Kritharaki – Greek orzo-style egg pasta, 500 g cooks in 7–8 minutes • small pasta shape absorbs stock and sauce well • for soups, sauces and as a side
Small in shape but built for saucy dishes. Geusi Vounou Kritharaki have a mild wheat-and-egg flavour and mix evenly with chopped vegetables, meat, mushrooms and cheese. They are pasta, not rice.
- ● Simple recipe • semolina, flour, eggs, water and salt
- ● No preservatives • according to the pack
- ● Easy to spoon • useful in one-pot dishes and baked pasta recipes
Kritharaki – Greek egg pasta shaped like grains of rice (Geusi Vounou, 500 g)
Geusi Vounou Kritharaki are small Greek egg pasta shaped like elongated grains. They resemble rice, but their ingredients and preparation are those of pasta. In English-language recipes, a similar shape is also known as orzo.
Kritharaki have a gentle wheat and egg flavour. Their small shape absorbs stock, tomato sauce, melted butter, olive oil and meat juices well, so they can be served as a side dish, added to soup or used as the base of a more substantial meal.
In Greek cooking, kritharaki are served on their own with cheese and sauce, added to soups and used in baked dishes with a tomato base, vegetables or meat. They can also be prepared by gradually adding stock, in a similar way to risotto.
How to use
- Boiling in water – add the pasta to boiling salted water and cook for approximately 7–8 minutes.
- As a side dish with sauce – drain and combine with a tomato, vegetable, mushroom or meat sauce.
- Cooking in stock – add hot stock gradually and stir regularly until the pasta is tender.
- Soups, salads and baked dishes – use in soup, as the base of a cold pasta salad or as part of a baked dish.
Kritharaki absorb liquid as they cook and continue to soften slightly once removed from the heat. When cooking them directly in sauce or stock, add the liquid gradually and do not leave the finished dish to stand for too long before serving.
Suitable for
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For quick kritharaki with a tomato base. Thin the sauce with a little water or stock and finish the cooked pasta briefly in the sauce. - Organic Acaia extra virgin olive oil
For toasting the pasta before adding liquid and for finishing the dish. Add a small amount of oil once the pasta has finished cooking. - Greek blend of oregano, thyme and sweet paprika
For baked dishes with tomatoes and meat. Add the seasoning to the sauce before the kritharaki.
Did you know?
- Kritharaki are not rice, although their shape resembles elongated grains of rice.
- The small pasta can be cooked in water, directly in stock or in a sufficiently thin sauce.
- The label states a cooking time of 7–8 minutes and that the product is free from preservatives.
The product is not labelled organic.
Kritharaki – key features
- Traditional Greek pasta – a small shape used as a side dish, in soups and as the base of baked dishes.
- Rice-grain shape – easy to eat with a spoon and combines evenly with sauce.
- Not rice – the product is prepared and used in the same way as standard pasta.
- Simple ingredients – semolina, flour, eggs, water and salt.
- Free from preservatives – the packaging states that the product contains no preservatives.
- Cooks in 7–8 minutes – quick preparation in boiling salted water.
- Several ways to use it – in soups, salads, sauces, dishes cooked in stock and baked dishes.
- 500 g pack – enough for several main-course or side-dish servings.
Kritharaki work well in dishes where the pasta takes on the flavour of the stock or sauce. Their small shape mixes evenly with chopped vegetables, meat, mushrooms and cheese.
Why choose Geusi Vounou
Geusi Vounou is a family-run agricultural business from the Grevena region of northern Greece. Its fields lie near the village of Vatolakkos at an altitude of approximately 680 metres, and the business grows, processes and packs food under its own brand.
The brand’s story draws on the legacy of grandmother Magdalini, who passed on the family’s respect for nature, farming and traditional methods of preparing ingredients. The current generation continues this approach through modern processing, standardisation and control of each stage of production.
Geusi Vounou aims to introduce regional Greek ingredients and traditional foods beyond Greece. It uses organic labelling only for specifically certified products; other items in the range are listed without organic status.
A family story
The brand builds on the family’s agricultural experience and the legacy of grandmother Magdalini.
From the Grevena region
The business is based in Vatolakkos near Grevena, with fields at an altitude of approximately 680 metres.
Its own agricultural base
Geusi Vounou combines growing ingredients with processing, packing and selling them under its own brand.
Clear organic labelling
Organic status applies only to certified products, not automatically to the brand’s full range.
Ingredients
SEMOLINA, FLOUR, EGGS, water, salt.
Allergens: eggs, gluten.
FAQ
What are kritharaki?
Kritharaki are small Greek pasta shaped like elongated grains of rice.
Are kritharaki rice?
No. They resemble rice only in shape. They are egg pasta made from semolina, flour, eggs, water and salt.
