Feta cheese is a staple for many Greek food recipes, so you'll need it to be as authentic as possible. Good feta is made from goat and/or sheep milk, is best in whole large blocks, and is unsalted. Buy it in large quantities, and store it wrapped in paper, in brine, or in olive oil.

A simple way to pit olives for your Greek food is to smack them with the flat of a large knife; the meat will then peel off the pit easily. If you're planning to use a large number of olives, roll over them a few times with a rolling pin. This will loosen the meat from the pit as well.

If you want to pit an olive for your Greek food without smashing the meat, the rolling pin won't do. Instead, try squeezing the olive; the pit might pop put (this works more often with black olives than green ones). Otherwise, you'll need to cut the olive lengthwise and peel off the meat.