Tirokafteri; (Teer-oh-kaaf-tehr-ee); is a cheese spread

Cheese spread

Cheese spread is a soft, spreadable, cheese or product containing cheese. Many commercial cheese spreads are in the form of cheese slices or cheese triangles.-See also:*Velveeta*Dairylea*Laughing Cow*Cheez Whiz*Easy Cheese*Cream cheese*Liptauer...

 from Greece and surrounding Balkan countries

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

. The preparation of the dish may vary from region to region, but ingredients most commonly include feta cheese

Feta

Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese,...

 (sometimes combined with one or more other types of soft, white cheeses), hot peppers

Chili pepper

Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...

 (such as red cherry pepper), roasted peppers, olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

, lemon juice

Lemon

The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...

, garlic, yoghurt, or oregano. It is commonly eaten as part of a mezze platter, or by itself, with slices of warm pita bread

Pita

Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...

. The dish has a spicy, salty taste, with mellow undertones of olive oil. In recent times, it has gained considerable popularity in a number Greek American

Greek American

Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...

restaurants.