Wonder Food

Your piece on Greek cooking (“Secrets of a Greek Grandmother,” Jan. 13) is fabulous and is being promptly added to our collection of Armenian cookbooks! Both ethnic groups, which are akin in so many ways, seem to approach cooking with zest and creativity as well as utmost enjoyment, which shows up in their delectable dishes. Feta cheese, which figures prominently in so many ways in Greek cuisine, is often avoided by so many of us who are on salt-free diets. Our family secret is to have feta cheese first soaked for several days in milk, then rinsed in cold water and eaten in a salad or a sandwich or whatever. The taste of this desalted feta is still delicious though it may lack the punch of the original.

Also, the piece on “The Soul of Pilaf” by Charles Perry (Food, Dec. 9) reveals dramatically the multicultural characteristic of this wonder food. Those of us who have grown up relishing it have long suspected it and I, for one, am delighted that it’s now out in the open. I’m adding Perry’s piece to my collection, too.

SHERRY TERZIAN

Los Angeles