Agrinion Olives are a style of prepared olive made from Conservolia Olives. Conservolia trees are native to Agrinion (Agrinou) on the Ionian coast in Greece. The olives are quite large. They are harvested and sold anywhere from light, dull green to pinkish or dark purple. Whether green or black, they are cracked then cured in…
Greek Food
Amfissa Olives
Amfissa Olives are a style of prepared olives made from Conservolea olives grown in the Amfissa valley at Delphi, in the central mainland of Greece. The Conservolea trees start bearing olives in 3 to 4 years. The olives can be harvested green or black. When black, they are actually a dark purple to a very…
Atalanti Olives
Atalanti olives are purplish-brownish to green table olives that are harvested as they start turning purple. They have a soft, meaty texture and a fruity taste with just a touch of bitterness. They ripen early in the season. They are cured in brine, then stored (sometimes in vinegar), and shipped. They are grown and produced in…
Conservolea Olives
Conservolea is a Greek cultivar of olive. The olive is round and firm. It is the most widely grown type of olive in Greece. Many Greek styles of prepared olives, such as Agrinion, Amfissas and Volos, are made from this olive. It is particularly used to make black olives from (though not Kalamata olives.)
Elitses Olives
Elitses Olives are very small, black olives, with way more pit than flesh and a sweet, fruity flavour. Though they are mostly used for oil, you can buy them brined for eating. As they are so small, they are usually sold unpitted. You eat them whole and spit the seeds out. History Notes Elitses Olives…
Feta Cheese
Feta Cheese © Denzil Green Feta is a soft, rindless white cheese with holes in it. Some refer to Feta as a goat’s cheese, but it is not: it is primarily meant to be a sheep’s milk cheese. Feta was originally made from sheep’s milk, or sheep and goat’s milk (in Greece, no more than…
Food in Ancient Greece
What we know about food in Ancient Greece comes from their literature. No book specifically on food or recipes is extant from that period, but food is talked about a great deal by characters in Greek plays. Greeks had two kinds of symbolism in their food. One kind was religious symbolism. Wine, for instance, was…
Gigas Olives
Gigas are large, Greek table olives that are harvested when purple. Language Notes “Gigas” in Greek means gigantic.
Greek Egg Noodles
Greek Egg Noodles are flat egg noodles made in Greece and Crete. The dough for them is made from egg, water, salt and grain flour or grain flour mixed with flour made from pulses. Though thought of by many in their small, square form, these noodles can also be made into fettucine-like strands.
Greek Food
Like Chinese food, Greek food in North America has been reinterpreted to meet North American expectations of a food richer in meat and dairy. For instance, Greek Salad is called Horiatiki in Greece. While in Greece the salad has feta and cucumber, it doesn’t have lettuce in it — only the North American version of…
Greek Independence Day
The 25th of March is Greek Independence Day. Nutritionists now extol the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, so today’s a doubly good day to explore some Greek recipes.
Greek Olives
Sixty percent of agricultural land in Greece is used for growing olives, allowing Greece to account for twenty percent of the olives grown in the world. Greece grows the greatest variety of olives, and produces the most black olives in the world. Sixty percent of the olive oil it produces is Extra Virgin. It produces…
Greek Yoghurt
Greek yoghurt is a very creamy, thick yoghurt with a higher butterfat content (about 9%, compared to 3.5% for normal yoghurt.) It is the best yoghurt to use for cooking. Substitutes Whole milk yoghurt (highest fat content you can lay your hands on); Sour Cream; 2/3rds whole milk Yogurt Cheese, 1/3rd Sour Cream; Yoghurt thickened…
Green Atalanti Olives
Green Atalanti Olives are green Atalanti olives, harvested earlier than the more ripe black Atalanti olives. They are often marinated in red-wine vinegar, which gives them a tangy flavour and makes them a pale-ish grey colour. Cooking Tips They can be cooked with; they won’t shrink.
Halkidiki Olives
Halkidiki Olives are prepared table olives made in the Halkidiki Peninsula near Mount Athos, Northern Greece. Both green and black table olives are made. The green ones are cured in a salt brine. They end up firm, crunchy and tangy. They are sometimes sold in salt brine, sometimes in oil. When the olives are harvested…
Halloumi Cheese
Halloumi Cheese © Denzil Green Halloumi is a cheese that is popular in Greece and Cyprus. It is a mild, semi-hard cheese made from goat’s, sheep’s or cow’s milk. After being made, it is preserved and shipped in brine. It is almost always used in cooking rather than eaten raw. Raw, it is quite rubbery,…
Hondroelia Olives
Hondroelia are very large, oblong Greek olives, up to 5 cm (2 inches) long.The olives are slit, then brine cured for anywhere from several months up to a year, then packed in olive oil or in a combination of brine and olive oil. The olives are pink and brown coloured, or green dappled with brown….
Ionian Olives
Ionian Olives are table olives made on the west coast of Greece on the Ionian sea.They are large, bright green olives with a firm crunch. They have a mild taste, because no vinegar is used in the curing or preserving.
Kalamata Olives
Kalamata Olives are prepared olives produced in Southern Greece. Though they are classed as black olives, they are actually a dark purple. The olives are medium-sized and oval, with flesh that separates easily from the pit. They are cured in brine with red wine vinegar, then pickled in wine vinegar and olive oil, and packed…
Kaliva Olives
Kaliva Olives are black olives grown near Delphi. They have firm flesh and a strong flavour. They are usually sold pitted.
Koroneiki Olives
Koroneiki are the main variety of olives grown for oil in Greece. The tree can be planted in high-density orchards, and will start producing olives 2 to 3 years after planting. It needs another type of olive tree to cross-pollinate with. The tree produces small olives, but in compensation, the tree is a prolific bearer….
Koulouri
Koulouri are bread rolls made in Greece in the shape of a ring so that they look something like bagels. They are made from a yeast-risen dough that is shaped into long ropes, then twisted into circles, let rise again, then sprinkled with sesame seeds and baked. Koulouri are made in different sizes and sold…
Lagana Bread
Lagana is a Greek bread, made only once a year. The bread is served in Greece on the day that marks the start of Greek Orthodox Lent, called “Clean Monday” (“Kathara Deftera”.) It is flat and about 18 inches (45 cm) long, with rounded corners. It used to be unleavened, but recipes now use a…
Lesvos Olives
Lesvos Olives are grown on the Greek island of Lesvos (Lesbos.) Both green and black table olives are produced, as well as olive oil. The table olives are sold in cans and jars. The black ones are dark purple / light black. Production is organized by and sold through the Union of Agriculture Cooperative of…