Turkish cuisine is renowned as one of the world’s best. It draws its influences from all corners of the former Ottoman Empire, and each region has its own specialities. Turkey is self-sufficient in food production and produces enough surplus for export as well. This means that Turkish food is usually made from fresh, local ingredients and is all the tastier for it.
The traditional tipple is rakı, an aniseed based spirit,which is sometimes known as lion’s milk.
A main meal will usually start with the meze, a variety of small cold and hot dishes which are made for sharing. In many restaurants a waiter will bring these round on a tray for you to inspect and make your choice. In any case, it is common for a Turk to have a look at the food being prepared in the kitchen before deciding on what to eat, so if you are not sure, don’t feel shy about asking. Meze includes anything from dips such as taramasalata and cacik
(yoghurt, garlic and cucumber) to dolma (anything stuffed with rice such as vine leaves or peppers), karides (prawns) or arnavut ciÄŸer (cubes of liver fried with spices and onions). Turks have hundreds of ways to prepare aubergine and imam bayıldı is one of the best; aubergine cooked in olive oil and filled with tomato and onions, its name literally means ‘the priest swooned’ – presumably due to the delicious taste. The main course is usually meat or fish. Turks always eat bread with their meal and main courses are usually served with rice. Typically a çoban salatası, a ‘shepherd’s salad’of tomato, cucumber and onion, dressed with olive oil and served with lemon, will be placed in the middle of the table to share. Lamb is the most common meat and this and chicken are prepared in a variety of ways and usually grilled.
ÅžiÅŸkebab (cubes of meat on a skewer) is popular and well known. Köfte, which are like small lamb burgers are well worth trying and those who prefer something a little spicier should order the Adana kebab, which is also made of minced lamb but with the addition of peppers and formed around a skewer. There are numerous variations and regional specialities of the kebab. Somewhat rich but very tasty, is the Ä°skender or Bursa kebab, named respectively after Alexander the Great and the town in which it originated, which is slices of döner meat layered with yoghurt, tomato sauce and pitta bread.
Turks are also fond of stews or what they term sulu yemek (food with sauce) and there are restaurants which specialise in these and will usually have large containers of the different varieties on display. Ä°stanbul and the coastal resorts are big on fish and seafood. Mostly fish is simply grilled to bring out its natural flavour and there is a wide variety of seafood meze including midye tava (or mussel kebab served on a skewer). It is worth asking for recommendations but some of the most tasty are levrek (seabass) and kalkan (turbot). Fish is often sold by weight and many restaurants will show you the freshly caught fish to make your choice before cooking it. Do check the price, however, as it can workout to be relatively expensive.Mostly a meal will be rounded off by aplate of fresh fruit, beautifully preparedand placed in the centre of the table forsharing.
Karpuz (water melon) and kavun(melon) are popular. Those with a sweettooth will be delighted by the sticky,honeyed desserts. There are many varieties,of which baklava (layers of filo pastry andpistachio nuts soaked in honey) is perhapsthemost common.Also worth trying is thesütlaç, a cold, slightly sweet milky ricepudding. The adventurous might want toorder tavuk gögusu, a milk pudding madefrom pounded chicken breast – it soundsstrange but is actually delicious, and whenwell made it is impossible to tell it is madefrom chicken.Turkish breakfast kahvaltı usually consistsof fresh white bread, honey, beyaz peynir– cheese similar to feta, literally translatedas ‘white cheese’– tomatoes, cucumberand black olives, washed down with blacktea. The Turkish equivalent of a fry up is menemen a type of omelette with peppersand other vegetables or eggs fried with
sucuk, a garlic sausage.
Soup has a special place in the Turkish diet and is drunk at any time of day. There are cafes which only serve soup and are popularly frequented after a big night out. Mercimek (lentil) and domates (tomato) are common as are more exotic soups such as iÅŸkembe (tripe), yayla (yoghurt with mint) and düÄŸün (literally ‘wedding’soup) which contains egg and lemon.
Börek can be served as part of a meze or as a snack on its own. It is frequently translated on menus as ‘pie’ which is completely misleading. It is actually different variations on filo pastry filled with cheese, minced meat, egg, potato or spinach – or combinations thereof. Sigarabörek and muska börek are respectively small cigar and triangle-shaped filo parcels usually filled with cheese, which come as a part of the meze. Su böreÄŸi is layered pastry which is soft and runny and can be served with sugar or white cheese as a snack, and can taste more like thin layers of pasta than pastry.
