What to eat Turkey? culinary specialties and gastronomy

As big as one and a half times the size of France, with neighbors as diverse as Greece, Syria and Georgia, Turkey is a country of many landscapes and cuisines. Culminating at more than 5,000 meters above sea level, the highest peaks of Anatolia, covered with eternal snow, stand in contrast to the sun-drenched Mediterranean coastline, while the green coasts of the Black Sea benefit from exceptional rainfall throughout the year. Turkish gastronomy could be divided into five main regional cuisines.
Geographically and culturally close to Greece, the Aegean cuisine is a typical synthesis of the Cretan diet with its abundance of vegetables, fresh cheeses, fish and olive oil. The long, hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters have adorned the western coasts of Turkey with acres of olive groves. The olive oils of this region are among the most prized in the country. Garlic, thyme, parsley, oregano and dill are used to season a multitude of tasty and healthy dishes. To name just a few specialties, there are, for example, the delicate enginar dolması, a recipe for artichoke garnished with a mixture of rice and minced meat. Or the unmistakable yaprak sarması, rolled vine leaves stuffed with a mixture of rice flavored with dill and green onion usually cold and spiced with a dash of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. An appetizer known in Greece as dolma.
On the other hand, the Black Sea has a mild but rainy oceanic climate, where the influences are closer to those found in Georgia or the Balkans. Corn, tea and hazelnuts are grown here. The tiny and delicious anchovies of the Black Sea, known as hamsi, are adored by Turks. They are used in all kinds of sauces, including with bread, in stews, with rice and in many other ways. Among the most popular specialties we observe the unmistakable mıhlama - or kuymak - , a rich cornmeal cheese fondue, resembling a kind of polenta, only much fatter. Hamsi pilavı is a very surprising dish of spiced rice surrounded by a layer of anchovies, all pan-fried as a kind of thick patty. Karadeniz pidesi, an elongated flatbread filled with meat and omelet, is not unlike the Macedonian dish called pastrmajlija, with the only difference being that in Turkey pork is obviously replaced by beef.
Central Anatolia - which includes the country's capital, Ankara, as well as a large part of the Turkish territory - is the country's breadbasket. The extreme temperature variations between hot, dry summers and snowy winters account for the preservation techniques developed in the region.
Roasted meats-such as fırın kebabı, barbecued mutton-as well as legumes, dried fruits, and bulgur make up a rich cuisine. Tarhana, made from a dried mixture of fermented yogurt and flour, is widely used in winter especially to prepare nourishing soups. Konya is also the home of the Mevlevi Sufi order, which has its own culinary traditions. Keşkek is a stew traditionally served at weddings, made from wheat, barley and meat. It is a very old dish that can be found in other forms in Iran, Eastern Europe or Greece.
From the magnificent Kaçkar Mountains to the mythical Ararat, the highest point of the country with its 5,137 m, Eastern Anatolia is undeniably a harsh land where vegetables and fruits are difficult to grow. As a result, grain and meat dishes are more common. The winters are long and cold, allowing for the preservation of dried meats. The Kars region is famous for its roast goose, a meat that is quite rare in the rest of the country. Cağ kebabı is a recipe for spit-roasted mutton.
Southeastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean opens up to Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus. Here the influences become more oriental. The many vegetable, meat, fish and legume dishes are flavored with red pepper, paprika, cumin, mint and sumac, a dark red spice with a sour taste. Honey, nuts and citrus fruits flavor the desserts. This region has one of the most diverse cuisines in Turkey with, for example, beyran, a spicy soup made of lamb, vegetables and rice simmered for a long time. One can also taste the büryan kebabı, lamb cooked underground or, more surprisingly, the perde pilavı, a kind of pie filled with rice spiced with dried fruits. The region's baklava is reputed to be the best in Turkey.

