Greek yogurt with honey and strawberries. The healthy dairy product has gained popularity around the world for its taste and nutritional benefits. Credit: Janine/ CC BY 2.0 In the last decade, there has been an astronomic rise in the demand for Greek yogurt, a healthy alternative to other yogurts, outside of its home country, especially in the United States. Once hard to come by outside of Greece, the country’s famed healthy yogurt is now available in hundreds of flavors and varieties in supermarkets around the world. That’s only understandable since the distinctively thick yogurt has long bee ..read more

In the Cretan diet, olive oil “is the beginning and the end,” insists Manolis Fragkakis, president of the Cretan Olive Oil Network. Credit: Renieris/Greek Liquid Gold “Olive oil is one of the most important reasons why Crete is known in the rest of the world. Based on this, we can understand that olive oil on our island was and will be the king of foods!” exclaims oil producer Eftychis Androulakis in a perfect example of Cretan passion for a product that is central to the island’s tourism, cuisine, economy, and history. By Lisa Radinovsky Catherine Papaioannou (Elasion) evokes a welcoming pict ..read more

Breakfast at Chania, Crete. Credit: Greek Reporter The Cretan diet is probably the most representative Mediterranean diet which boosts health, sense of well-being, and life span. Many ask what the much-talked-about Cretan dietary prototype really is. The answer is simple. It is the diet of the island’s poorer farmers, of the people who lived mostly in the countryside until the late 1970s. At that point, they began to be influenced by the modern way of life, consuming more and more meat and relying all the more on processed foods and sugar in their cooking. When many people think of Greek food ..read more

The Hungarian Parliament in Budapest. Credit: Jorge Franganillo / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0 Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is perhaps not the first place that comes to mind when one thinks of Greek food. However, one Greek culinary export, gyros, has become a popular fast-food choice for Hungarians and tourists alike. Restaurants serving gyros have become increasingly widespread in Budapest over the past two decades where they have become a firm favorite with diners looking for a quick and tasty meal, especially after a night out. In Greece, gyros are the most popular fast food del ..read more

The Cretan sald has the juices seep into the crunchy bread. Credit: Frente, CC BY-SA 3.0 A trademark of Cretan cuisine, dakos, topped the list of the world’s best salads according to ratings compiled by TasteAtlas recently. Dakos has many variations but only one secret: the superior-quality ingredients of the Cretan land. It consists of a slice of soaked dried bread or barley rusk, juicy tomatoes, xinomizithra (a creamy sheep or goat’s milk cheese), barley rusks, olives, and of course extra virgin olive oil. British restaurant and food critic Yotam Ottolenghi once said that he developed a “not ..read more

Take Greek fricasse recipe game to the next level, thanks to some tips by Giorgio. Credit: Nicole Stefanoli / Greekreporter In every corner of the Greek peninsula, and on practically every table, during the Easter holidays you will find the wonderful fricassee dish. Is a traditional recipe in many kitchens of Europe, but significantly made its way into the Greek DNA. Fricassee, born in France and now protagonist of Greek cuisine We are talking about a meat and herb dish that originated in medieval France: the word fricasse hides within itself the meaning of the recipe’s own process, frire (to ..read more

The tsoureki symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and rebirth in general Tsoureki (τσουρέκι in Greek) is the traditional sweet yeast bread Greeks make every year on Holy Thursday, which is then consumed on Easter Sunday. Early in the morning on Holy Thursday throughout Greece, women start kneading the dough for the tsoureki. Some bakers decorate the loaves with nuts and sugar. Depending on the shape and the region of Greece, tsoureki has different names, such as “kofinia,” “kalathakia,” “doksaria,” “avgoulas,” “koutsouna,” and “kouzounakia” among others. The most common shape for the ubiquito ..read more

The fish tavern owner is proud of his catch. Credit: Antonis Koutelos A fish tavern owner in Evia, Greece caught a giant squid (kalamari) recently, which weighs 15 kg (33 lbs) a rare size for Greek waters. According to a report in the local site evima.gr, residents, and visitors to the beach of Platana in Kymi were surprised when they saw Antonis Koutelos bringing the 15 kg squid ashore. The owner of one of the best fish taverns in Kymi told evima.gr: “These types of squid come out from time to time in the shallows. A few days ago this one was on Platana beach and I managed to catch it there ..read more

That first sip of the cocktail washes away the heat and leaves you feeling cool and invigorated. Credit: Greek Reporter Mastic or mastiha from the Greek island of Chios is getting traction in social media as the basic ingredient for summer cocktails. Many bartenders and amateur connoisseurs are uploading videos of how to use the “white gold” of Chios to make flavorful and refreshing cocktails ideal for the summer. Until recently, Greece’s mastiha liqueur hasn’t been as popular as other aperitifs. Thanks to new brands’ premiumization of the category and further education on its benefits, howeve ..read more

Elpida Vasiliadis and her popular souvlaki in Astoria. Credit: The Souvlaki Lady/Instagram Elpida Vasiliadis, known as “The Souvlaki Lady,” has operated her food truck, practically a landmark, in Astoria for decades. Speaking to Greek Reporter recently, she stated that, although New York summers are brutally hot and winters unbearably cold, the relationship she has established with the community makes the job worthwhile. “We work in a neighborhood where we know each other,” she said. “It is nice to work with people you know.” The recipes for the Greek dishes are from a restaurant her pare ..read more