Seed oils in Greece
Of the 8 chains we track in Greece, none use real fats in the fryer and 5 use seed oils. That leaves 3 with something in between, no fryer or no answer. Below: what they fry in, how people cook there, how to read a label and what to say to ask about the oil.
What the chains fry in
These are the 8 chains we track in Greece, with what each one fries in according to our records. Open any chain for its full report card. See the full country index.
- Real fats: beef tallow, lard, butter, olive oil or coconut oil.
- In between: palm or peanut oil, a high-oleic grade, or a mix of real fat and seed oil.
- Seed oils: canola (rapeseed), soybean, sunflower or corn, or a "vegetable oil" blend.
- No fryer: the chain does not deep fry. It can still cook with oil elsewhere in the kitchen.
- Unknown: our records do not say what the chain fries in.
(estimated) means our note on that chain is hedged, so read the oil as a good guess rather than a confirmed fact. How we read these notes.
Cleanest picks
None of the 8 chains we track in Greece names a real fat in its fryer, so here the best move is to ask. The phrases further down are written for that.
All 8 chains
| Chain | Fryer oil |
|---|---|
| Coffee Island | No fryer |
| Domino's | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Everest | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Goody's Burger House | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Gregory's | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| McDonald's | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Mikel Coffee | No fryer |
| Starbucks | No fryer |
Same chain, different oil
A chain can fry in one oil at home and another abroad. We can compare 2 chains with the U.S., and all 2 show a different fryer oil in Greece. Rows where the color changes come first.
| Chain | In the U.S. | In Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Domino's | Soybean and canola oil | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| McDonald's | Canola and soybean oil | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
The brands that state their fryer oil in many countries are compared in Same chain, different country.
How people cook in Greece
Olive oil is the main cooking fat in Greek homes and is used in most dishes, including the vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil called ladera. Greece is one of the top three countries in the world for olive oil eaten per person, with Spain and Italy (figures vary by source). Butter shows up at breakfast and in some pastries.
Traditional tavernas lean on olive oil too, but casual places such as souvlaki and gyros shops and snack bars may deep-fry in cheaper sunflower or other seed oil. We found no survey, so it varies by place. Souvlaki skewers are grilled and gyros meat is roasted on a vertical spit, but the fries tucked into the pita are fried in whatever the shop uses.
Reading labels
Packaged food in Greece follows EU Regulation 1169/2011. Refined vegetable oils can be grouped as 'φυτικά έλαια' (vegetable oils) only if the plants are listed right after, for example 'φυτικά έλαια (ηλιέλαιο, φοινικέλαιο)', and hydrogenated oils must be marked as fully or partly hydrogenated.
Restaurants are different in Greece: under Greek rules on restaurant price lists, the menu must state the type of oil used and what it is used for, and missing details can be fined. So check the small print on the menu.
Say it in Greek
Read these out loud or show your phone to your server. The first two rows are the questions to ask. The rest are the oil names you will see on menus and labels.
| You want to say | Say it like this |
|---|---|
| Ask the kitchen | |
| What oil do you fry with? | Τι λάδι χρησιμοποιείτε για το τηγάνισμα; (Ti ládi chrisimopoieíte gia to tigánisma?) |
| Can you cook it in butter or olive oil? | Μπορείτε να το μαγειρέψετε με βούτυρο ή ελαιόλαδο; (Boreíte na to mageirépsete me voútyro í elaiólado?) |
| Seed oils to watch for | |
| Sunflower oil | ηλιέλαιο (iliélaio), in everyday speech also ηλιόλαδο (iliólado) |
| Canola oil | έλαιο ελαιοκράμβης (élaio elaiokrámvis), also called κραμβέλαιο (kramvélaio) or 'canola' |
| Soybean oil | σογιέλαιο (sogiélaio), or έλαιο σόγιας (élaio sógias) |
| Vegetable oil (often a seed oil blend) | φυτικό έλαιο (fytikó élaio), colloquially σπορέλαιο (sporélaio, seed oil) |
| Fats to ask for | |
| Olive oil | ελαιόλαδο (elaiólado) |
| Butter | βούτυρο (voútyro) |
| Lard | λαρδί (lardí) or ξίγκι, also spelled ξύγκι (xíngi), or χοιρινό λίπος (choirinó lípos, pork fat) |
| Beef tallow | βοδινό λίπος (vodinó lípos), or ζωικό λίπος (zoikó lípos, animal fat) |
| In between | |
| Palm oil | φοινικέλαιο (foinikélaio) |
Tips for eating out in Greece
- Check the small print at the bottom of the menu. Greek rules say menus must state which oils are used and for what, so look for ελαιόλαδο (olive oil), ηλιέλαιο (sunflower oil) or σπορέλαιο (seed oil) next to τηγάνισμα (frying). Not every menu shows it clearly, so still ask.
- Order dishes made with olive oil or not fried at all: ladera (vegetables stewed in olive oil, such as fasolakia green beans or briam), the bean soup fasolada, grilled fish and meat, and village salad.
- At souvlaki and gyros shops, ask for your pita without fries, or ask what oil they fry in. Souvlaki is grilled and gyros is roasted on a spit, so the fryer is the main concern.
- In everyday Greek, 'λάδι' (ládi) on its own usually means olive oil. To get a clear answer, ask 'Ελαιόλαδο ή ηλιέλαιο;' (Elaiólado í iliélaio?), meaning olive oil or sunflower oil?
- On bakery items and packaged pastries, 'βούτυρο' means butter. Cheaper pastries may use margarine (μαργαρίνη) or vegetable oils ('φυτικά έλαια'), so read the label or ask 'Με βούτυρο;' (Me voútyro?, With butter?).
Use the app on your trip
Seed Oil Tracker has local menus for 8 chains in Greece. Switch your country in Settings before you go.
Download for iPhone Get it on Google Play
Free to download. Want the full tour first? See what the app does.
Sources
The cooking, label and tip sections come from these pages. The chain fryer oils come from our own records.
- Greek cuisine (Wikipedia). Olive oil central, ladera dishes cooked in olive oil, butter at breakfast, souvlaki and gyros as street food
- Olive oil (Wikipedia). Greece has by far the highest per-person consumption (figures differ between tables)
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex VII (wording checked on the UK legislation.gov.uk copy of the EU text)
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, official text on EUR-Lex (page would not load for us)
More countries
Menus, recipes and rules change, so treat this page as a starting point and check the label or ask in the moment. Need a refresher on what counts? See what seed oils are and the full list. Back home, the eating out playbook covers restaurants in the U.S.