Like tapas in Spain or antipasti in Italy, mezze is one of the pillars of Turkish cuisine. It comes in the form of a variety of small dishes, cold or hot, where salty, sweet and spicy are deliciously mixed. They are served at the beginning of a meal as an appetizer and sometimes even form a complete meal. The word "mezze" comes from Arabic and is also a major element of the cuisine of the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine) and is also found in Greece, Armenia and some Balkan countries. This aperitif, sometimes served as a dinner party, is traditionally served on a sini, a kind of large round brass or copper tray, placed on a low table. Glasses, napkins and cutlery are placed directly on it.
Among the cold dishes are cacık (yogurt with cucumber and garlic), pastırma (dried beef), beyaz peynir (cheese similar to feta),ezme (minced tomato with cucumber and onion),acuka (nut cream with chili), patlıcan ezmesi (eggplant caviar), fasülye pilaki (white beans in tomato sauce), kısır (bulgur salad with tomato and pomegranate), sucuk (spicy lamb sausage) or şakşuka (eggplant and bell pepper salad cooked with tomato). The braver ones will try the çiğ köfte, a very spicy minced lamb or raw beef, although there is also a vegetarian version made with bulgur. Finally çerkes tavuğu is an Anatolian recipe for cold shredded chicken topped with a yogurt nut cream drizzled with chili oil. There are other more basic ingredients such as simply olives which are very popular, or pickled vegetables (cucumber, carrot, beet, etc.) which go by the generic name of turşu.
There is also a wide variety of mezze served hot, such as the unavoidable midye dolma (mussels stuffed with spicy rice), often considered one of the most common street snacks in Istanbul. But also hamsi tava (fried anchovies), kalamar tava (fried squid),arnavut ciğeri (calf's liver with onions) or börek (filo pastry turnover filled with meat, fresh cheese, spinach or leeks). It should be noted that many of the mezes mentioned here have their equivalent in Greece or in the Arab world under a different name.
Although Islam does not condone the consumption of alcohol, Turks are often more flexible on this point, and mezzes are commonly eaten with raki. This grape brandy flavored with aniseed is 45°. Like Greek ouzo or pastis, raki is diluted in water and made milky. To be served iced.

After a hearty platter of mezzes, it's time to move on to the main course. In reality, in Turkey as in other countries of the Middle East, the concept of "starter-main course-dessert" is not as rigid as in France. Often mezzes, grills and soups are presented at the table at the same time. However, in the absence of appetizers, soups can be considered a very popular starter. Turkey is a mountainous country and cities such as Istanbul or Ankara can experience particularly cold winters. One example is theezo gelin çorbası or "bride's soup", served therefore for special occasions made of coral lentils and bulgur. Theişkembe (tripe soup) is said to be the panacea for painful aftermaths. It is prepared in specialized restaurants that stay open all night, to get the revelers back on their feet.
In Turkey, mutton and lamb are the most popular meats, followed by beef and then chicken. To get to the heart of the matter, the choice of kebabs(kebap in Turkish) in Istanbul can be bewildering and often they bear no resemblance to what is eaten in France, where we are only familiar with what Turks call "doner kebap" served in flatbreads with tomato, onions and yogurt sauce. The şiş kebap for example is a skewer of marinated meat cubes(kuzu/lamb, dana/beef or tavuk/chicken) while the very spicyadana kebap comes in the form of a skewer of minced meat. The very impressive vali kebabi is a huge plate of mixed grills: chicken, beef, mutton, vegetables. More surprisingly, the kokoreç is a kebab of finely sliced tripe. Finally, köfte is also a generic term to describe recipes of meatballs, often grilled, but not only, as with sulu köfte, cooked in a tomato and bell pepper sauce, or içli köfte, where the meat is covered with a bulgur paste before being fried. Finally, mantı, a kind of ravioli stuffed with meat, is eaten generously sprinkled with garlic yogurt and a drizzle of melted butter with paprika. This dish is an excellent choice for a Sunday lunch.

With over 7,000 km of coastline shared between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, it is unthinkable to overlook the many fish and seafood dishes the country has to offer. Balık iskender, for example, is a grilled, flaky fish served on flatbread with yogurt sauce and spicy tomato puree. Karides güveç is a dish of shrimp simmered in a tomato sauce with onions, gratinated with kaşar, a variety of Turkish cheese. Many fish or seafood preparations however do not have specific names, but are accompanied by the type of cooking such as tava/frit or izgara/grilled. In addition to anchovies(hamsi or ançeviz), which Turks love, there are also mackerels(uskumru) and sardines(sardalya), which are often eaten between two slices of bread, accompanied by a piece of onion and a dash of lemon juice. The most popular fish is kara göz balık (literally "black eye", a variety of sea bream), but you can also try kalkan (turbot), mersin (sturgeon) or trança (grouper).
With its varied climate, Turkey produces a wide variety of vegetables that are prepared in all kinds of sauces. Eggplant is very popular. It can be found mashed hot with pieces of veal(hünkar beğendi), fried and topped with yogurt(patlıcan tava) or stuffed(karnıyarık). Biber dolmasi is a recipe for bell pepper stuffed with rice and meat. Mücver comes in the form of small croquettes of grated zucchini served with a yogurt sauce. Spinach, carrot, beet, squash and other cabbage are also widely eaten.
Although cultivated in China, rice was once unknown to the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. They took it from the Persians in the ^10th century, when the Seljuk Turks ruled most of the Middle East. Today, it is used in a number of recipes. Unlike in the Far East where rice must be soft and slightly sticky, in Turkey it is preferred to be firm with grains that stand out well. Cooked exclusively by absorption, a method called pilav in Turkish, it is often accompanied by vermicelli or chickpeas. It is garnished with all kinds of ingredients: meat, poultry, fish, seafood, vegetables, dried fruits and so on. Pasta is also popular in Turkish cuisine such as fırın makarna, a macaroni gratin on a bed of minced meat, topped with béchamel cheese au gratin.

