The flavor of life or how spices transform hearts

Those who speak Greek find the similarity between words that often hold a hidden and profound relationship. Such is the case between astronomers and gastronomers: the one who studies the stars and the one who knows the art of eating well. The flavor of spices is as powerful as the influence of planets on the course of time: at the center of seasoning lies the sun of condiments: pepper, who reigns in all stews. While cinnamon is sensual and concupiscent, sweet and bitter just like the women that Venus represents. And the earth is like salt, indispensable for life and flavor. Where can we learn about this wonderful knowledge of the stars and food? In the city of Istanbul, at the spice shop of old Vassilis. As soon as the bell rings to signal the opening of the door, this wise man will approach you to know what you want and what you really need. For you might ask for some ground cumin, but when the shopkeeper knows what you need it for, he will then recommend another spice that is more suitable. Did you know that cumin imparts a deep aroma to food and makes diners introspective? And if what you want is, on the contrary, to open a friendly and casual conversation, then you should add cinnamon, which is cordial and Venusian! For the in-laws, cinnamon! Even if the recipe does not indicate it. In the shop, you can buy kalamata olives, dried chiles, bunches of basil, and small boxes of Persian saffron. Vassilis is a simple, frank, and passionate man. He loves Istanbul like nothing else, walking the old streets to the Hammam where he goes once a week to relieve the neck pain caused by the disagreement between Turks and Greeks who coexist in the legendary city of Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. With the most beautiful hippodrome and the Hagia Sophia, lavishly decorated with golden mosaics that illuminate the face of Christ Pantokrator, and in the middle of the city dividing the Asian continent from the European one is the beautiful Bosphorus River, turquoise in color from which exquisite fish are extracted. Every morning he wakes up to the call of the muezzin who calls Muslims to prayer. But he attends Christian mass at the Orthodox chapel in his neighborhood. No one suffered like him from the Turkish government's raids against resident Greeks who were deported to Athens. Old Vassilis's family had to migrate, leaving him alone in Istanbul. What hurt him the most was saying goodbye to Fanis, his grandson. He instilled in him a love for cooking to the point that he became a professional chef. But he also traveled with his imagination through the planets of spices to become a noted astronomer of Greece. Recommended Recipes Toasted Bread with Raspberry Jam Sweet Crepes Toasted Bread with Strawberry Jam   Every year Vassilis promised to travel to Athens to visit family, but something always happened that prevented him from leaving his beloved Istanbul. And unknowingly, he contributed to his grandson growing up as a misfit in the Greek context, as his Byzantine condition weighed more than the nationalism instilled in Greece. Thus, he found food as a means of expression, for by seasoning the dishes with the spices that his grandfather had taught him to distinguish and use, he experienced it as a reunion with that love for his ancestor and a way to touch through flavor, the culture that had shaped him in his early childhood. Many years passed before the reunion between grandson and grandfather. Unfortunately, under tragic circumstances. But the imprint of the astronomer and the gastronomer planted by Vassilis flourished in his grandson. View original article.