Greek cuisine

Greek cuisine is the cuisine of Greece and the Greek diaspora. In common with many other cuisines of the Mediterranean, it is founded on the triad of wheat, olive oil, and wine. It uses vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, and meat, including pork, poultry, veal and beef, lamb, rabbit, and goat. Other important ingredients include pasta (for example hilopites), cheeses,   herbs, lemon juice,  olives and olive oil,  and yogurt. Bread made of wheat is ubiquitous; other grains, notably barley, are also used, especially for paximathia. Common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits, sesame, and filo pastries. It continues traditions from Ancient Greek and Byzantine cuisine, while incorporating  Asian, Turkish, Balkan, and Italian influences.

History
Greek cuisine is part of the culture of Greece and is recorded in images and texts from ancient times. Its influence spread to ancient Rome and then throughout Europe and beyond.

Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the "Mediterranean triad": wheat, olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being more common. This trend in Greek diet continued in Cyprus and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available. Wine and olive oil have always been a central part of it and the spread of grapes and olive trees in the Mediterranean and further afield is correlated with Greek colonization.

The Spartan diet was also marked by its frugality. A notorious staple of the Spartan diet was melas zomos (black soup), made by boiling the pigs' legs, blood of pigs, olive oil, bay leaf, chopped onion, salt, water, and vinegar as an emulsifier to keep the blood from coagulation during the cooking process. The army of Sparta mainly ate this as part of their subsistence diet. This dish was noted by the Spartans' Greek contemporaries, particularly Athenians and Corinthians, as proof of the Spartans' different way of living.

Byzantine cuisine was similar to ancient cuisine, with the addition of new ingredients, such as caviar, nutmeg and basil. Lemons, prominent in Greek cuisine and introduced in the second century, were used medicinally before being incorporated into the diet. Fish continued to be an integral part of the diet for coastal dwellers. Culinary advice was influenced by the theory of humors, first put forth by the ancient Greek doctor Claudius Aelius Galenus. Byzantine cuisine benefited from Constantinople's position as a global hub of the spice trade.

Overview
The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil, which is used in most dishes. It is produced from the olive trees prominent throughout the region, and adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food. The olives themselves are also widely eaten. The basic grain in Greece is wheat, though barley is also grown. Important vegetables include tomato, aubergine (eggplant), potato, green beans, okra, green peppers (capsicum), and onions. Honey in Greece is mainly honey from the nectar of fruit trees and citrus trees: lemon, orange, bigarade (bitter orange) trees, thyme honey, and pine honey. Mastic, an aromatic, ivory-coloured plant resin, is grown on the Aegean island of Chios.

Greek cuisine uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines do, namely oregano, mint, garlic, onion, dill, cumin, and bay laurel leaves. Other common herbs and spices include basil, thyme and fennel seed. Parsley is also used as a garnish on some dishes. Many Greek recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use "sweet" spices in combination with meat, for example cinnamon, allspice and cloves in stews.

The climate and terrain has tended to favour the breeding of goats and sheep over cattle, and thus beef dishes are uncommon. Fish dishes are common in coastal regions and on the islands. A great variety of cheese types are used in Greek cuisine, including Feta, Kasseri, Kefalotyri, Graviera, Anthotyros, Manouri, Metsovone, Ladotyri (cheese with olive oil), Kalathaki (a specialty from the island of Limnos), Katiki Domokou (creamy cheese, suitable for spreads), Mizithra and many more.

Dining out is common in Greece. The taverna and estiatorio are widespread, serving home cooking at affordable prices to both locals and tourists. Locals still largely eat Greek cuisine.

Common street foods include souvlaki, gyros, various pitas and roast corn.

Fast food became popular in the 1970s, with some chains, such as Goody's and McDonald's serving international food like hamburgers, and others serving Greek foods such as souvlaki, gyros, tiropita, and spanakopita.

Origins
Many dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece: lentil soup, fasolada (though the modern version is made with white beans and tomatoes, both New World plants), tiganites, retsina (white or rosé wine flavored with pine resin) and pasteli (baked sesame-honey bar); some to the Hellenistic and Roman periods: loukaniko (dried pork sausage); and Byzantium: feta cheese, avgotaraho (cured fish roe), moustalevria and paximadi (traditional hard bread baked from wheat, barley and rye). There are also many ancient and Byzantine dishes which are no longer consumed: porridge (chilós in Greek) as the main staple, fish sauce (garos), and salt water mixed into wine.