As for drinks, it is interesting to note that Turkey produces many quality wines, although they are more expensive than in France on average. If Islam forbids the consumption of wine, the country, by its history and geography, could not detach itself from it, starting with its Ottoman rulers. Wines like Kavaklıdere, Doluca and some others enjoy a good reputation, as well as a large number of highly regarded table wines. Many localities in Turkey produce very good wines, such as Niğde, Nevşehir, Gaziantep, Elazığ, Tokat, Çanakkale, Tekirdağ, Izmir, Bozcaada and Manisa. We will advise for the amateurs to taste the sarafin cabernet sauvignon, in red wine, and the sarafin sauvignon blanc for white wine. Efes Pilsen beer is very popular in Turkey. It is considered to be the best beer in the country, either brown or blond (blond is slightly bitter). Bomonti, also of Turkish origin, can be found in all retailers and bars. Tuborg, a Danish company, brews beyaz (lager) or siyah (dark) beer under license. But there are also many international brands. Among the cold drinks, there is of course a multitude of fruit juices and other carbonated drinks, but for those who prefer to go for the 100% authentic, you should tryayran, a refreshing drink made of a mixture of yoghurt, water and salt. Turks drink it at the table or to quench their thirst during hot weather.

Although it originated in China, it is the Turks who are the biggest consumers of tea in the world with more than 3 kg per year per inhabitant. Cultivated only since the beginning of the ^20th century on the Black Sea coast in the province of Rize, tea, called "çayı" (pronounced "chai"), punctuates the day of all Turks. Tea is prepared according to the samovar principle (water down in a kettle and tea up in a teapot), then served in small tulip-shaped glasses. Turks can easily drink between 10 and 20 glasses of this beverage per day.
Although Turkey does not grow coffee, it is believed that the Turks were the first to introduce it to Europe. Hence the name "Turkish coffee", although it is also called Greek coffee on the other side of the Aegean. It is prepared according to the traditional recipe: sade (no sugar), orta (medium sweet) or şekerli (very sweet), which should be specified when ordering. A glass of water is often brought with the coffee, to be drunk beforehand, to prepare the palate for the tasting. After drinking, traditionally the cup is turned over in the saucer to read the future in the grounds. Finally, there are other hot drinks, such as the consistant boza traditionally sold in winter: it is a drink based on fermented millet that is drunk with a pinch of cinnamon. The sahlep is a delicate hot drink made of milk and sahlep powder, an orchid root.
Between tea and coffee, it is impossible to forget the desserts, as Turkey offers so many possibilities to sweet tooths. Baklava is probably the best known of all. Although it is eaten from the Balkans to Central Asia, it is in Turkey - and Greece - that this multi-layered filo pastry dessert expresses all its diversity. It can be filled with walnuts, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, sometimes a mixture of all four, flavored with cinnamon and soaked in rose water or orange blossom syrup. Bülbül yuvası, whose name could be translated as "nightingale's nest", are filo pastry rings, topped with syrup and garnished with dried fruit. More surprisingly, the Arabic-derived künefe features two layers of angel hair filled with melting mozzarella-like cheese, all sprinkled with chopped pistachios. The laz böreği is a baklava topped with a milk cream found in Greece as galaktoboureko. Tulumba would almost resemble our chichis, but they are soaked in syrup and eaten at room temperature.
There are also many desserts such as sütlaç, a creamy rice pudding flavored with cinnamon, or ayva tatlısı, the Turkish equivalent of the Belle-Hélène pear, but prepared with quince and topped with kaymac, a very fatty fresh cheese similar to mascarpone. But if there's one rather strange Turkish dessert, it's tavuk göğsü or chicken pudding. Yes, you read that right. This recipe is inspired by medieval blancmange recipes where indeed meat, dairy products, dried fruits and spices were mixed into sweet and savory entremets. However, the chicken is poached, minced, rinsed, and then crumbled so finely that you don't feel the taste at all, as it is used primarily for its dense texture. The dessert itself is flavored with cinnamon and rose water. A must try for those who are curious.
We can't stop here without mentioning Turkish sweets. The halva consumed in Turkey - despite its name - is very different from the Indian semolina-based halva. Here, the recipe is more like a dense confectionery close to a nougat flavored with sesame cream(tahini) and filled with pistachios, almonds or honey. And of course it is impossible to miss the famous loukoum. Although this sweet is extremely old, the modern version dates back to the beginning of the ^19th century, thanks to Hacı Bekir whose recipe pleased so much that he was appointed chief confectioner at the court of Sultan Mahmoud II. The use of starch gives loukoum its elastic texture. Often flavored with rose water, mint, bergamot or lemon, they are sometimes filled with dried fruits: almonds, walnuts, pistachios, currants, dried apricots, cashew nuts, grated coconut, etc.

