The "Best of Greece"

This week in Greek Culture class, we went to a local grocery store, Olicatessen, in Thessaloniki that sells Greek produce. We had a Greek food tasting and olive oil tasting.

• First picture: Dolmadakia. It is basically Greek sushi with white rice wrapped in grape leaves and covered in olive oil. At first, I was scared to try this, but it was surprisingly good! It made me miss Shokai sushi even more. :(

• Second picture: Rice pudding. This is the first time I have ever had it and luckily, it is offered almost everyday in the dining center. Bless up!

• Third picture: Greek yogurt and a caramelized orange. I LOVE the real Greek yogurt!!

• Fourth picture: Halvas. The easiest way to describe it as a pudding with a sweet syrup.

• Fifth picture: Olive oil. This was my favorite part of the experience. I did not know there was a specific way to try olive oil. First, we had to warm up the cup by twisting our hands while covering the top and the bottom of the cup. Then, you took a sip of the oli and made an inhaling noise before you swallowed it. I was very surprised that you could feel the taste in your mouth and your throat. There are 72 different tastes that are taken into consideration during professional olive oil tastings. With that being said, I would say the flavors ranged from spicy to "grassy" :)

• Sixth picture: Honey. We got to try 4 different honeys that came from different parts of Greece. The one in the picture was my favorite, honey with thyme. They also had a solid honey with turmeric which was another group favorite.

I am a huge chocolate and candy girl so you know I am serious when I say that this chocolate bar right here.... IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE BAR I HAVE EVER HAD

During this visit, we also got to sample different chocolates, jams and spreads such as peanut butter and Nutella. I have always loved peanut butter, but the type here is slightly different and is less creamy that what I am use to. It was a game changer and I could absolutely eat an entire jar by itself in one, maybe two, sittings :)

Feel free to check out the "Videos" tab at the top of the page for a quick view of some of the other products in the store such as teas, cookies, pie mixes, spices and pastas :)