Crete is renowned for its cuisine, having wowed people from famous chef Gordon Ramsey to foodie Anthony Bourdain. But there’s one dish with “origins” in Crete that is among the 50 worst foods in the world, according to TasteAtlas. In fact, this is the only Greek dish on this worst list.
TasteAtlas’ food rankings are based on the public ratings of the international medium, with a series of mechanisms that recognise real users and ignore the ratings of bots, nationalists, or local patriots, and give added value to the ratings of users that the system recognises as knowledgeable. For the list of “50 worst-rated dishes in the world” up to July 13, 2023, 336,885 reviews were recorded, of which 227,643 were recognized by the system as legitimate.
In the list, there is… plenty of representation from Scandinavia, Russia, Africa, the Baltic countries, but also the United Kingdom, which is not known for its cuisine.
But what is this Greek food that ranks 31st among the world’s worst? It is sofegada or sympheteria and is considered the briam of Crete.
“Originating from Crete, sofegada is a hearty vegetable stew that can be made with any vegetables in season. It usually includes zucchini, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, leeks, tomatoes, and various spices and herbs. There is no set recipe for sofegada, and although it is mostly vegetables and is often enjoyed as a fasting dish, some versions may include seafood or snails.
This hearty stew is said to date back to the early 20th century and is traditionally made in clay pots. Optionally, it can also be finished in the oven. The dish is enjoyed as a main course and is usually accompanied by crusty bread on the side. Feta or mizithra cheese can be served on the side or crumbled on the plate,” Taste Atlas reports.
In fact, in terms of ranking, the Cretan dish is lower on the list than an “ant dish” called the hormiga culonas. A “delicacy” from Colombia that is nothing more than ants and is in 36th place. If you are interested in how they are made, they are soaked in salted water, then fried for about 45 minutes and drained, with the wings removed by hand. The snack is sold on numerous street corners, made with the addition of wine or baked with salt, and some upscale restaurants make their own gourmet versions of the dish.
