Gerolimanos, Mani, Laconia
I’ve been having a wonderful time here in Greece so far this summer and one of the aspects I love about my vacation is that everywhere I go, there’s fresh, local Greek food products available. I eventually will have to go back to Canada and as reality sets in, so to will the fact that I can’t get all this Greek food items back in Canada. However, I can get most of them and here’s when you an get them too!
Earlier this summer I was invited to take a tour of the Krinos Canada facility, located in Vaughn, just outside of Toronto. Krinos is an affiliate of Krinos Foods of the US and now they have facilities in New York, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
This company began fifty years ago from importing olives to the US and it’s now North America’s largest producers and distributors of Greek specialty products. Life here in Canada wouldn’t be the same for Greek families such as mine without Krinos.
Us Greeks want our olive oil, our cheeses, our sea salt, herbs, pasta, legumes, pickled/preserved vegetables and fruits, jarred grape leaves and of course, our phyllo pastry. People used to have to go to a Greek grocer to buy these specialty or ethnic items but Greek and Mediterranean cuisine has entered the mainstream and these same goods are now often found in your neighborhood supermarkets!
My tour consisted of visiting the warehouse where the vast array of products are stored, the adjoining facility where phyllo pastry is made and Krino’s many ready to bake products are assembled (by hand). Then we visited the cold-cold warehouse where the cheeses and yogurts were kept.
Kyknos brand tomato paste from Nafplio
Krinos also brings in products from Greece that are household staples like Kyknos tomato paste, Melissa and Misko pasta, Athena sea salt, Minerva extra-virgin olive oil, award winning Attiki honey, Loumidis Greek coffee, Blaxa trahana and Pittas Halloumi from Cyprus.
Greek style yogurt made with 100% Canadian sheep’s milk
Krinos’ website has links to most of their products they currently stock and that’s because customer’s demands are ever changing but I can assure you, there are lots to choose from and I’m relieved knowing that so many products are available here so that I can create Greek dishes I grew up on.
Barrel-aged Feta cheese from Greece
The obvious purchase is Krinos’ cheeses from Greece. They have barrel aged Feta from Parnassos…the gold standard for Feta. Then there’s the Kefalgraviera, Vlahotyri, Mizithra, Manouri, Kasseri and Kefalotyri cheeses and one must not forget Saganaki cheese…OPA!
A huge wheel of Kefalotiri cheese
My family still likes to make their own phyllo but we also always stock the commercial variety and Krinos’ brand has been very consistent. They also sell Kataifi pastry.
Folding and packing phyllo dough at Krinos facility in Toronto
Krinos also distributes one of Greece’s largest olive brands, Minerva and once again, a good Greek salad begins with using good Greek olive oil, like Minerva.
Do you use Krino’s products? At which stores have you seen them? What are some of your favourite products from Krinos? Me…I love Manouri cheese!
Below is a slide show featuring many of the products I saw during my tour of the Krinos facility in Toronto. If you can’t find them, Krinos will be more than happy to direct you to a store near you.
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Tour of Krinos Canada Facility was first posted on August 16, 2013 at 3:58 am.
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