGs in the study areas; logistic regression analysis was adopted to understand the impact of sensory classifications of WGs and their local cooking methods. Lasithi’s foraging showed a notable prevalence of bitter-tasting WGs, which play a central role in local cognition and culinary practices. This bitterness aspect of WGs, potentially influenced by cultural preferences and genetic factors, probably suggests a connection to the ancient Lasithi’s inhabitants, i.e., Minoan dietary habits. We found that bitterness is the predominant sensory attribute in Lasithi, characterising 45.76% of the WGs. These findings underscore the complex interplay between local ecologies and biodiversity, LEK, and dietary traditions, highlighting the importance of WGs in understanding the evolution of foraging and plant culinary diversities across the Mediterranean. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7c93dcc1a1f1420fb7a3e794bb888eab |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-7c93dcc1a1f1420fb7a3e794bb888eab2025-08-20T01:53:49ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582024-11-011322358810.3390/foods13223588Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi PlateauMousaab Alrhmoun0Naji Sulaiman1Shiekh Marifatul Haq2Syed Abidullah3Julia Prakofjewa4Nikos Krigas5Andrea Pieroni6Renata Sõukand7Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bolzano, ItalyUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 9, 12042 Pollenzo, ItalyDepartment of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, 0162 Tbilisi, GeorgiaDepartment of Botany Abdul, Wali Khan University, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mardan 23200, PakistanDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30174 Venezia, ItalyInstitute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELGO DIMITRA), 57001 Thessaloniki, GreeceUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 9, 12042 Pollenzo, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30174 Venezia, ItalyWild greens (WGs) play a significant role in Mediterranean diets (MDs), reflecting botanical and cultural diversities, mainly influenced by a complex conglomerate of local human ecologies. This study investigates local ecological knowledge (LEK) linked to traditional gathering and consumption of WGs in the Lasithi Plateau of eastern Crete, where human genetic studies one decade ago showed very peculiar patterns, hypothesising that the Minoan civilisation took refuge there before it disappeared. A field ethnobotanical study was conducted to document the diversity of WGs and their detailed local culinary uses in the Lasithi area by interviewing 31 study participants. Fifty-nine folk taxa (species and subspecies) were recorded, corresponding to fifty-eight botanical taxa. A quotation index was measured to assess the cultural significance of WGs in the study areas; logistic regression analysis was adopted to understand the impact of sensory classifications of WGs and their local cooking methods. Lasithi’s foraging showed a notable prevalence of bitter-tasting WGs, which play a central role in local cognition and culinary practices. This bitterness aspect of WGs, potentially influenced by cultural preferences and genetic factors, probably suggests a connection to the ancient Lasithi’s inhabitants, i.e., Minoan dietary habits. We found that bitterness is the predominant sensory attribute in Lasithi, characterising 45.76% of the WGs. These findings underscore the complex interplay between local ecologies and biodiversity, LEK, and dietary traditions, highlighting the importance of WGs in understanding the evolution of foraging and plant culinary diversities across the Mediterranean.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/22/3588cooking processesCretecross-cultural comparisonethnobotanyMediterranean dietwild greens |
| spellingShingle | Mousaab Alrhmoun Naji Sulaiman Shiekh Marifatul Haq Syed Abidullah Julia Prakofjewa Nikos Krigas Andrea Pieroni Renata Sõukand Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau Foods cooking processes Crete cross-cultural comparison ethnobotany Mediterranean diet wild greens |
| title | Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau |
| title_full | Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau |
| title_short | Is Boiling Bitter Greens a Legacy of Ancient Crete? Contemporary Foraging in the Minoan Refugium of the Lasithi Plateau |
| title_sort | is boiling bitter greens a legacy of ancient crete contemporary foraging in the minoan refugium of the lasithi plateau |
| topic | cooking processes Crete cross-cultural comparison ethnobotany Mediterranean diet wild greens |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/22/3588 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mousaabalrhmoun isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau AT najisulaiman isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau AT shiekhmarifatulhaq isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau AT syedabidullah isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau AT juliaprakofjewa isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau AT nikoskrigas isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau AT andreapieroni isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau AT renatasoukand isboilingbittergreensalegacyofancientcretecontemporaryforagingintheminoanrefugiumofthelasithiplateau |