Fast food
Turkey is full of street vendors selling all sorts of different snacks, from the beter known döner kebab, which can be made of chicken or lamb to kokoreç, which is lamb entrails cooked on a skewer – popular with the locals, but not for the timid. Turks have their own variety of pizza, pide, a type of pitta bread with toppings such as cheese, minced meat, egg and sucuk (garlic sausage) as well as lahmacun which is a very thin flat bread spread with minced meat, which is rolled up before eating.
Vegetarians
The concept of choosing not to eat meat is somewhat alien to the average Turk, so it can be difficult for them to grasp that, for example, a strict vegetarian would not want to eat vegetables cooked in meat stock. Many Turks do not even count chicken as meat but use the term to refer only to red meat. Although strict vegetarians should bear this in mind, there are plenty of options available such as the vegetable meze dishes and snacks such as börek or pide with cheese or egg toppings and fillings, as well as the obvious choices such as omelettes, toasted sandwiches and soups. Those who eat fish will find that they have no problems as seafood is popular in all coastal areas.
Soft Drinks
Common fruit juices include viÅŸne – sour cherry juice - and ÅŸeftali – peach. Another favourite drink, particularly in hot weather, which is credited with curing all ills, is ayran, a yoghurt drink, which is often salted and, therefore, somewhat of an acquired taste. Bottled mineral water or su is cheap and easily available and fizzy drinks are sold everywhere.
Alcoholic Drinks
Alcohol is freely available in Turkish resorts and cities. It is only if you are heading off the beaten track or to particularly conservative areas that you may have to check whether or not restaurants serve alcohol. The traditional tipple is rakı, an aniseed based spirit, which is sometimes known as lion’s milk. It is clear but turns cloudy when water is added. Most people do dilute it with water although some drink it only with ice. It is unusual for a Turk to drink alcohol without eating at the same time. Rakı traditionally accompanies a meal of fish and in-between meals, melon and/ or white cheese are often served alongside it. Turkey is credited with being the first nation to produce wine and in recent years this traditional art has experienced something of a renaissance. Local
wine producers have been studying the latest methods used in other countries and importing or developing grapes, and this, combined with the favourable local conditions has produced some excellent results. Most people will be pleasantly surprised by the varieties of both red and white wine available. Two of the biggest local producers are Doluca and Kavaklidere. Those who prefer beer will not be disappointed in the well-known local brand, Efes. There are also locally produced vodka, brandy, whisky and gin, which are a lot cheaper than imported brands although they can be a little rough and ready.
Tea
Usually Turkish tea or çay is brewed in a sort of combined kettle/ tea pot which is placed directly on the hob and has water boiling in the bottom section and tea brewing in the top so it can be made weaker or stronger as required. It is drunk from small tulip-shaped glasses, always black and usually with plenty of sugar. Unless you specifically ask for Turkish tea, hotels will assume you want English tea and often present you with a cup of boiling water and a tea bag on the side.
Coffee
Turkish coffee or Türk kahvesi is the perfect way to finish off a good meal. When ordering you specify whether you want it sade (plain), orta (with some sugar) or ÅŸekerli (very sweet) and it is brewed with the specified amount of sugar mixed in with the coffee granules. It is served in small cups. It is quite an art to know when to stop drinking as one sip too many and you will end up with a mouthful of the sludgy residue whichfalls to the bottom of the cup. Even this hasits uses, however, as you may find a localwilling to tell your fortune from it – coveryour cup with the saucer, wait until it becomescold when you will be asked to turn it upsidedown, turn it around several times and thenyour destiny will be divined from the shapeswhich are formed. It is said that it was the
Ottomans who introduced coffee to Europe when their retreating army left bags full of it at the gates of Vienna.
Turkish Delight
One of Turkey’s most famous exports, lokum or Turkish delight as we know it, comes inmany flavours and not only the rose, lemonand pistachio varieties which are commonelsewhere. It is often served with Turkishcoffee at the end of a meal. There are nowsome Turkish Delight factories where youcan book a tour to watch it being made andsample the wares. |