Some dishes are borrowed from Italian and adapted to Greek tastes: pastitsio (pasticcio), pastitsada (pasticciata), stifado (stufato), salami, macaronia, mandolato, and more.

Some Greek dishes are inherited from Ottoman cuisine, which combined influences from Persian, Levantine, Arabic, Turkish and Byzantine cuisines: meze, kadaifi, halva, and loukoumi.

In the 20th century, French cuisine had a major influence on Greek cooking,  largely due to the French-trained chef Nikolaos Tselementes, who created the modern Greek pastitsio; he also created the modern Greek version of moussaka by combining an existing eggplant dish with a French-style gratin topping. Greek chef Zisis Kerameas has recognized for his contributions to Greek cuisine and as cooking teacher (1970–2000) for culinary arts professional education at public vocational tourism professions schools.

Regions
Distinct from the mainstream regional cuisines are:
 * Cuisine of the Aegean islands (including Kykladítiki from Kyklades, Rhodítiki from Rhodes and other Dodecanese islands, and the Cuisine of Lesbos island).
 * Cuisine of Argolis, Cuisine of Patras, Arcadian and Maniot cuisines, parts of the Cuisine of Peloponnesean.
 * Cuisine of the Ionian islands (Heptanisiakí), a lot of Italian influence.
 * Ipirótiki (Epirotic cuisine).
 * Kritikí (Cretan cuisine).
 * Kypriakí (Cypriot cuisine).
 * Makedonikí (Macedonian cuisine).
 * Mikrasiatikí, from the Greeks of Asia Minor descent, including Polítiki (from Constantinople), from the tradition of the Greeks from Constantinople, a cuisine with significant Anatolian/Ottoman influence.
 * Pontiakí (Pontic Greek cuisine), found anywhere there are Pontic Greeks (Greeks from the Black Sea region).
 * Thrakiótiki (Thracian cuisine).

Some ethnic minorities living in Greece also have their own cuisine. One example is the Aromanians and their Aromanian cuisine.

Typical dishes
Typical home-cooked meals include seasonal vegetables stewed with olive oil, herbs, and tomato sauce known as lathera. Vegetables used in these dishes include green beans, peas, okra, cauliflower, spinach, leeks and others.

Many food items are wrapped in filo pastry, either in bite-size triangles or in large sheets: kotopita (chicken pie), spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie), hortopita (greens pie), kreatopita (meat pie, using minced meat), kolokythopita (zucchini pie), and others. They have countless variations of pitas (savory pies).

Apart from the Greek dishes that can be found all over Greece, there are also many regional dishes.

North-Western and Central Greece (Epirus, Thessaly and Roumeli/Central Greece) have a strong tradition of filo-based dishes, such as some special regional pitas.

Greek cuisine uses seeds and nuts in everything from pastry to main dishes.

A typical Greek-style breakfast consists of Greek coffee, frappé coffee, mountain tea, koulouri (sesame bread ring, a type of simit), Greek strained yogurt, bougatsa, tiropita, spanakopita, omelette, strapatsada, boiled eggs, piroski, tsoureki, rusks, honey, jam, croissant, cupcakes, fresh fruits.

The list of Greek dishes includes dishes found in all of Greece as well as some regional ones.

