A potato which grows in several municipalities in northern Greece has placed at the top in the TasteAtlas’ “Potatoes” category.
TasteAtlas is an experiential travel online guide for traditional food that collates authentic recipes, food critic reviews, and research articles about popular ingredients and dishes.
Kato Nevrokopiou potatoes have been cultivated in the municipality of their namesake, as well as in Kato Vrontos, Perithori, Dasoto, Lefkogia, Khrisokefalos, Okhiro, Vathitopos and Katafitos, since the 1920s.
The Greek Potatoes Ranked First in the World
The product topped the ‘best rated’ potato category on the food ranking site, an outcome brought about by more than a hundred thousand food product ratings being made for 6,119 food products and ingredients.
The Greek potatoes achieved a score of 4.4 out of 5 stars. TasteAtlas claims that Kato Nevrokopiou potatoes are high in carbohydrates, starch, and proteins, thanks to the region’s “excellent climatic conditions and sandy soils.” They are cultivated in summer to be harvested in September, when temperatures are lower and rainfall is higher.
According to the food platform, the potatoes are highly valued in Greece for their flavor, and form the base of many dishes. However, they can also be industrially processed into a variety of products, such as potato flour and chips.
Greek food has seen its fair share of accolades from TasteAtlas. Last year, the food ranking site listed Greek cuisine as the third best in the world.
A total of 395,205 (271,819 valid) dish ratings and 115,660 (80,863 valid) food product ratings were recorded to produce the results.
Based on those ratings, the top fifty food items for each cuisine were selected, and the best-rated cuisines in the world were ranked according to the average ratings of the best-rated dishes and food products of each country.
Italy and Japan recorded the same average rating as previously, and Italy took first place again due to a higher rating of its best-rated dish—pizza. The third best-rated cuisine was Greek, followed by the Portuguese and Chinese cuisines.
The Mediterranean diet is not just delicious, but several studies have proven its potential health benefits. Following a Mediterranean diet may help prevent depression, ground-breaking research published in a scientific journal recently suggested.
Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, nuts, plant-based foods, and fish may decrease the risk of depression by approximately one-third, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
A diet high in saturated fats, sugar, and processed foods was correspondingly associated with an increased likelihood of depression.
The best-rated dish for 2023 was the Brazilian meat cut Picanha, followed by Malaysian bread Roti Canai and Thai stir fry Phat Kaphrao.
The top Greek dish was dakos salad from the island of Crete. It is rated as the seventeenth best dish and topped the world’s salads.