Greece’s Gyros Among World’s Top 3 Most Confusing Dishes

Gyros. Photo source: Unsplash.

A recent study by financial services provider Remitly has unveiled the world’s most perplexing dishes, with Greece’s beloved “gyros” (pronounced yi-ros) securing a prominent place among the top three enigmatic dishes globally.

The research examined over 2,700 dishes from 165 countries, revealing the culinary wonders that often leave people puzzled.

Greek gyros came in third place with over 660,000 annual searches for the dish. Gyros is a hugely popular dish which is made up of meat (often pork or chicken) cooked on a vertical rotisserie which is sliced and wrapped in pita bread along with salad, French fries and tzatziki.

Source: Remitly.

Source: Remitly.

Kimchi, the traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, topped the list as the most baffling dish, with nearly a million annual searches worldwide. Falafel, a Middle Eastern delicacy commonly made with fava beans, claimed the second spot.

The study, which cross-referenced the researched dishes with search terms like “what is” and “how to pronounce,” also identified gyros as the most challenging dish to articulate correctly. With its pronunciation as “yi · ros,” it often gets anglicized as “gyro,” making practice essential to avoid restaurant mishaps.

In addition, pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup pronounced “fuh” rather than “foe,” earned the second spot for its pronunciation difficulties, while gnocchi, the Italian potato dumplings pronounced “no · kee,” rounded off the top three challenging-to-say dishes.

Gyros. Photo source: Unsplash.

Greece’s rich culinary heritage, besides gyros, boasts several dishes that intrigue global palates. Baklava, the sweet pastry, ranked second among the most confusing Greek dishes, followed by tzatziki, souvlaki, spanakopita, taramasalata, saganaki, dolmades, fava, and pastitsio.

“We know that sampling a country’s most popular and traditional dishes can be one of the best parts about visiting or moving to a new country, and a great way to immerse yourself in the culture of a new place,” said Jago McKenzie Business Management Director at Remitly adding that “these specialties can sometimes be hard to pronounce or made of ingredients you are not familiar with.”

In a world where culinary exploration knows no bounds, gyros and other international delicacies continue to spark curiosity, bridging gaps between cultures one delicious bite at a time.