Are kritharaki traditional Greek pasta?
Yes. Kritharaki are traditional Greek pasta and are served as a side dish, added to soup or used as the base of baked dishes.
What do kritharaki taste like?
They have a gentle wheat and egg flavour. They readily take on the flavour of stock, sauce, fat and the other ingredients used.
How long do kritharaki take to cook?
The label states a cooking time of approximately 7–8 minutes in boiling salted water.
Can kritharaki be cooked directly in sauce?
Yes. The sauce must contain enough liquid, as the pasta absorbs liquid while cooking. Add hot water or stock as needed.
What are kritharaki served with?
They work well with tomato, vegetable, mushroom and meat sauces, as well as in soups, salads and baked dishes.
What are the ingredients in kritharaki?
According to the label, the ingredients are semolina, flour, eggs, water and salt.
Do kritharaki contain preservatives?
No. The label states that the product is free from preservatives.
Are kritharaki organic?
The product is not labelled organic.
Additional parameters
| Category: | Food |
|---|---|
| EAN: | 5214002734862 |
| Country of origin: | Greece |
| Manufactured by: | Geusi Vounou, Βατόλακκος, Grevená, Greece |
| Vhodné pro: | GMO Free |
| Size: | 500 g |
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Geusi Vounou – “taste of the mountains” from Grevena, Greece
Geusi Vounou (Greek: Γεύση Βουνού, literally “taste of the mountains”) is a family agricultural business from Vatolakkos near Grevena in northern Greece. The brand is run by Vasilis Karapas, an agronomist from a farming family who planted his first oregano on family land in 2014 while still studying. He later added Greek mountain tea, thyme, sage, saffron, lemon balm, other aromatic plants and pulses.
His grandmother Magdalini was an important influence, teaching the family how to work with local herbs and emphasising the value of traditional plant material. What began as a small student project developed into an agricultural brand combining Greek farming and culinary traditions with modern processing control, packing and export.
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Not an anonymous brand. A real farm in Western Macedonia.
- Fields near Vatolakkos at approximately 600 m above sea level – not 680 m, as our website previously stated incorrectly.
- A family farming tradition – Vasilis grew up working in the fields and built on the experience of previous generations.
- Farm-grown herbs are naturally shade-dried to avoid unnecessary loss of aroma during drying.
- Herbs and pulses form the core of the farm’s own production. We use organic claims only for products that are individually certified; the brand’s wider range is not automatically organic.
Greek agricultural press reported in 2023 that the family farm covered approximately 50 hectares, including around 20 hectares of pulses and about 14 hectares of aromatic plants. Cereals used in crop rotation also remained part of the farming system. For the pulses and aromatic crops, the source reported certified organic cultivation.
Why Greek herbs are more than “just another oregano”
With Geusi Vounou, the main difference is not decorative packaging but provenance and the way the raw material is handled. Vasilis describes manual work from planting and weeding through harvesting, drying and packing. With aromatic plants, the aim is to preserve the character of the whole plant with as little processing as possible before packing.
For customers outside Greece, it is also useful to understand what individual Greek ingredients actually are and how they are used. A literal translation of the name is not always enough. Greek mountain tea, dittany, trahanas, kritharaki, hilopitaki and petoura are not marketing terms; they are specific traditional herbs, foods or types of pasta with their own uses.
From herbs and pulses to the wider Greek pantry
Today’s Geusi Vounou range is broader than the farm’s original production. At PraveBio.cz we therefore distinguish between two parts of the assortment:
- The farm-grown core: oregano, thyme, sage, lemon balm, Greek mountain tea, saffron, other herbs and pulses.
- The wider Greek range: traditional pasta, honey, mushrooms and truffle products, flavoured olive oils and other regional foods.
For each product we therefore check origin, ingredients, organic certification, the traditional name and the correct way to use it. The aim is not to sell customers “something Greek” without context, but to explain what makes each ingredient different, how to prepare it and why it has a place in Greek cooking.
Vasilis Karapas: from the first oregano crop to an export brand
Vasilis Karapas was born in Grevena in 1994 and studied agricultural development and farm business management in Thessaloniki. He has worked professionally in agricultural production and packing since 2014. Oregano was the first crop, followed by other aromatic plants and pulses.
Greek media reported in 2024 that more than 70% of production was exported. Exports began in Germany in 2018 and later expanded to other European countries, including the Czech Republic. Geusi Vounou was not created as a souvenir brand for tourists; it grew out of a working agricultural business and now sells its products across several markets.
Geusi Vounou at PraveBio.cz
PraveBio distributes Geusi Vounou in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. As with Ceylon Kokonati, we explain the differences between individual products, their Greek names, how they are used in the kitchen and the genuine USPs of each ingredient. Organic claims are used only where they apply to the specific certified product.
