Exploration in flavors
Unique cheeses, delicious pies, well- cooked fresh meat with local vegetables, traditional noodles, trachana, fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. If you visit Ioannina and don't taste the continental cuisine, you can't claim to have really gotten to know the city. How will you be introduced to the aromas and colors of the senses and good times, if you don't try the famous wines of Zitsa and Metsovo, as well as the locally produced tsipouro.
Read MoreIf you don't enjoy some of the famous syrupy sweets, such as the traditional Ioannina baklava, kadaifi and their various variations, which are sold in the pastry shops of Ioannina and are famous, not only for their taste, but also for the pure, local ingredients with which are prepared. With aromas of country leaf, butter, olive oil, walnut, spices, honey, strained syrup and other ingredients, sculpted with the confectionary art of traditional recipes. Also, the city's famous bougatsa offers an unforgettable taste, one of those that you can't get enough of, no matter how many times you satisfy your appetite. Hot, steamy, delicious, either with cheese or cream.
Traditional cuisine
Eating out is one of the great pleasures of life and one of the greatest joys of travel. Ioannina is a unique place for food fans with an appetite for genuine Mediterranean cuisine and traditional home cooking. Talented chefs, superb local products, great value are the ingredients of Ioannina Gastronomy, one of the tastiest food scenes in Greece. There is nothing in a new city like visiting new restaurants and having new culinary experiences. The local gastronomy you can sample almost everywhere in town and in nearby taverns includes cheese and meat from hilltop farms (don’t miss the smoked Metsovone, semi-hard PDO cheese), herb flavored pies, fish and game, fine local wines and tsipouro.
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Local wines
Ioannina produces a small but significant amount of Greece’s total wine production. Zitsa and Metsovo have put Ioannina on the winemaking map. Wine cultivation in Ioannina dates back to the 16th century. Did you know that Lord Byron, the famous poet, was one of the many enthusiasts of Zitsa's signature wine? You must try this semi - sweet rose wine, known for its subtly spicy flavour. Zitsa, thanks to the tradition and reputation it had in wine making from old times, has been characterized as an area with "Appellation d' Origine de Qualite Superieure" wines.
Read more Famous desserts
Baklava, the traditional sweet of Ioannina, is famous throughout Greece. A lightly buttered paper-thin "phyllo" dough is deftly rolled by hand, not too loose-not too tight, layer over layer, to evenly wrap the fillings of the recipes (nuts, spices and dried fruits) and make sure they will bake to a perfect aromatic blend. Each bite reminds that Ioannina is the delicious crossroads of Europe and the East, a unique taste experience, combining the past with the future of Ioannina.
Read more Γιαννιώτικη κουζίνα
Η γαστρονομία στα Γιάννενα, είναι άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένη με τον τρόπο ζωής των ανθρώπων της ορεινής και ημιορεινής περιοχής αλλά και τις επιρροές των διαφορετικών πολιτισμών και λαών που πέρασαν από την περιοχή. Βασίζεται σε αγαθά που προέρχονται από τον πρωτογενή τομέα, όπως γαλακτοκομικά προϊόντα (βούτυρο, γάλα, τυρί) από τοπικούς κήπους, αγροκτήματα και ορεινές περιοχές (λαχανικά, φρούτα, χόρτα, άλευρα), τα ντόπια κρέατα αλλά και ποταμίσια και λιμνίσια ψάρια. Η κουλτούρα από την αρχαιότητα, οι επιρροές των κατακτητών (Ρωμαίοι, Βυζαντίνοι, Φράγκοι, Οθωμανοί), οι Ρωμανιώτες ως η παλαιότερη κοινότητα Εβραίων στην Ευρώπη, τα νομαδικά μεταναστευτικά φύλα (Σαρακατσάνοι, Βλάχοι, Σλάβοι, Αρβανίτες), οι κλιματολογικές συνθήκες, σε συνδυασμό με τη γεωλογική θέση και τις τοπικές συνήθειες, διαμόρφωσαν τη γαστρονομική φυσιογνωμία της περιοχής.
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