Flaming cheese & copper all around the world
If an appetizer of fried cheese sounds good to you then you should definitely check out Saganaki. This Greek dish, named for the small two-handled pan it is cooked in (called sagani in Turkish), is a popular appetizer where Greek cheese is fried and served with bread. The preparation usually includes coating the cheese in flour, then frying it in butter or oil, and then topping it with freshly squeezed lemon.
Growing up we used to order saganaki every time we went to the local Greek restaurant in main Street in Ann Arbor, since closed. The waiter would bring the sizzling cheese out, then light it on fire and extinguish it with a squeeze of lemon while yelling “Opa!” (a Greek expression for joy). It turns out the fire show part actually originates from Chicago!
What cheese you use is somewhat up to you. Traditionally, the dish calls for graviera, kefalograviera, kasseri, kefalotyri, sheep’s milk feta, or really any other firm cheese. I tried both graviera and kefalograviera from the local Greek market and found the graviera had a sharp taste to it (which I liked).
History of Copper
The pan used in this dish, the sagani, is a hammered copper pan with two handles. The origin of the pan is somewhat unclear, but people have been working with copper for many thousands of years. So, for this post, I thought I would briefly review the history of copper.
Side note…whenever I talk about the use of various metals in the archaeological record I always think of this.
You’re welcome.
Copper is a pretty old technology, with copper tools dating back to 9000 BCE. In fact, the name for copper originates from Kyprios, the Ancient Greek name for Cyprus, an island with lots of copper mines. Copper cooking pots and pans, however, are slightly more recent. Advances in metalwork led to their creation around 3000 BCE.
What is also interesting about copper is it is what archaeologists call an independent invention, meaning it was invented by two or more cultures separately, without influence from each other. While Greece and earlier peoples were pioneering copper in the old world, ancient cultures in the Americas were also mining and using copper, such as the Inca in South America and the Maya in Mesoamerica (to name a few). And no, someone from Greece did not sail over and teach them how to do it.
Independent inventions are super cool in history. They show how people, with wildly different cultures and beliefs, can still come up with the same ideas. Such as how to build big monuments (stacking rocks in a pyramid shape is a great way). It does not mean the end “thing” has the same meaning and use (pyramids in Egypt-monuments for the dead, pyramids in Mesoamerica – places of religious and political power). Rather, it demonstrates both human innovation and human similarities.
The takeaway? People have been making stuff, including frying pans, out of copper for a long time, all around the world.
If anyone gets this picture reference I will be so impressed.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe!
Handpicked Recipes
