Besides being very tasty and making dishes unique, these delights of nature have numerous beneficial properties and are a staple of Kefalonian’s food culture.
Oregano (rígani), is an essential ingredient of Kefalonian recipes and is used to flavor tomato sauces, pies, olives, meats, fish, cheese, egg dishes, salads, and cheeses. Oregano can be easily confused with its close relative, marjoram (that on the island is called sampsýcho) and is the main ingredient for the famous meat pie.
Fennel (maráthos) and dill (ánitho) are a great couple when cooking artichokes, peas, pies, zucchini and stuffed tomatoes or peppers (gemistá).
Thyme (thymari) is principally used to flavor meat, stews, soups and beans, savory (throúmpi) used almost as thyme,
bay (dáfni) a leaf of it added to lentil and other soups and meat dishes is a must,
Greek basil (ellinikós vasilikós) used to give a fresh aroma to salads and sauces,
rosemary (dendrolívano) used to flavor meat in particular ,
whilst sage (faskómilo), mint (dyósmos), mountain tea and chamomile (Chamomíli) are used principally as herbal teas.
Capers are also a special ingredient, adding spice to the local cuisine.
Each local recipe requires the right herb, or the right combination of herbs, and fortunately, most of them can still be found wild. Most of them can also be used for oils and essences.