Ingredients used in Greek cooking reflect its Mediterranean location.
Foods from Greece use fresh ingredients that reflect the warm climate of this Mediterranean country. The ingredients used in Greek cooking create the central basis for the cuisine, which, according to practicallyedible.com, relies on its ingredients rather than its cooking techniques as does French cuisine. Incorporating Greek ingredients into your recipes brings the flavor of Greece to your kitchen.
Meats and Seafood
Lamb is the most popular meat in Greece.
The long coastline of Greece gives a large number of people access to fresh seafood. In coastal regions, according to the Food By Country website, seafood and vegetables create the bulk of the diet while recipes from the country's interior use more meats and cheeses in their cooking.
Lamb and pork appear at holidays with lamb always served at Easter and for special occasions and pork used for Christmas dinner, according to practicallyedible.com. The World Food and Wine website notes that the most popular meat eaten in Greece is lamb, which thrives in the rocky, mountainous terrain of the interior.
Eggs
Eggs create the basis for many Greek dishes.
Greeks use eggs in ways different from other nations. The Greek egg soup, known as avgolemono, uses broth, rice, eggs and lemon juice. The rice cooks in the broth until tender, and then beaten eggs and lemon juice get poured into the hot soup to cook the eggs.
Another use for eggs appears at Easter. For Easter, Greeks prepare a bread known as lambropsoma. They insert colored whole, raw eggs in to a loaf of bread dough. As the dough bakes into bread, the eggs cook. Both the bread and the eggs are eaten after the eggs are peeled.
Olives and Olive Oil
Olives and their oil frequently appear in Greek foods.
Olive trees contribute two important ingredients to Greek cooking: olives and olive oil. Most olives appear black, have been pickled, and are then added to salads or eaten as a salty snack. Olive oil pressed from olives adds the oil used in cooking, frying, pastries and for flavoring dishes, according to the World Food and Wine website.
Feta Cheese
Salty and crumbly, Greeks use feta to add flavor to salads and soups.
Made from sheep or goat milk, feta cheese has a sharp, salty flavor and crumbly texture, according to the World Food and Wine website. Greeks add this cheese to soups, salads and stews to add flavor.
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