Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

produces many food products.

Olive oil

Greece is the world's fifth ranked producer of olive oil, producing more than 1,079,000 tons of

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

annually, more than 75% of that extra virgin. Greek olive oil is exported throughout the world. Olive oil plays an important role in the Greek diet, being the basis of many dishes.

Honey

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

in Greece is mainly flower-honey from the nectar of fruit and citrus trees (lemon, orange, bigarade trees), thyme honey, and pine honey from conifer trees.

Mastic

Mastic Mastic may refer to: Adhesives and pastes *Mastic (plant resin) *Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid * Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay. *Mastic, high-grade con ...

is grown on the Aegean island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

Alcoholic beverages

Kitron Kitron is a citron liqueur produced on the Greek island of Naxos. It is made from the fruit and leaves of the citron tree, which is similar to the lemon tree but stronger and slightly different in taste. Kitron comes in three varieties. The g ...

: a

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

from

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

limoncello Limoncello () is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy, especially in the region around the Sorrentine Peninsula and the coast of Amalfi. It is the second most popular liqueur in Italy and is traditionally served chilled as a ...

, produced from

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed throu ...

s rather than lemons. *

Mastika Mastika or mastiha is a liqueur seasoned with mastic, a resin with a slightly pine or cedar-like flavor gathered from the mastic tree, a small evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region. In Greece, mastiha ( el, μαστίχα) or mastic ...

: a liqueur from

seasoned with

mastic Mastic may refer to: Adhesives and pastes *Mastic (plant resin) *Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid * Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay. *Mastic, high-grade con ...

, a resin gathered from the

mastic tree Mastic tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Pistacia lentiscus'' (Anacardiaceae) – mastic – Mediterranean region * ''Sideroxylon foetidissimum ''Sideroxylon foetidissimum'', commonly known as false mastic or yellow ...

, a small evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean. *

Ouzo Ouzo ( el, ούζο, ) is a dry anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece. It is made from rectified spirits that have undergone a process of distillation and flavoring. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like pastis, s ...

: (a.c. ~ 40%) is an

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

-flavored alcoholic aperitif similar to the French

pastis Pastis (; oc, Pastís, ; or ) is an anise-flavoured spirit and apéritif traditionally from France, typically containing less than 100 g/L sugar and 40–45% ABV (alcohol by volume). Origins Pastis was first commercialized by Paul Ricard in ...

and Turkish

rakı Rakı or raki (, Turkish pronunciation: ) is an alcoholic drink made of twice-distilled grapes. It is the national drink of Turkey. It is also popular in other Balkan countries as an Apéritif and digestif, apéritif as well as in Kazakhstan. I ...

. *

Tsikoudia ''Tsikoudia'' ( el, τσικουδιά, tsikoudiá, literally "terebinth"), also often called '' raki'' ( el, ρακή, rakí) in the eastern part of Crete, is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Cretan origin that co ...

: a pomace brandy from Crete, similar to tsipouro and rakı. *

Tsipouro Tsipouro ( el, τσίπουρο, tsípouro) is an un-aged brandy from Greece and in particular Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, and the island of Crete (where Cretans call it tsikoudia). Tsipouro is a strong distilled spirit containing 40–45% alco ...

: a

pomace brandy Pomace spirit (or pomace brandy) is a liquor distilled from pomace that is left over from winemaking, after the grapes are pressed. It is called marc in both English and French, but " grappa" in Italian and "bagaço" in Portuguese. In Spanish it ...

from mainland Greece and the northern Aegean, similar to tsikoudia and rakı. May or may not be anise-flavored.

Cheeses

Anthotyros Anthotyros () (Anthotyro in modern Greek, "flowery cheese") is a traditional fresh cheese. There are dry Anthotyros and fresh Anthotyros. Dry Anthotyros is a matured cheese similar to Mizithra. Anthotyros is made with milk and whey from sheep or ...

is a hard grating cheese made by aging mizithra. *

Feta Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is ...

: A semi-soft, crumbly, brined white cheese made from goat or

sheep milk Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France). Sheep breeds S ...

. *

Graviera Graviera ( el, γραβιέρα ) is a cheese from Greece produced in various parts of Greece, the main of which are: Crete, Lesbos, Naxos and Amfilochia. It resembles gruyère, a Swiss cheese from whose name "graviera" is derived. Graviera is G ...

: A Greek version of Gruyere, it is served with meals or used for grating and serving with pasta. *

Kasseri Kasseri or Kaşar (Greek: κασέρι, Turkish: ''kaşar''Merriam-Webster Unabridged ''kasseri''/ref>) is a medium-hard or hard pale yellow cheese made from pasteurised or unpasteurised sheep milk and at most 20% goat's milk. "Kasseri" is a pr ...

: a medium hard yellow cheese made from sheep or goat milk *

Kefalotyri Kefalotyri or kefalotiri ( el, κεφαλοτύρι, tr, talar peyniri) is a hard, salty white cheese made from sheep milk or goat's milk (or both) in Greece and Cyprus. A similar cheese Kefalograviera, also made from sheep or goat milk (or both ...

: A hard and very salty cheese, used mainly for grating and serving with pasta. *

Manouri Manouri ( el, μανούρι) is a Greek semi-soft, fresh white mixed milk-whey cheese made from goat or sheep milk as a by-product following the production of feta. It is produced primarily in Thessalia and Macedonia in central and northern Gre ...

: An unsalted soft white cheese served on its own or used in savoury or sweet pies. * Metsovone: A semi-hard

smoked cheese Smoked cheese is any cheese that has been specially treated by smoke-curing. It typically has a yellowish-brown outer pellicle which is a result of this curing process. Process Smoke-curing is typically done in one of two ways: cold-smoking an ...

traditionally produced in

Metsovo Metsovo ( el, Μέτσοβο; rup, Aminciu) is a town in Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east. The largest centre of Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large re ...

. *

Mizithra Mizithra or myzithra ( ) is a Greek whey cheese or mixed milk- whey cheese from sheep or goats, or both. Barron, Rosemary (1991). ''Flavors of Greece.'' William Morrow, It is sold both as a fresh cheese, similar to Italian ''ricotta'', and as a ...

: An unsalted soft cheese made from sheep milk. Served on its own or used in sweet or savoury pies. A slightly aged, sour version is called xynomizithra.

Cured meat

* Apaki: Cured pork from

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. * Kavourmas: Cured meat from

northern Greece Northern Greece ( el, Βόρεια Ελλάδα, Voreia Ellada) is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions. Administrative regions of Greece Administrative term The term "Northern Greece" is widely used ...

. *

Loukaniko Loukaniko (Greek: λουκάνικο) is a type of Greek 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 ...

: Pork sausage flavored with orange peel or fennel seed. May differ widely across Greece. * Louza: Cured pork from

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The nam ...

* Syglino: Cured ham from

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...

, boiled in red wine and smoked.

Wine

is a heavy producer and consumer of wine. *

Mavrodafni Mavrodaphni, Mavrodaphne, or Mavrodafni (Greek: Μαυροδάφνη ''lit.'' 'black laurel') is both a black wine grapeRetsina Retsina ( el, Ρετσίνα) is a Greek white (or rosé) resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2,000 years. Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with Alepp ...

Xynomavro Xinomavro (Greek language, Greek: Ξινόμαυρο , ''lit.'' 'sour black') is the principal red wine grape of the uplands of Naousa, Imathia, Naousa in the regional unit of Imathia, and around Amyntaio, in Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greec ...

Vin santo Vin Santo ("holy wine") is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, though Sangiovese may be used to produce a ''rosé'' style known as "Occ ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greek Food Products Greek cuisine Food products