Crystal clear ocean, sunny white beach, and unique black sand beach are many people’s impressions of Greece. However, not many people know about the must-try foods in Greece. The features of Greek food reflect its natural beauty and historical heritage. Greek food is just like the natural beauty of Greece, they are made from the freshest ingredients and will definitely thrill your taste buds. Also, because of the geographic position and long history of Greece, it has a big variety of food, so regardless if you are a vegan or meat lover, you can have a wonderful food trip in Greece.
1. Dolmathakia (Dolmadakia)
Dolmathakia is one of the traditional Greek food which every Greek knows but is not eaten as often as Greek Salad. However, to get to know Greek culture, you must try it. Dolmathakia is like Tamale if you are familiar with Mexican food. However, instead of using corn leaves to wrap the stuffing, Greek use grape leaves to wrap rice and lamb or beef stuffing. It’s often served with Greek yogurt and lemon. People eat Dolmathakia as an appetizer or main dish. It’s all up to you.
2. Tzatziki
The sauce is often the secret to why a dish is breathtakingly delicious. Of course, Tzatziki is serious about its sauce too. Tzatziki is one of the most commonly used Tzatziki sauces. If you visit a local’s house, you may find a big box of Tzatziki in his fridge. Greek yogurt, olive oil, garlic are the basic ingredients of Tzatziki. It goes good with meat, vegetable, fries, or you can just enjoy itself with a spoon.
3. Greek Salad
Even if you have not been to Greece, you probably have heard of or even tasted thousands of times a Greek Salad. You may wonder why bother eating Greek Salad in Greece if you can eat it wherever you want. The biggest feature of Greek food is its locally grown and authentic ingredients, so you can sense the differences between supermarket-bought Greek salad and the authentic Greek salad in Greece. Tomato, olive, cucumber, red onion, and feta cheese are the most common ingredients of it. Feta cheese is made of sheep or a mix of sheep and goats’ milk. The dressing is made of salt, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice or some other ingredients varying from restaurants to restaurants.
4. Souvlaki and Gyro
After introducing you so many green dishes, you are probably hungry for some meat. Don’t worry, meat is one of the most important food in Greece. Souvalki is a classic street food in Greece. It’s made of seasoned meat, flavored with tzatziki sauce, often served with fries. You may be confused with Souvlaki and Gyro. One easy way to distinguish them is that Gyro’s meat is roasted vertically rotating on the spit and served by slices while Souvlaki is grilled horizontally and are mostly come as nice chunks.
5. Moussaka
If you like meat, but don’t like big chunks of meat like souvlaki, Moussaka is for you. Moussaka is like a pasta-free lasagna with more flavors. It’s mostly made of minced meat cooked with tomato sauce, a little onion, eggplant, garlic, and potato. One of the biggest differences between lasagna and Moussaka is béchamel sauce, which is why you don’t just stay home and cook yourself lasagna without pasta. Moussaka is usually pretty filling, so you don’t need to worry about ordering many side dishes.
6. Feta Me Meli
After having the main dishes, if you are still hungry or just craving for some sweet, here are many choices for you. Feta Me Meli is one of the must-try desserts. Just like its name, it’s a kind of pastry with feta cheese inside and honey drizzled on top. As you can imagine, Feta Me Meli has one of the best textures. As your mouth gives the first bites of it, you will be impressed with the perfect combination of crispy pastry and creamy cheese. Also, Feta Me Meli has a unique mixed salty and sweet taste, which makes Feta Me Meli only impressive, but unforgettable.
7. Loukoumades
Are you craving more sweet food? Greece won’t disappoint you. Loukoumades is one of the most famous sweet food in Greece. Its shape may make you homesick of the donut whole home back home, but once you taste its rich flavor, you won’t have the desire to eat donut hole for a while. Loukoumades is a little bite-sized fried dough soaked in honey or syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon. Also, different from a donut hole, Loukoumades often comes with fillings, such as Nutella, or Bavarian cream, which you can make your own choice.
8. Kataifi
Another unique sweet food you have to try in Greek is Kataifi. It’s a type of pastry with nuts inside. The process of making it is kind of complex, but the taste reflects the efforts put in this dessert. Kataifi is dough shredded, rolled up, deep-fried. After making it crispy and full of layers, however, there is still one more step before you can enjoy this delicious dessert. It should be soaked in syrup and served with some spice sprinkled on top. When you eat it, try not to pull or cut it, or it can get messy, but feel free to give a big bite of it.
Are you ready for the mouthwatering Greek food? Have you made up your mind which to try first? Tasting for oneself is a hundred times better than hearing from others. Why not indulge yourself all the tastes of Greece with Acanela?
Post written by Jack Chiu