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Top 10 Strange Greek Foods You May Like (or Not)

Strange foods in Greece
Some of the traditional dishes in Greece taste strange to outsiders. Credit: Greek Reporter

Taste is as subjective as beauty and this is why some foods are very common in a culture while outsiders think of them as strange or even weird.

Greece does have some of these dishes. We compiled a list of the ones we think are the strangest. Some of these foods are eaten only during special occasions and holidays while others might be local to a specific area.

Strange Greek foods

Meat Dishes

Strange foods Greece
The traditional dish of koxlioi, or snails, served at Kritamon. Credit: Greek Reporter.

Snails: Kohli “Bourbouristi” is the popping sound snails make when frying. Snails fried in the shell on a bed of salt may sound strange, but they are delicious and are considered a great delicacy in Greece.  See Recipe

Patsas: This soup is a tradition in Greece and is loved by a lot of people. The tripe soup (that sometimes also includes the feet of the animal) came to Greece from Turkey in the 1920s, and is considered to be a classic winter hangover cure. See Recipe

Lamb’s head: This is a dish that you have more chances of tasting if you visit Greece for Easter. The lamb’s brain is considered the best part of the head. Another part that is considered a delicacy is the tongue. See Recipe

Kokoretsi
Greece’s Kokoretsi is made of lamb organs and intestines. Credit: dkilim/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Kokoretsi: It’s a rotisserie dish made up of the organ meat from the lamb and bound by the intestines of the animal. It includes hearts, liver, spleens and it is usually served on Easter Sunday. See Recipe

Splinantero: Spleen sausage made from mutton in the region of Thessaly, Greece, broiled on charcoal fire.

Ameletita (lamb’s testicles): This dish is named after what it is made from: ameletita, or ‘unmentionables’ in English. The lamb testicles are prepared either grilled or deep-fried and are then seasoned with a little oregano, olive oil and lemon. Kind of like chicken, but not.

Seafood

strange foods
It consists of the inside part of sea urchins.Credit: , CC2/Flickr

Sea urchin Salad: ‘Ahinosalata’ consists of the inside part of sea urchins. It is considered a summer delicacy and it is usually found in seafood tavernas. See Recipe

Fried octopus Ink sack: This is a rare dish served primarily on the island of Kalymnos. The ink sacks are carefully removed from the octopus, then boiled, and then deep-fried.

Gavros Marinatos: Raw small fish marinated in salt and special spices. This is a dish that usually is accompanied with ouzo. Sometimes instead of ‘gavros fish’ you can find this dish with sardines.

Desserts:

Karidaki: In Greek it means walnut, and as it is implied, it is made with whole walnuts. The strange thing is that it is cooked and consumed unpeeled. It must be dipped in whitewash two times and its preparation can take up to fifteen days.  See Recipe

Kaltsounia:  These sweet cheese pastries consist of rolled dough, cheese (myzithra), honey and cinnamon. Depending on how they are folded, they can be baked or fried. Kaltsounia can be found on the Greek island of Crete. See Recipe

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