Eton Mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of strawberries, pieces of meringue and whipped cream. It is traditionally served at Eton College’s annual cricket game against rival Harrow School (both are among the most prestigious secondary schools in the U.K.), and on any other day that one wants to eat it.

The recipe has been known by this name since the 19th century. Variations include bananas instead of strawberries and a scoop of ice cream, which actually preceded the addition of the meringues.

Why is it called a “mess?” According to Merriam-Webster, the word may refer to the appearance of the dish or may be used in the older sense of a prepared dish of soft food.

The recipe version below was sent to us by Safest Choice pasteurized eggs—the eggs to use when the recipe requires eggs that aren’t cooked, like Caesar salad, eggnog, mousse and steak tartare. (You can also pasteurize eggs at home.)

A mess indeed, but a delicious mess! Photo courtesy SharedAppetite.com.

RECIPE: ETON MESS

Ingredients For 4 Servings

For The Chocolate Chip Meringues

 
For The Chocolate Covered strawberries

Crushed meringues give the dish texture. Photo courtesy SharedAppetite.com.

For The Whipped Cream

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 275°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy and soft peaks form. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat, adding the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until all the sugar has been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. The meringue is done when the peaks are stiff, hold their shape, and no grit is felt from the sugar. Gently fold in the chopped chocolate.

2. LINE two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Drop the meringues by the spoonful (about 2 tablespoons each) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the meringue easily peels away from the parchment paper. Cool completely on a wire rack. Meringues can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container for several days.

3. MAKE the chocolate-covered strawberries. Melt the chocolate in a microwave; dip the whole strawberries and set on wax paper or parchment to dry.

4. COMBINE the diced strawberries, sugar and vanilla extract in a small mixing bowl. Let sit for approximately 15-30 minutes to macerate.

5. MAKE the whipped cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. To avoid splashing, start on a lower speed and increase the speed as the whipped cream begins to take shape. Beat to the desired stiffness. If you won’t be using it right away, cover and place in the refrigerator. It will keep for several hours, and might need a quick whip with a whisk to regain its shape.

6. BREAK 8-12 meringues by hand: A good variety of big and small pieces creates good texture in the dessert.

7. LAYER approximately 1/2 cup whipped cream in 8 dessert bowls. Top with a few spoonfuls of macerated strawberries, and a generous sprinkling of dark chocolate and crushed meringues. Top with a chocolate covered strawberry and serve.
  

A gyro is a Greek lamb sandwich on pita bread, roasted on a vertical spit and served with tomato, onion, and tzatziki, a yogurt-cucumber sauce (recipe). Other condiments and sauces can be added or substituted.

While lamb is traditional, chicken or pork can be used; outside Greece, you can find beef, lamb or another sausage, even veal. In addition to slices of meat, the meat can be minced and shaped into small patties.

The word “gyro” comes from the Greek word for “turn,” referencing the meat that is turning on the spit (see the photo towards the bottom of this article). A deboned leg of lamb is grilled on a rotating vertical spit and shaved off the leg in thin slices for the gyro.

Eating food off of pita bread or wrapping food in pita is an Ancient Greek tradition; the pita is served as an edible plate. The tradition continues today—although you’ll also get a piece of foil or kitchen parchment to hold the pita from a street vendor, and a plate in a restaurant.

> The recipe is below.

> Also check out the Greek gyro bowls: great if you don’t want pita (or even if you do).

> National Gyro Day is September 1st.

> The year’s 27+ sandwich holidays.

> The recipe for lamb gyros with feta is below.

> The different types of sandwiches: a photo glossary.
 
GYRO HISTORY

Gyros, per se, originated in Greece, following the döner kebab of Turkey. Grilling stacked meat on a vertical spit and cutting cooked slices to serve is a technique developed in the Turkish city of Bursa in the 19th century.

Döner kebab literally means “rotating roast.” The sliced meat and other sandwich fixings were served on pita or other flatbread. Other relatives include shawarma from the Middle East and tacos al pastor from Mexico.

