My Greek parents tried 15 different Greek Trader Joe's products and ranked them from worst to best

Greek cuisine is the first food I remember falling in love with. Every summer my parents would take me back to Greece to visit our family, and every meal was an adventure. I have fond memories of bright cucumbers and tomatoes glistening in a classic horiatiki, light-as-a-feather lavraki licked with olive oil, and crunchy plates of calamari by the sea.

Back home in California, my parents stayed connected to Greece through food. My mom would make big pans of cheese and spinach pies, while my dad whipped up his famous pastitsio. Cold nights were for avgolemono soup, and Christmas always featured baklava for dessert.

But many Greek dishes take time and effort, so I wanted to introduce my parents to a whole new world of quick and easy Greek items at Trader Joe's. My parents are tough critics, and I was excited to see what would impress them — especially in terms of authenticity.

For this taste test, we grabbed every item we could find with "Greek" or "Greece" on the label from my parents' local Trader Joe's, along with a few products that are very common in Greek cuisine. Then, over the course of a few days, we warmed the frozen pies, whipped up some salads, and sampled more olives than I'd eaten in my entire life.

In addition to taste and authenticity, my parents said they also based their ranking on which products motivated them to go to Trader Joe's over their usual (and closer) grocery store.

"For example, Trader Joe's olive oil and Greek yogurt are good, but they're available in the local supermarket as well," my dad explained.

There were some products that really impressed everyone and a few that definitely won't be purchased again.

Now, without further ado, let's get ranking!

Trader Joe's has some very good Greek olives, but my parents just couldn't get behind this product.

The acidity from the Chalkidhiki olives completely overpowered the tapenade, making every bite super briny and intense.

"I definitely wouldn't buy this again," my dad told me. "The vinegar taste dominates everything."

My parents also weren't impressed with Trader Joe's Greek Olive Medley, which they thought was packed with too many contrasting flavors that just didn't work together.

"I liked the herbs in it, but I didn't like the brine and the texture felt off," my mom said.

While Trader Joe's Greek chickpeas smelled delicious, their taste didn't make much of an impression. We threw some in with our daily Greek salad, and neither the flavor nor texture really wowed us.

"I'm not a fan," my dad told me, getting straight to the point.

Trader Joe's Classic Greek Salad just isn't all that Greek. Horiatiki, as it's known in Greece, traditionally never features lettuce. A good Greek salad is all about the cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and thick, white-chalk chunks of delicious feta.

Our Trader Joe's Greek salad only had two slices of cucumber, and barely any tomato. It mainly consisted of lettuce, a few pitted kalamata olives, and just a dash of feta (along with some red wine vinaigrette).

"It's trying to be Greek, but it's not Greek," my mom said.

"You would never find this salad in Greece," my dad added.

While the veggies tasted fresh, my parents said they'll stick to making their own Greek salads instead.

Trader Joe's Organic Mediterranean-style Salad Kit features romaine lettuce, radicchio, shredded broccoli stalks, seasoned flatbread strips, roasted chickpeas, dried tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, and a vinaigrette that combines extra-virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Both my parents and I far preferred Trader Joe's Mediterranean salad to its Greek one. While it wasn't all that authentic, the combination of flavors was exciting and delicious. The chickpeas and flatbread strips provided a lovely crunch, the greens tasted fresh, and I couldn't get enough of that beautiful vinaigrette.

My mom said she'd still prefer to prepare her own salad, but she'd happily eat this one if she didn't have time. As for me, I've already bought the Mediterranean Salad Kit a few times since returning to my apartment.

Olive oil is essential to Greek cuisine. For as long as I can remember, there have always been Costco-sized tubs of the liquid gold stored in my parents' kitchen cabinets. I figured it'd be tough to impress them with Trader Joe's version, but my parents loved drizzling this on our Greek salads.

But, as my dad pointed out, you can get great Greek olive oil at most supermarkets. He told me he wouldn't go out of his way to grab this one.

Trader Joe's Grecian-style eggplant, which is actually made in Bulgaria, features fried eggplant with peeled tomatoes in a tomato sauce. It's seasoned with parsley, garlic, red pepper, and curry powder.

The eggplant was deliciously rich and packed with tons of flavor, surprising both me and my parents.

"You'd probably find eggplant cooked this way in a Greek village," my mom told me. "I'd definitely buy this again."

I wasn't expecting my parents to be big fans of Trader Joe's Greek Yogurt. I've only ever seen one Greek yogurt brand in their fridge and that's Fage, a major Greek dairy brand that was founded in Athens in 1923. I figured nothing would compare to what they grew up with.

