Macedonian cuisine probably offers the richest variety of dishes in Greece. Some dishes date from ancient Greek days. The letters of Lygeas of Samos include reference to a Macedonian dish organized by Lamia of Athens for her lover Demetrius I Poliorcetes. A constant factor across the centuries has been sea produce and meats. In the wedding feast by Karanos, around 4th or 3rd century BC, we find grilled fish, eggs, oysters, orioles and a host of roasted delicacies. All supplemented with wine and half naked female flutists. The Byzantine era introduced further dishes and the arrival of Greek refugees from Asia Minor and Constantinople in the 20th century, popularised Ottoman and Constantinopolitan recipes.
A continuation from ancient days are dishes such as, lamb cooked with quince or various vegetables and fruits, goat boiled or fried in olive oil. Modern recipes from Kavala to Kastoria and Kozani offer lamb with quince, pork with celery or leeks, trachana with crackling, pitas of all types )cheese, leek, spinach) and wild boar. Favourites are Tyrokafteri (Macedonian spicy cheese spread), Sooupies krasates (Cuttlefish in wine), Mydia yiachni (mussel stew). Unlike Athens, the traditional pita bread for the popular souvlaki (kebab) is not grilled but fried. The variety of sweets has been particularly enriched with the arrival of the refugees. [Information included from 'Greek Gastronomy', GNTO, 2004)