The reason Americans eat “gyros” and not “doner kebabs” can be traced to the larger amount of Greek immigrants to the U.S. in the 20th century. They set up gyro stands and introduced a welcome fast food to the nation.

The word gyro/gyros was in use in English at least by 1971 [source].

> The history of pita bread.

> The history of bread.

> The different types of bread: a photo glossary.
 
 
MAKE YOUR OWN GYROS

Most people eat gyros made by food vendors, but for National Pita Day, try making your own at home. The recipe below is adapted by one from Maria Benardis, award-winning author, chef and founder of Greekalicious, Sydney, Australia’s first exclusively Greek cooking school.

But for Maria’s recipe you don’t need a spit: Roasting the lamb is just as delicious.
 
 
PICK YOUR MEAT

If you don’t like lamb or don’t want to roast a whole leg, you can use any of the following:

 
PLUS

 
 
RECIPE: FETA-CRUSTED LAMB GYROS WITH
HERBED YOGURT SAUCE

[1] Gyros made from chopped meat patties, with the traditional tzatziki sauce (yogurt and cucumber). Here’s the recipe from The Little Spice Jar (photo © The Little Spice Jar).

[2] Pork gyros served American style, with fries. Sometimes, a smaller number of fries are tucked into the pita, alongside the meat (recipe by Sam Sifton, photo © Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times, food stylist Maggie Ruggiero, prop stylist Rebecca Bartoshesky).

[3] Steak gyros. Here’s the recipe from Le Creme De La Crumb (photo © Le Creme De La Crumb).

Instead of the standard tzatziki yogurt-cucumber-garlic-dill sauce, Maria makes a herbed yogurt sauce which eliminates the cucumber but adds basil, mint and parsley. (It’s also a delicious dip.)

Maria also adds the baby potatoes to the gyro, but we prefer to serve them on the side. You can replace them with an all-American side of fries.
 
Ingredient For 8 Servings

 
For The Lamb

[5] A lamb sausage gyro from Kevin Eats (photo © Kevin Eats).

For The Feta Mixture

 
For The Herbed Yogurt Sauce

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 355°F (180°C). Place the lamb and potatoes in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper.

2. PLACE all ingredients for the feta mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth and thick. Coat the lamb well with the feta mixture. Drizzle some olive oil over the top of the lamb and the potatoes. Add enough water to the baking dish to just cover the base.

4. COMBINE the ingredients for the yogurt sauce in a food processor and blend until all the herbs are chopped and the sauce is smooth and thick. Place in a bowl and refrigerate. When the lamb is ready…

5. SLICE the lamb thinly. Warm the pita; if you like, you can lightly brush each side with olive oil and place the bread on a hot grill or in a grill pan for warming and grill marks.

6. ASSEMBLE: Place some yogurt sauce in the center of the pita, arugula and slices of tomato and onion. Top with some lamb and some more yogurt sauce. Serve flat, with an optional side of roasted potatoes.
 
Find more of Maria’s delicious recipes at Greekalicious.com.au.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

 
 
 

[6] Avoiding bread? Try these lamb gyro bowls. No pita is required—but don’t let that stop you from enjoying some. Here’s the recipe (photo © Tasty Yummies).
  

> The 2026 list is below.
 
 
2015: AN INFORMAL LIST

Nation’s Restaurant News (NRA) reports something that may not even be news: Italian food remains America’s favorite “international” restaurant cuisine. No other cuisine comes close, although Mexican and Chinese round out the “big three.”

Sixty-one percent of the 1,000 people surveyed said they eat Italian food at restaurants at least once a month. By comparison, Mexican cuisine was eaten at least once a month by 50%, and Chinese cuisine by 36%.