Appetizers
Selected appetizers are:
 * Atzougies
 * Avgotaracho, Bottarga, flathead mullet caught in lagoons with the well-known the European and Greek Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Avgotaracho Messolongiou from the Messolonghi-Etoliko Lagoons. The whole mature ovaries are removed from the fish, washed with water, salted with natural sea salt, dried under the sun, and sealed in melted beeswax.
 * Florina peppers,  it can be roasted, sliced and served by adding olive oil and garlic.
 * Toursi (pickle), with the well-known the pickled peppers and mixed pickle.
 * Feta topped with olive oil and oregano
 * Flogeres, crispy filo wrapped around a filling of goat cheese, herbs, sun-dried tomato, or ground meat.
 * Htapodi sti schara (grilled octopus),
 * Tirokroketes, cheese fritters (fried cheese balls) also known as tirokeftedes.
 * Bourekakia of cheese, Börek.
 * Kolokithokeftedes, pumpkin fritters.
 * Saganaki, fried kefalograviera cheese.
 * Melitzanes tiganites, fried eggplants.
 * Bouyiourdi,
 * Kafteri piperia (cayenne pepper),  roasted hot pepper served by adding olive oil.
 * Lakerda, pickled raw fish that is typically prepared with steaks of mature Atlantic bonito.
 * Loutza
 * Olives,
 * Kolokithakia tiganita, fried cucurbita.
 * Koxloi, escargot, also is a main course.
 * Htapodi Ksidato (octopus marinated in vinegar).
 * Omelette,
 * Strapatsada (Kagianas), scrambled eggs (omelette) with tomato.
 * Kalamarakia tiganita, fried squid slices served with a lemon wedge.
 * Dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, also known as Dolmades or Dolmadakia.
 * Stuffed potato, oven-baked papato stuffed with various yellow cheeses, bacon and mushrooms.
 * Tomatokeftedes, tomato fritters wider well-known throughout the island of Santorini.
 * Staka me ayga, a Cretan dish consisting of poached or fried eggs and local staka (a type of buttery cream mixed with flour).
 * Gigantes plaki (or Gigandes plaki),  baked Greek Gigantes beans with tomato sauce and herbs, also is a main course.
 * Marides tiganites, small-sized whitebait fish (spicara smaris) that are lightly dusted with flour, then fried.
 * Skordopsomo, garlic bread made with a combination of sliced bread, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil.
 * Garides saganaki, sautéed shrimps that are deglazed with the ouzo, then doused in tomato sauce, and topped with crumbled feta.
 * Dakos, a traditional Cretan food features a slice of soaked dried bread or barley rusk (paximadi) topped with chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta or mizithra cheese, dried oregano and a few splashes of olive oil. Dakos is also deemed as a salad.
 * Sikotakia (Livers), fried lamb or chicken small liver slices with olive oil and oregano. Also it serves as main dish known as "Tigania" which refers to the shallow pan in which the meal (pork or chicken or lamp) is cooked.
 * Loukaniko (sausage), Greek traditional sausage made from pork or lamb and typically flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and various other dried herbs and seeds, and sometimes smoked over aromatic woods. They are also often flavored with greens, especially leeks.
 * Fava, yellow split peas that are cooked with onions and various spices until they transform into a creamy purée. It uses as a dip or a main course dish, with the well-known the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certified Fava Santorinis (Lathyrus clymenum).
 * Spanakopita, spinach pie.
 * Kolokithopita, pumpkin and feta pie filling which is placed between two layers of phyllo pastry.
 * Tiropita, cheese pie, also well-known is Tiropitakia which are mini cheese pies made with phyllo triangles stuffed with Greek feta cheese, and Tiropitakia Kourou which has Kourou dough.
 * Piroski, or Pirozhki, fried pita has filling of feta cheese or Greek Protected Destination of Origin (PDO) certified kasseri cheese or minced meat or mashed potato or other filling or mix filling. Serving hot. Most in the past time, also less still today, piroski can be found in Greece in specialty shops selling piroski exclusively.

Salads
In the Greek cuisine, appetizers are also the salads. Selected salads are:
 * Horiatiki salad (village's salad), a salad with pieces of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese (usually served as a slice on top of the other ingredients), and olives and dressed with oregano and olive oil.
 * Horta salad (leafy greens salad),       boiled Greek wild leafy greens dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice, greens are like antidia (endives), vlita (amaranth greens), myronia (wild chervil), radikia (chicory), seskoula (chard), armyrithra, glistrida, styfnos, zoxos, asparagus.
 * Pikantiki (also known as politiki), made with white cabbage and purple cabbage finely chopped, pickled Florina peppers, carrot, celery, parsley, finely chopped garlic, lemon juice, white vinegar, olive oil, salt.
 * Lahanosalata (cabbage salad), thinly chopped cabbage with salt, olive oil and lemon or vinegar juice.
 * Ampelofasoula, green beans (Vigna unguiculata) also known as cow peas.
 * Kounoupidi (cauliflower), salad with boiled cauliflower.
 * Patatosalata, potato salad with boiled potato.
 * Brokolo (broccoli), salad with boiled broccoli.
 * Patzarosalata, beet salad with boiled beet.
 * Aggouro-ntomata, cucumber with tomato.
 * Fasolia mavromatika, black-eyed pea.
 * Maroulosalata, lettuce salad.
 * Tonosalata, tuna salad.

