Thanks to a wide variety of restaurants and taverns, there is a rich gastronomy tradition for Olympus and Pieria. However, some traditional flavours must be sought out in the home cuisine of the local people, in order to get to know them.
The local cuisine in Pieria offers a wide variety of Greek, local and traditional foods, desserts and drinks. They are made from genuine ingredients that ensure healthy nutrition and tasty enjoyment. Traditional, Greek, unforgettable flavors that bring to mind pleasant moments, happy festive evenings and warm lunches with dear friends or the whole family around the table. Flavours that have the beauty and aroma of oregano, parsley, basil, mint, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. The Macedonian cuisine and the cuisine of Pieria, as an integral part of it, are strongly characterized by the various kinds of meat, cheese and pies that make up the Macedonian table, which is particularly tasty.
In the picturesque mountain villages, meat-based dishes, pies, cheese and herbs predominate the gastronomy of Olympus and Pieria. On the coast, be sure to enjoy some mussel and fish dishes, as well as fresh fruit such as kiwis, apples, peaches and cranberries. Before you leave and if it’s their season ( around August), buy fresh hazelnuts, which are systematically grown in Pieria and are delicious. The region is famous for its cheese products, feta (greek white cheese ), giza and goat’s cheese, but also for its delicious meats. Everywhere there are barbecues that invite you to enjoy roasted sheep or goat, roasted kontosouvli (made from pork) and delicious ribs.
In winter, don’t miss to try goat or goat stew, pancake with leeks and pork, fried forest mushrooms extinguished with vinegar, or cabbage (wild greens) slow-cooked with tender goat, crispy egg balls. In the summer, tender zucchini from the baksedas are boiled and served with a thin, warm garlic sauce. The tradition of the region could not fail to include the easiest and most satisfying food of northern Greece: pies. Juicy grass pies with wild greens, leek pies , meat pies with goat or goat mixed with trahana and cheese, pumpkin pies, spinach pie, grass pie, sausage pie, prasopita, savoury or sweet bugatsa, milk pie, minced meat pie, cassava pie, chicken pie, cabbage pie, rice pie, onion pie and apple pie.
Going down to the beach and Litochoro, you have immediately in front of you the choice of a fresh fish. The area is famous for its white-fleshed and delicious marmots, fried squid, sole, cephalopods, shrimp, and sea bream. Enjoy the freshness of a fish that has been braised over charcoal. An equally interesting approach is to combine these fish with herbs and vegetables. The dense flavour of the egg lemon goes well with the fatty flesh of the sea bream. Classic recipes are also the fried headcheese and sole topped with a thick sauce based on olive oil, flour and tomato. The mixing of fresh and salt water in the region favours the development of crops and especially mussel cultivation, which accounts for about 90% of the total production in Greece. The cultivated mussels of Pieria are known for their delicious meat and freshness. They are usually consumed fried or fried as a snack, smoked, salted or canned, but also cooked with rice, mussel or potatoes.