We couldn’t find an official survey of the most popular Italian dishes, but one informal survey we found nominated the following as the Top 10 favorite Italian restaurant entrées in the U.S. (excluding pizza, the majority of which is consumed at pizzerias* rather than conventional Italian restaurants):

1. Chicken Parmigiana
2. Fettuccine
3. Lasagna
4. Linguine With Clam Sauce
5. Veal Marsala
6. Chicken Saltimbocca
7. Pasta Primavera
8. Shrimp Fra Diavolo
9. Penne Alla Vodka
10. Spaghetti Marinara (with tomato sauce)

 
Our own Top 10 list would be different, but we wouldn’t turn any of these down! And we’d add our own Top 10 Italian Desserts list: cannoli, panna cotta, zabaglione, tiramisu, berries with mascarpone, riccota cheesecake, biscotti, gelato/semifreddo/spumoni/tortoni, sorbetto/granita and bomboloni.

The NRA defines “ethnic” cuisine broadly as any cuisine originating in a different country or within a specific region of the United States. We prefer the term “international cuisine” (it’s hard to think of French and Italian food as “ethnic”), but that doesn’t always work. American cuisnes—think Cajun and Creole—are ethnic but not international, as are California, Hawaiian, New England, Southern and Southwestern cuisines, among others.

Choose the term you like better and read the full article at NRN.com.
 
 
2024: THE YOUGOV LIST (INACCURATE!)

A YouGov survey data from 2024-2025, claims that these are the top 10 favorite Italian dishes in the United States. However, three of their Top 10 aren’t even Italian! And Pasta With Chicken And Garlic Sauce? Is that a “Top 10” thing now? What happened to Chicken Parm?

In order of popularity, YouGov’s methodology has produced:

1. Spaghetti with Meatballs: 84%
2. Ravioli: 80%
3. Pasta with Tomato Sauce: 80%
4. Macaroni and Cheese: 80% (NOT ITALIAN!*)
5. Lasagna: 78%
6. Caesar Salad: 74% (NOT ITALIAN!*)
7. Pasta with Chicken and Garlic Sauce: 73%
8. Fettuccine Alfredo: 73%
9. Taco Salad: 72% popularity (NOT ITALIAN!*)
10. Baked Ziti: 68% popularity

*Caesar Salad was created by an an Italian immigrant restaurateur Caesar Cardini, in Tijuana, Mexico in the 1920s (the history of Caesar Salad).

*Taco Salad? Definitely Tex-Mex, developed by the inventor of Fritos for Disneyland in 1955 (the history of Taco Salad).

*Mac and cheese was invented by Thomas Jefferson (or his cook—the history of macaroni and cheese).

So let’s get on with a better list.
 
 
2026: THE ABACUS LIST

We asked one of our favorite A.I. “consultants,” Abacus, for its take. It advised, of course, that there is no one official list. “But based on U.S. restaurant menus, sales, and general popularity, these are the 10 Italian (or Italian‑American) dishes that are consistently the biggest hits in the U.S.:”

1. Pizza (especially pepperoni & Margherita)
2. Spaghetti With Meatballs (or Bolognese, meat sauce)
3. Lasagna
4. Fettuccine Alfredo
5. Chicken Parmigiana
6. Garlic Bread
7. Ravioli
8. Baked Ziti and other baked pasta casseroles
9. Tiramisu
10. Cannoli

 
We vote with Abacus!

[2] Spaghetti and Meatballs.

[3] Lasagna.

[4] Fettuccine Alfredo. Our favorite variation adds green peas and pancetta (photos #4 and #5 © Taste Of Home).

[6] Garlic Bread. The photo for Number 5, Chicken Parm, is below.

[7] Ravioli (photo © Chesapeake Bay).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Elote is the Aztec (Nahuatl) word for what the corn on the cob. It is pronounced ay-LOW-tay. Removed from the cob, the recipe has a different name, esquites, from the Nahuatl word for toasted corn, ízquitl.

This hack from Good Eggs in San Francisco eliminates the need for a grill. Just use a gas range to turn ears of fresh corn into this Mexican street treat.

Here’s more about elote, including an off-the-cob elote salad.
 
 
RECIPE: STOVE TOP ELOTE

Ingredients

1. USE tongs to hold the ears of corn directly over the stove top flame, turning to to blister the kernels.

2. REMOVE from the heat, slather with butter, roll in crumbled queso fresco and finish with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of ancho chile powder.
 