Spreads and dips
In the Greek cuisine, appetizers are also the spreads and dips, belong also to Greek sauces. Selected spreads and dips are:
 * Hummus with tahini.
 * Olive paste (tapenade).
 * Rosiki, boiled potatoes, carrot, cucumber, mayonnaise, pea
 * Kipourou (gardener’s salad), cabbage, carrot, radish, mayonnaise
 * Kopanisti, feta cheese, grilled red sweet peppers, olive oil, fresh garlic
 * Melitzanosalata, eggplant spread and dip (eggplant salads and appetizers).
 * Skordalia, garlic spread and dip from mashed potatoes, olive oil, vinegar, raw garlic.
 * Tirokafteri, spread and dip from feta cheese, yogurt, hot peppers, olive oil, and vinegar.
 * Paprika, sweet paprika, concentrate tomato paste, roasted red pepper (Florina pepper), feta cheese, olive oil
 * Taramosalata, spread and dip from taramás fish roe mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, and a starchy base of bread or potatoes.
 * Tzatziki, spread and dip, strained yogurt or diluted yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, sometimes with vinegar or lemon juice, and herbs such as dill, mint, parsley and thyme.

Soups
Selected soups are:


 * Fasolada, soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables.
 * Fakes (lentil soup).
 * Youvarlakia, soup from balls of ground meat, rice, finished with avgolemono (the creamy egg and lemon sauce), cooked in a pot.
 * Kotosoupa, chicken soup from chicken broth, tender chicken cuts, various root vegetables, and rice, using many time avgolemono sause.
 * Kremidosoupa, onion soup
 * Kreatosoupa, meat soup.
 * Kakavia, soup made from fishes, onions, potatoes, olive oil, and vegetables.
 * Magiritsa,  thick soup made with lamb offal (intestines, heart, and liver), dill, avgolemono sauce (egg and lemon beaten together), onion and rice, associated with the tradition where following the Resurrection on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday people eat magiritsa soup.
 * Ntomatosoupa, tomato soup with Greek ingredients.
 * Patsas, tripe soup made from lamb, sheep, or pork tripe as key ingredients, most use animal's head or feet and enrich the broth with garlic, onions, lemon juice, and vinegar.
 * Revithosoupa, chickpea soup, also known as Revithada.
 * Psarosoupa, fish soup.
 * Trahanas, tarhana soup.
 * Xilos (porridge),  it is typically for breakfast.