But my parents said they were pleasantly surprised by Trader Joe's Greek yogurt. My dad is even planning to use it the next time he makes tzatziki because it has a better texture for the dip.

"It's not too watery, but not very thick," my dad said. "It's just the right consistency."

According to the label, these jumbo pitted kalamata olives were harvested from "centuries-old olive oil trees throughout Greece."

Both my parents and I were huge fans of these slightly sweet olives, eating them on their own and throwing them in our Greek salads. While the kalamata olives still only scored the seventh spot on my parents' list, they're near the top of mine. I now pick up at least one jar every time I go to Trader Joe's — I love them that much.

Trader Joe's Tzatziki is another Greek item that has made it onto my regular shopping list, and my parents are also huge fans.

My dad said the dip — which features yogurt, cucumbers, and garlic — "definitely tastes authentic."

"It's very nice, and very creamy," he added.

Both my parents make their own tzatziki at home, but said they'd definitely buy Trader Joe's version when they don't feel like putting in the work.

My mom is the biggest feta fan there is. So when she gave Trader Joe's version her stamp of approval, I knew it must be the real deal.

"It's hard to find good feta in the US, but I really like this," she told me.

We all loved the soft but crumbly texture of Trader Joe's Authentic Greek Feta, and the flavor was a delicious mix of salty and subtly rich.

If you had told me at the beginning of this taste test that Trader Joe's Gyro Slices would've made it in the top four of my parents' list, I wouldn't have believed you.

Gyros are something my dad takes very, very seriously. It is one of his favorite foods of all time, and he has frequently lamented how hard it is to find gyros that are even OK — much less good — in the US.

While Trader Joe's version doesn't claim to be "Greek" on the label, my dad was still a huge fan — and would happily buy them again.

It barely takes two minutes to cook the gyro slices in a pan, where they get a lovely hint of crunch. And the thin and nicely-seasoned meat paired great with some pita and tzatziki.

These dolmas — stuffed grapes leaves also known as dolmades in Greece — tasted extra special to my mom.

"They remind me of my mom's," she told me. "They have a great texture, and a touch of lemon flavor, which she always used to add."

Both my parents said Trader Joe's dolmas were the most authentic canned version they've been able to find in the US. And while the label said the dolmas were made in Bulgaria, a Trader Joe's crew member recently informed me that their production first began in Greece.

Dolmades take quite a bit of work to make by hand, so my parents were super excited to find a premade version that they both loved.

It was neck and neck between Trader Joe's Greek Spanakopita and the winner of my parents' number one spot — that's how much they loved both products.

Trader Joe's Greek Spanakopita features a combination of spinach and three different cheeses (feta, mizithra, and a grating cheese). And, according to the product description, the chain "engaged some Athenian bakers" to make their version authentic.

The effort definitely paid off. My mom makes a legendary homemade spanakopita, but both of my parents were big fans of Trader Joe's easy frozen product. My mom praised the spanakopita's balance of flavors and the fact that the spinach still looked and tasted fresh.

"It's crispy, and it's got a good balance of spinach and cheese," my dad added. "There isn't an overwhelming amount of spinach, which I like."

Before this taste test began, I would have never guessed that Trader Joe's 5 Cheese Greek Spiral could win the top spot in my parents' hearts.

Just like spanakopita, my mom makes her own tiropita (as they're called in Greece). So I didn't think there was any way she could be swayed by a frozen version.

But both my parents were very impressed with the 5 Cheese Greek Spiral, which includes Gouda, kasseri, kefalotyri, semi-hard cheese, and blue cheese all stuffed between thin sheets of phyllo. According to the label, the pie is made for Trader Joe's in Greece and is "what you'd find if you were traveling in the Greek Isles."

While my mom said she'd never heard of a Greek cheese pie with blue cheese, she and my dad were still really impressed with all the great flavors in Trader Joe's frozen version.

"Cheese pies can be very salty, but this has the proper amount of saltiness," said my dad, who loved the cheese combination.

"It's also the perfect size," my mom added. "Usually frozen cheese pies in the US come in a huge spiral, and then the extra just ends up getting dry in the fridge."

My parents said the 5 Cheese Greek Spiral is the best frozen cheese pie they've had in the US, and they definitely plan to buy it again and again.

My parents had never been to Trader Joe's before this taste test (crazy, I know), and told me they were blown away by the quality of so many of the Greek products. They thought most of the items we tried were authentic, well-packaged, and well-priced.

"I think it's a great collection of Greek products that offer an excellent Greek eating experience," my mom said. "The combination can bring you to Greece for a day."

And that's definitely cheaper than a plane ticket.