Systematic archaeobotanical research in the Bronze Age Aegean has greatly expanded our knowledge regarding staple crops and aspects such as palaeoecology, human diet and food production. However, some plant foodstuffs remain ‘invisible’ to conventional archaeobotanical methods. This study explores the use of plant ingredients in Minoan cuisine through the analysis of starch grains from cooking or cooking related vessels from two Minoan sites, Sissi and Malia. By combining available macrobotanical, textual and ethnobotanical data with newly acquired microbotanical evidence from cooking vessels, this study expands the list of plant species cooked and consumed in Minoan cuisine and enables a further exploration of food-related practices. In particular, we were able to document starch grains from staple crops (Triticeae), underground storage organs, tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus) and cumin (Cuminum cyminum). The identification of previously unattested plant ingredients of Minoan cuisine broadens the horizon of food consumption practices and contributes to the discussion regarding the economic and social meaning of food consumption in Minoan communities during Final Palatial and Post-Palatial periods.

青铜时代爱琴海的系统古植物研究极大地扩展了我们对主要作物和古生态学、人类饮食和粮食生产等方面的知识。然而，一些植物性食物对于传统的古植物学方法来说仍然是“看不见的”。本研究通过分析来自两个米诺斯遗址 Sissi 和 Malia 的烹饪或烹饪相关容器中的淀粉粒，探索植物成分在米诺斯美食中的使用。通过将可用的大型植物学、文本和民族植物学数据与从烹饪容器中新获得的微生物学证据相结合，本研究扩展了米诺斯烹饪中烹饪和食用的植物物种清单，并进一步探索了与食品相关的做法。特别是，我们能够记录来自主要作物（小麦科）、地下储藏器官、香附（Cyperus esculentus）和小茴香（Cuminum cyminum）。对以前未经证实的米诺斯美食植物成分的鉴定拓宽了食品消费实践的视野，并有助于讨论最终宫殿和后宫殿时期米诺斯社区食品消费的经济和社会意义。