Dishes
Selected dishes are:
 * Agkinares, cardoon has various recipes.
 * Fasolakia, green beans that are simmered in olive oil with other vegetable ingredients,  belongs to ladera which literally translating to "oily", vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil.
 * Arakas (pea), belongs to ladera dishes, with the well-known dish "Arakas me Agkinares".
 * Bamies (okra), belongs to ladera dishes.
 * Briam, also known as Tourlou, belongs to ladera dishes, typically made from eggplants, zucchini, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, parsley.
 * Gemista (or Yemista),  "filled with" in Greek, baked stuffed bell peppers and tomatoes with rice or ground beef or both, onions, mint, parsley, olive oil.
 * Lahanodolmades, baked stuffed light green cabbage rolls with rice or ground beef or both, onions, mint, parsley, avgolemono sauce.
 * Lahanorizo, rice and cabbage, onions, fresh herbs, and the optional addition of tomato sauce.
 * Prasorizo (leek and rice), made from rice, chopped sweet leeks, olive oil, garlic, dill.
 * Spanakorizo (spinach and rice),
 * Apaki, cured pork meat. Left to marinate for two or three days in vinegar, the meat is then smoked with aromatic herbs and various spices. Apaki can be cooked on its own or added to other dishes.
 * Stifado (stew), casserole cooked with baby onions, tomatoes, wine or vinegar, olive oil, bay leaf, black pepper, meat such as pork, goat, rabbit, wild hare, beef, snails, tripe, octopus.
 * Potatoes Yachni,  potatoes stew, potatoes simmered in a tomato sauce with onions, garlic, herbs and spices.
 * Pastitsio, baked pasta dish with ground meat and béchamel sauce.
 * Astakomakaronada (lobster with spaghetti), lobster meat that is coupled with a flavorful tomato-based sauce and served over pasta.
 * Manestra,
 * Makaronia me kima (spaghetti with ground meat),
 * Garidomakaronada (shrimps with spaghetti),
 * Melitzanes Papoutsakia, baked eggplants stuffed with ground beef and topping it with a smooth béchamel sauce. The dish is called papoutsakia (little shoes) because its shape resembles little shoes.
 * Kolokithakia gemista (stuffed zucchini), zucchini stuffed with rice and sometimes meat and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven.
 * Spetsofai, made with spicy country sausages, sweet peppers, onion, garlic, olive oil, in a rich tomato sauce.
 * Giouvetsi, pieces of lamb (or beef) and small noodles such as orzo, all cooked together in a tomato sauce with garlic and oregano.
 * Gyros, pork meat or chicken cooked on a vertical rotisserie, onions, tomato, lettuce, fried potatoes, sauces like tzatziki rolled in a pita bread.
 * Hilopites with chicken, traditional Greek pasta made from flour, eggs, milk, and salt.
 * Pastitsada,
 * Bourdeto
 * Roasted chicken with potatoes or rice,
 * Kleftiko, slow-roasted leg of lamb or lamb shoulder wrapped in parchment paper with potatoes, bell peppers, onions, feta cheese, marinated with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, fresh rosemary and herbs.
 * Keftedakia (meat fritters),  fried meatballs from lean ground beef with eggs, onions, garlic, parsley, mint, it also make them using half ground beef and half ground pork.
 * Mousakas, sliced tender eggplant cut lengthwise, or potato-based, lamb ground meat, topped with a thick layer of béchamel sauce.
 * Moshari kokkinisto, stewed veal meat, onions, garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, served accompanied by basmati rice,  or pasta or potatoes or potato purée.
 * Biftekia,    Greek-version burger patties made with a combination of ground pork, beef, or lamb, and the meat is mixed with onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley leaves finely chopped and oregano. They can grilled, baked or fried.
 * Arni souvlas, whole lamb on the spit baked with rotisserie (electric- or gas-powered heating rotisserie) or over flaming charcoals (barbecue), specifically following the culinary tradition on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday.
 * Arnaki sto fourno me patates (oven-baked lamb with potatoes),
 * Katsikaki ston fourno (oven-baked goat),
 * Paidakia, grilled lamb chops.
 * Hirino me selino, pork meat with celery.
 * Soutzoukakia Smyrneika (Smyrna meatballs),   oblong shaped beef meatballs made with cumin and cinnamon, then simmered in a rich tomato sauce.
 * Souvlaki,  with the well-known the souvlaki pita.
 * Kontosouvli,
 * Souvla, large pieces of meat cooked on a long skewer over flaming charcoals (barbecue). It is also a technique of cooking meat. Also Antikristo is a traditional technique of cooking meat on the island of Crete.
 * Kokoretsi, a dish consisting of lamb or goat intestines wrapped around seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, hearts, lungs, or kidneys, and grilled.
 * Tigania, pan-fried pork or chicken. The name "tigania" refers to the shallow pan in which the meal is cooked.
 * Fagri sti schara (grilled red porgy)
 * Gavros tiganitos (fried anchovy),
 * Gopes tiganites, fried boops boops fishes.
 * Bakaliaros (Merluccius merluccius), cod fish, the most well-known recipe is the fried bakaliaros mainly served with skordalia dip and fried potatoes.
 * Soupies (cuttlefish),
 * Xiphias (or Xifias), a species of swordfish.