 
ELOTE CONDIMENTS

In Mexico people serve the classics: ancho chili powder, lime, queso blanco. But in the U.S., some people substitute mayonnaise or sour cream (crema) for the butter.

Pepper or seasoned salt are also options (lemon pepper is popular in Texas, per Wikipedia). Other options: cilantro, fresh parsley, oregano.

Or for a true American take, how about crumbled bacon?
  

But according to Spiegelau, a manufacturer of fine glassware in Bavaria, Germany, we have it all wrong. You only get about 15% of the flavor of the beer when you drink it from the bottle.

That’s because smell, not palate, is the major component of taste (and explains why you can lose your taste when you have a badly congested nose and can’t smell). You get zero aroma through the narrow neck of the beer bottle, covered by your mouth as you take each sip.

When you pour beer into a glass, the head* releases the bubbles (carbon dioxide) that burst into aroma.

On top of that, different types of beer benefit from different shaped glasses, engineered to bring out the special attributes of the beer (Riedel, the parent company of Spieglau, was the pioneer in developing different wine glass types).

Engineered to bring out the best in American craft beers: from left, IPA, wheat beer and stout glasses. Photo courtesy Spiegelau USA.

Different regions have long made different glass shapes for their beers. Think beyond the German stein to the British pint glass; the tall, tapered Pilsner† glass; the stemmed snifter for Belgian ales and IPAs; the tankard for ales, lagers, stouts and porters; and others. See the different types of beer glasses in the chart below.

 
*The head is produced by bubbles of carbon dioxide gas that rise to the surface. The carbon dioxide is produced during fermentation.
†Pilsner is the English spelling of Pilsener, the German spelling. The name derives from the town of Pilsen, a city in western Bohemia in the Czech Republic, where the style was originally brewed in October 1842—a new, clear, pale golden beer created from new malts, Pilsen’s remarkably soft water, Saaz noble hops and Bavarian-style lagering. It was a sensation. The Czech spelling of the town is Plzen.

 
CRAFT BEER GLASSES FOR SPECIFIC STYLES OF BEER

Spiegelau has developed a Craft Beer Glass Collection, with custom-designed glasses for the three most popular American craft beer styles: IPA, Stout and Wheat Beer. Each glass is designed, according to the company, to highlight “the complexity of aromas on the nose while demonstrating the optimum beer texture, balance and flavor intensity on the palate.”

Riedel has done this for wine glasses with great success (you won’t believe how much better the wine tastes in a specially engineered wine glass than on a generic one). Now, they’ve done the same for beer.

An expert panel of master brewers tested multiple glass shapes before finding the optimum shape for each beer type. Here’s what resulted:

 
And you thought a glass was just a glass!

Custom-shape beer glasses isn’t hype: It’s precision engineering and it works. Buy yourself a set and test it against what you’re currently using. We had great results with the Spiegelau glasses.

Beer glasses are a great gift for beer connoisseurs, and other companies have gotten the custom-shape message.

MORE BEER STYLE-SPECIFIC GLASSES

Lenox has a new line of beer glasses in four styles: IPA, Pint With Crown, Stemmed Pilsner and Wheat Beer. And surprise: The shapes are totally different from conventional designs—as well as from the Spiegelau designs.

The Pilsner is a stemmed tulip, like the traditional Belgian Ale glass. The IPA and Wheat Beer glasses are tall and narrow with a tapered waist, like the conventional Pilsner glass. The Pint With Crown is a sleeker version of the pub pint glass.

Here’s what they say about their shapes:

 
Frankly, we bet on the precision of the Spiegelau glasses. We’ve tasted with them, and they work! There are no better glassware engineers on earth than Riedel, the parent company of Spiegelau.

We haven’t tried Lenox or other contenders, and you can’t be sure without trying. So we’ll keep testing, and will keep you posted.
 
CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THE GLASSES?

 
If you don’t care about precision engineering but like the idea of different glass shapes for different beers, try:

TRADITIONAL BEER GLASSES
 

See the original chart at DailyInfographics.eu.