feta cheese

Feta is a white cheese made in Greece from sheep's milk, or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. Similar brined white cheeses produced outside the European Union are often made partly or wholly of cow's milk, and they are also sometimes called feta. Feta is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads (e.g. the Greek salad) and pastries, in spinach and cheese pies. It is  served with some olive oil or olives and sprinkled with aromatic herbs such as oregano

greek olive oil

Olive oil was common in ancient Greek and Roman cuisine. The oil is produced by pressing whole olives. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps. Greece exports olive oil to many countries around the world. Nineteen Greek olive oils earned a coveted spot as ‘one of the world’s best’ at this year’s New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) (2014). The judges awarded a majority of them, 12 in all, Gold Award status.

myzithra cheese

saffron (krokos kozanis)

ouzo 

Ø Myzithra is a fresh cheese made with milk and whey from sheep and goats. The ratio of milk to whey is usually 7 to 3. It is primarily produced on the Greek island of Crete. Myzithra is available in three varieties: fresh (sweet), sour, and aged.









   In ancient Greece, the saffron crocus was  a rare pharmaceutical plant. It was used from classical Greek and Roman times all the way through the Middle Ages. Hippocrates and others have noted saffron’s uses as a natural painkiller, wound healer and remedy for upset stomach or insomnia. It is cultivated in the area of Kozani (western Macedonia-north of Greece.
 




Ouzo is a traditional Greek alcohol drink. Its production begins with alcohol’s distillation.  Then, anise and other flavorings are added, such as star anise, fennel, mastic, ginger cress, coriander, cloves and cinnamon. Ouzo is served with a variety of appetizers, like small fresh fish,  olives and feta cheese. The white color of anise blends perfectly with the deep blue of the Aegean Sea.

 

tsipouro

greek souvlaki

Tsipouro is a strong distilled spirit containing 40-45% alcohol by volume and is produced from the pomace (the residue of the wine press). It comes in two types: pure and anise-flavored. Tsipouro (Greek: τσίπουρο) is a pomace brandy from Greece and in particular from Thessaly (Tsipouro Tyrnavou), Epirus, Macedonia, Mani Peninsula, and the island of Crete (where Cretans call it tsikoudia).
























Souvlaki, plural   souvlakia,   is   a   popular   Greek  fast   food   consisting   of   small pieces   of   meat   and   It may be served on the skewer for eating out of hand, in a pita sandwich with garnishes and sauces, or on a dinner plate, often with fried potatoes .