Desserts and pastries
Selected desserts and pastries are:
 * Amygdalopita, almond cake made with ground almonds, flour, butter, eggs and pastry cream.
 * Akanés, from Serres.
 * Armenovíl/Armenonville,  from Thessaloniki.
 * Baklava,
 * Gianniotikos Balkavas, type of Baklava from Ioannina.
 * Bougatsa krema (cream), from Asia Minor, filo dough wrapped around a filling of semolina custard. After it is baked, it is cut into small pieces and served hot lightly dusted with powdered icing sugar and/or cinnamon. It makes it by hand only, uses as a breakfast pastry (sweet), mid-morning snack, midday snack and dessert.
 * ''Crêpe,
 * Fanouropita
 * Frigania, dessert from the island of Zakynthos.
 * Fritoura, traditional dessert from the island of Zakynthos.
 * Flogeres,
 * Melomakarona,
 * Galaktoboureko, custard pie with syrup.
 * Galatopita,   milk pie.
 * Kalitsounia, from the island of Crete.
 * Karydopita,
 * Koulourakia,
 * Kourampiedes
 * Kydonopasto
 * Loukoumi,
 * Melekouni, traditional dessert from the island of Rhodes consists of sesame seeds and aromatic thyme honey, though additional ingredients often include almonds, orange and lemon peel, and various spices.
 * Muhallebi, or Mahallebi.
 * Moustalevria,
 * Mpezedes (Mareges)
 * Mandolato, Greek version of nougat.
 * Mandola, traditional almond candy from the island of Corfu.
 * Pasteli, sesame seed candy made from sesame seeds, sugar or honey pressed into a bar.
 * Loukoumades, fried balls of dough that are often spiced with cinnamon and drizzled with honey.
 * Fouskakia, a version of loukoumades from the island of Skopelos.
 * Diples, pastry sheets that are rolled, deep-fried, and doused or drizzled with a thick, honey-based syrup.
 * Pastafrola
 * Rizogalo,
 * Roxakia,
 * Stafidopsomo,
 * Spatoula, from Kalabaka, walnut cake with diplomat cream.
 * Poniro, with the well-known poniro from Serres.
 * Spoon sweets, with the well-known the spoon sweet Koufeto from the island of Milos.
 * Laggites, or Tiganites
 * Tsoureki,
 * Vasilopita, Greek New Year's cake with a coin or a trinket baked inside of it.
 * Strained yogurt with honey, walnuts often added.
 * Komposta, made from peach, apple, pear or other fruits.
 * Halvas with tahini,
 * Halvas with semolina,
 * Halvas Farsalon, known as sapoune halva or jelly halva from Farsala.
 * Kariokes, small sized walnut-filled chocolates and shaped like crescents.
 * Kantaifi,
 * Kiounefe,
 * Kazan Ntimpi,
 * Revani, with the well-known the revani from Veria.
 * Portokalopita,
 * Milopita, apple pie.
 * Melopita, honey pie in Greek, traditionally associated with the island of Sifnos.
 * Saliaroi (Saliaria), from Kozani.
 * Samali, extra syrupy Greek semolina cake with mastic.
 * Trigona Panoramatos,
 * Touloumba
 * Ypovrihio or Ypovrichio, means submarine in Greek, also known as vanilia or mastiha, a white chewy sweet that is served on a spoon dipped in a tall glass of cold water.
 * Fetoydia, also known as avgofetes, made with fresh or stale bread, milk, eggs, and olive oil. The bread is cut into slices which are first soaked in milk, and then dipped in lightly beaten eggs before they are fried in olive oil. When it is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar).
 * Candied fruits, known as fruit glace with the well-known the marron glace. Candied fruits can be found in Greece in specialty candy shops selling along with other related products exclusively, such as dried fruits, nuts, jellies, koufeta, loukoumia, chocolate bars, sokolatakia (bonbon), pralines, spoon sweets, pasteli, halva, fudge, petit four, granola, granola bars, sweet spreads, breakfast cereals, energy bar, and others.

Drinks and beverages
Selected drinks and beverages are:


 * Mountain tea
 * Greek coffee,
 * Frappé coffee, invented in Thessaloniki in 1957.
 * Freddo cappuccino,
 * Esspreso freddo, iced coffee combines espresso and ice merely serve coffee over ice blends the two ingredients until the coffee is slightly chilled.
 * Salepi,
 * Ouzo,
 * Retsina,
 * Tsipouro,
 * Tsikoudia,
 * Gin,
 * Liqueur,
 * Beer, Beer in Greece.
 * Souma, from island of Chios.
 * Tentura, liqueur that hails from Patras.
 * Kumquat, liqueur produced mainly on the island of Corfu.
 * Kitron, or Kitro, liqueur produced on the island of Naxos.
 * Fatourada, orange-flavored liqueur from the Greek island of Kythira.
 * Mineral water, from several recognized water sources from Greece.
 * Sparkling mineral water, mineral carbonated water from sources from Greece.
 * Mastika, or mastiha, liqueur that is made with mastiha, mostly Chios Mastiha.
 * Soumada, a non-alcoholic, syrupy, almond-based beverage that is produced on the island of Crete.
 * Rakomelo, made by combining raki or tsipouro - two types of grape pomace brandy - with honey and several spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom, or other regional herbs. It is produced in Crete and other islands of the Aegean Sea.
 * Metaxa, made from brandy, a secret combination of botanicals, and the aromatic and carefully selected Muscat wines from the island of Samos.
 * Wine,     with the well-known Greek grape varieties,      Agiorgitiko, Anthemis, Assyrtiko, Athiri, Begleri Ikaria, Debina, Fokiano Ikaria, Kidonitsa, Kotsifali, Lagorthi, Limnio, Liatiko, Limniona, Malagousia, Mandilaria, Mantinia, Mavrodafni, Mavrotragano, Moschofilero, Muscat of Limnos, Naousa, Negoska,  Nemea, Oinomelo, Patras, Roditis, Rodola, Romeiko, Samos nectar, Samos Vin Doux, Savatiano, Vidiano, Vilana, Vinsanto (Visanto),  Xinomavro.