Greek vs Israeli food & cuisine

Every day eating revolves around wheat breads, vegetables like tomato and eggplant, legumes, greens, and cheeses, feta and graviera, with yogurt as sauce or base. Coastal fish and island seafood sit alongside lamb, goat, pork, and charcoal-grilled souvlaki.  Honey, nuts, and phyllo dough desserts provide a sweet finish. In short: elemental ingredients, careful seasoning, and communal joy. 

Another use of wheat is as a comfort food, hilopites, Greek pasta, resembling flat, square-shaped pieces, often homemade and cooked in rich tomato sauce with chicken or lamb.

In Greek cuisine, rice isn’t as essential as in some other cuisines, but it does bring diversity in flavors and textures. It’s used as a filling for tomatoes, bell peppers, and grape leaves, in soups, and in pilafs (though bulgur is also used in pilafs), often seasoned with fresh herbs, olive oil, and lemon. The use of other cereals is minimal.

Bagels are not traditional in Israel, more tied to Ashkenazi communities in the U.S.

Ptitim, or Israeli couscous, was invented in the 1950s as a rice substitute during shortages. Made from wheat, it has a chewy texture and comes in pearl or shaped varieties, cooked like pasta, pilaf, or casserole. Regular couscous, brought by North African Jews, is also common.

Rice is a staple, eaten plain, in pilafs like mujadara, or in rice kugel. 

The most frequently used are tomatoes; they are the base of many sauces and are the star of gemista and Greek salad. Eggplants are often grilled, baked, or fried, mashed into a popular smoky eggplant dip, melitzanosalata. Zucchinis you may find stuffed with rice and herb mixture or transformed into fritters. Roasted peppers might be used in salads, spreads, or served as accompaniments. Spinach, dandelion, and amaranth greens are of widespread use. While okra is more commonly associated with cuisines of the American South, the Middle East, and Africa, it also finds its place in Greek kitchens; here, it is known as bamies.

Greek cuisine stands out for its minimalist approach to pulse preparation. They cook them in olive oil to bring out the natural flavors and season mainly with garlic, onions, tomatoes, oregano, and lemons, while neighboring cuisines incorporate more spices.

Greek cuisine is rich in potato recipes. Lemon is a key ingredient in almost everything – it adds the iconic flavor this cuisine is known for.

Roasted vegetable dishes with eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are common, as are khamutzim (pickled vegetables), connecting Israeli food to wider Middle Eastern and Balkan pickling traditions.

Avocados, introduced in the 1920s, are now hugely popular; per capita consumption is about 10.5–12 kg annually, among the world’s highest and second only to Mexico. Advanced farming made avocados Israel’s largest fruit crop, driven by high local demand, particularly for breakfast and dinners.

Fruits like persimmons, grapefruits, stone fruits, berries, and the sabra (prickly pear), the national fruit, are widely eaten – fresh or in sorbets and smoothies. Dates, figs, grapes, and pomegranates are culturally important, often eaten dried, in baking, or for color and flavor.

Lamb is the most iconic meat locally, especially during the Orthodox Easter, when whole lambs are roasted on spits. Dishes like kfeftiko rustic slow-cooked lamb, paidakia lamb chops, and lamb fricassee, braised with greens, are popular.

In the same rocky terrains, goats roam alongside sheep. They are loved and prepared similarly; the meat is flavorful and pairs well with Greek herbs.

With the advent of Christianity in Greece, pork became more prominent as it wasn’t associated with ancient pagan rituals like lamb or beef; the relative ease of pig farming also contributed to its popularity.

Kosher dietary laws indicate how meat is slaughtered and prepared, while the country’s mix of cultural backgrounds has introduced a wide variety of meat-focused dishes into Israeli cuisine.

Among poultry, the chicken the first choice, but Israelis actually eat more turkey than Americans  – even without Thanksgiving on the calendar. Turkey’s firmer texture is ideal for pastramis and salamis, so farms began raising it in large quantities. Later, with refrigeration making fresh meat easier to store, turkey found new life as a convenience food – in the form of schnitzel or burger patties. Today, it’s a staple on Israeli tables.

In many Arab neighborhoods, mutton has long been feeding big families. Sheep are still raised in villages for household needs. It’s often slow-cooked in stews, grilled for kebabs, baked in pies, or braised with spices and herbs. You’ll see it in dishes shared with Arab, Druze, and Bedouin cuisines – like mansaf or kebab skewers. It’s also common for Jewish holiday meals. Mutton has a role as communal meat – historically tied to village or family feasts.

Beef also has a strong presence – Israel tops the Mediterranean region in overall meat consumption and ranks as the 6th largest consumer per capita worldwide. Beef takes many forms: slow-cooked brisket, hearty cholent , and pastrami are favorites. Add to that the influence of American cuisine, and you’ll find plenty of juicy burgers and steaks, too.

Liver dishes are particularly popular in Israeli cuisine. From chopped liver and skewered goose liver to liver sausages and silky pâtés, it’s a category with lots of variety.

Among the Greek islands, seafood specialties feature sun-dried octopus, which you’ll often see hanging outside to dry. This method tenderizes the meat and imparts a unique dried flavor. Once dried, the octopus is grilled, becoming tender and smoky.

Grilled sardines can be found in various cuisines, but the simple Greek preparation typically involves olive oil, lemon, and oregano.

It is very challenging to narrow down the common preparations; fish recipes come from the global Jewish diaspora and are endless.

Pickled herring on Israeli tables is an exclusive appetizer compared to other Middle Eastern tables. Fish kufta (hinting at its meat cousin kofte) is fried with spices, herbs, and onions and served with tahini or yogurt sauce. Overall, cold fish dishes, primarily from the Ashkenazi culinary tradition, are both popular and convenient to serve during Shabbat, when cooking is prohibited.

Mountainous terrain favored sheep and goats, so sheep cheeses became dominant; feta is a white, brined, tangy cheese primarily from sheep’s milk, with up to 30% goat’s milk allowed under PDO rules.

Feta is among the oldest recorded cheese styles, linked to descriptions in Homer’s era, and still hugely popular – often cited as about 70% of Greek cheese consumption.

Dairy has always played a big role in Israeli farming and in everyday eating, shaped by both Jewish and Mediterranean traditions. You won’t see raw milk used much in cooking, but dairy pops up in breakfast cereals, desserts, and creamy dishes.

Israel has some locally popular cheeses, though many are adaptations of Mediterranean styles rather than completely unique inventions.

Butter and cream show up too, mostly in baking and sauces, but olive oil is an everyday essential.

With over 120 million olive trees in Greece, that’s roughly 11 trees for every resident in the country. The majority of the olive oil produced is of extra virgin quality, making it one of the highest percentages in the world. It’s mind-blowing to think about the impact of olives and olive oil on Greek cuisine. One of the most characteristic aspects of Greek food is ladera dishes. These are vegetables cooked slowly in olive oil with tomatoes and herbs, creating a rich, comforting meal.

Nuts grow abundantly throughout Greece; they are enjoyed raw and roasted as a snack, a crunchy addition to salads or pilafs, and in sweets. Nuts, especially almonds, hold religious significance in Greece.

Many of Greece’s desserts, such as baklava, galaktoboureko, and kataifi, rely on phyllo dough soaked in honey or sugar syrup. The combination of crunchy layers with sticky syrup creates a signature texture central to Greek sweets.

Along with honey, fruit blossom waters, and almond syrup, silan is a characteristic Middle Eastern and Israeli sweetener. Silan, a date honey or dark sticky syrup, is a substitute for sugar, used in many desserts.