Greek cuisine has been ranked the best in this year’s “100 Best Cuisines In The World” Taste Atlas Awards, outshining favorites such as Italy and Spain.
With a score of 4.6 out of 5, Greece beat Italy, which ranked 2nd (4.59/5), followed by Mexico (4.52/5) and Spain (4.5/5). This latest ranking is a big boost for Greece, which ranked third at the 2023/2024 Taste Atlas Awards, with Italy and Japan securing the first and second spots respectively.
Taste Atlas is an experiential online database of traditional dishes and local ingredients that collates authentic recipes, food critic reviews and research articles. It ranks its dishes based on a combination of expert opinions and users ratings. This year’s results have been based on 477,287 valid ratings for 15,478 foods in Taste Atlas‘ database.
According to the ratings, Greek cuisine is most loved in the Netherlands (4.7/5), Germany (4.5/5), the United States of America (4.4/5) and Spain (4.3/5).
The most popular Greek foods according to Taste Atlas
Pistachios from Aegina (Fystiki Aeginas in Greek), recently ranked the best pistachios in the world, wis the top spot of must-try Greek foods with a rating of 4.8/5. They are followed by Finiki Lakonias (a high quality extra virgin olive oil cultivated in the Finiki area of Lakonia perfecture in the Peloponnese), rated 4.8/5. Next comes Kalamata olive oil (also with a ranking of 4.8/5), closely followed by Fava Santorinis, (dried and crushed leaves of the plant Lathyrus clymenum) with a rating of 4.7/5.
Italian cuisine, which ranked second-best worldwide, features Pizza Napoletana amongst its top must-try foods (4.8/5), followed by Parmigiano Reggiano, Italy’s famous hard cheese (4.7/5) and Gianduja, a sweet creamy spread made of chocolate and ground hazelnuts (4.7/5).
In this year’s Taste Atlas’ “100 Best Dishes In the World” published earlier in the year, Colombia won the top spot with a pork dish called “Lechona” (4.78/5), followed by Italy’s Pizza Napoletana (4.75/5) and Brazil’s “Picanha” (a Brazilian beef cut rated 4.69/5). Greece took 16th place with “Paidakia,” delicious grilled lamb chops (4.56/5).
Greek cuisine and health benefits
The Mediterranean diet is not just delicious but several studies have shown its potential health benefits.
Following a Mediterranean diet could help prevent depression, groundbreaking research published in a scientific journal recently suggested.
Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, plant-based foods and fish, may decrease the risk of depression by approximately one-third, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
A diet high in saturated fats, sugar, and processed foods was correspondingly associated with an increased likelihood of depression.
Moreover, countless studies have also confirmed that the Mediterranean diet can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, including a heart attack or stroke, and can combat diabetes.
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