Greek People Don’t Use Vinegar in Their Greek Salads—They Do This Instead

A Greek salad is the ultimate summer dish. It’s cool, crisp, and refreshing, and cuts through any rich BBQ dish you just took off the grill.

Best of all, the recipe is unbelievably simple. I suspect you could whip it up without a recipe at all. But, what if I told you that you’ve probably been making Greek salad wrong all along? 

Most of the classic components are the same—tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and olives. But one significant difference sets an authentic Greek salad apart from the popularized version you eat at your local lunch spot—there is no vinegar or lemon juice in the dressing. 

My mind was blown when Allrecipes Editorial Director and Greek cuisine expert Diana Moutsopoulos shared this food knowledge with me. “Lemon juice? That sounds disgusting,” she said.

Wait, what? Isn’t that pop of acidity crucial to making the medley of flavors sing?

Well, not exactly. In traditional Greek cooking, there is a way to give the fresh vegetable dish a rounder, softer pop of flavor that isn’t as astringent as a shot of red wine vinegar, and in it lies the real beauty of the famed Mediterranean dish. 

Hint: It doesn’t require any extra ingredients at all.

Allrecipes