Greek yogurt

Proper Greek strained plain yogurt is thick and creamy and has a lacy crust on top. This is the yogurt that I remember from my childhood, when a wandering seller would come to our door every evening and a thick slice of creamy white yogurt would be cut from the contents of his flat terracotta container and weighed before being handed over.

Yogurt like this can still be found in Greece, produced by traditionally run firms, particularly in towns such as Volos, Larissa, Kalamata or cosmopolitan Thessaloniki. The best yogurt of this kind I have ever tasted was on Crete, and it is well worth seeking it out if you visit the island. Greeks love to eat yogurt with thyme-scented honey spooned on top as a mid-morning or late-night snack. It is one of the simplest pleasures in the world.