Greek Food
Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. Contemporary Greek cookery makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine and meat. Other important ingredients include olives, pasta, cheese, lemon juice, herbs, bread and yoghurt. The most commonly used grain is wheat; barley is also used. Common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits and filo pastries.
It is strongly influenced by Ottoman cuisine and, especially in the cuisine of Anatolian Greeks, shares foods such as baklava, tzatziki, gyros, moussaka, dolmades and keftedes with neighbouring countries. To an even greater extent, it is influenced by Italian cuisine and cuisines from other neighbouring southern European countries.
Specialities that must be sampled are:
Fava me Koukia, mashed-up fava beans
Courgette Fritters - kolokithokeftedes
Saganaki, fried cheese in filo pastry covered in honey
Greek salad
Not forgetting the old favourites of moussaka, taramasalata, calamari, fresh fish, octopus and, of course, Greek salad, full of the flavours of summer.
Wine & Drinks
There are some excellent wines to be found in Greece, these days.
Some well know vineyard's are Gerovassiliou, Papaionnou and Lazaridi and several more that boast an excellent quality of wine.
Don't forget ouzo, an absolute must whilst sitting by the sea and enjoying some fresh fish and a salad.
However, on a hot day, it is much better to stick with a bottle of water, which can be bought from kiosks, mini markets or shops and is thirst-quenching and cheap.
A good alternative on a hot day is a fresh juice, with fruit picked from the tree there and then, or a nice cold Greek beer.