Although the term "bazaar" comes from Old Persian, it is in Turkey that the word seems to resonate most strongly. The Ottoman sultans built masterpieces of civil architecture, providing a choice setting for Turkish merchants to sell their wares.
If the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, whose first traces date back to 1455, is rather specialized in crafts - jewelry, carpets, textiles, mosaics, etc. -, epicureans can't miss it. -Epicureans should not miss the Spice Bazaar or Egyptian Market (in Turkish: Mısır Çarşısı) located in the Eminönü district, near the New Mosque or Yeni Cami. Founded in 1663, it is the second covered market in Istanbul. At the time, most of the exotic products coming from China, India or Southeast Asia were transiting to the Ottoman Empire via the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, thus making a stopover in Egypt, hence its surprising toponym. Istanbul used to be the hub of the spice trade in the West, before the development of European merchant fleets in Asia in the late ^17th century.
The intoxicating aromas of cinnamon, paprika, cumin, cardamom, saffron, mint, thyme and every other herb and spice imaginable fill the air, even before you enter the market. The Spice Bazaar is teeming with customers, traders and porters navigating a dizzying array of colors and aromas. Visiting the Mısır Çarşısı is not just a way to satisfy the tourist's craving for the exotic, it is also an opportunity to really see and experience the traditional commercial life of Istanbul. The bazaar is "L" shaped and has six gates.
Spices and seeds are piled in large conical heaps in huge cloth bags, while strings of dried okra, peppers and eggplant hang overhead. But of course Istanbul is not the only city that can boast of exceptional bazaars. Founded in the ^16th century, at the same time as the splendid Hisar Mosque, the Kemeraltı Bazaar (Kemeraltı Çarşısı in Turkish) is the most beautiful market in Izmir. It consists of a set of vaulted halls, but also extends into the adjacent streets. More modest, though charming, the Bakırcılar Çarşısı is located in Gaziantep, in the southeast of the country. Finally the Selimiye Arasta Çarşisi, located in Edirne, is impressive with its huge red brick vaults.
In addition to fresh produce, the market is an opportunity to see bakers at work preparing batches of breads and other sweet and savory pastries. A visit to the bazaar is also a good opportunity to try Turkish street food. The lahmacun, originating from the Adana region, is the equivalent of a thin pizza topped with spicy minced meat, often sprinkled with tomato and onion, then rolled and eaten on the go. The closely relatedetli ekmek comes from the Konya region and is generally distinguished by its square shape and is rarely topped with raw vegetables. Similar to a burrito, tantuni is a patty filled with small pieces of beef with tomatoes, onion and lots of coriander. In börekçi, you can also enjoy huge slices of börek just out of the oven. Balık ekmek, also a popular snack, is a small bread filled with fried fish and vegetables. For those with small hungers, a simit (sesame seed ring) is perfect. If you have time to linger, have lunch at Istanbul's Pandeli restaurant, with its blue-tiled interiors. The view of the Golden Horn from the windows, the calls to prayer from nearby mosques and the smells of the Spice Bazaar outside make the atmosphere here almost magical. Nearly 70 different dishes grace the menu.
And for those who would like to leave with some souvenirs in their suitcases, the market is the perfect place to stock up. A box of loukoums is always welcome for those with a sweet tooth. More surprising - and hard to find in France - is nar ekşisi, a molasses made from pomegranate juice, with a syrupy texture and sweet and sour flavor. It is widely used to season salads and marinate meats. Baharat is a mixture of a dozen spices and dried mint, ideal for grilling.
Finally, if there is one Turkish product that you never think of, it is cheese. Yet the country produces a large number of cheese specialties, quite similar to what can be found in Greece or in the Balkans. We can mention the beyaz peynir, a cheese similar to feta, but with a milder taste. The çerkez peyniri or "Circassian cheese", somewhat similar to gouda, is sometimes smoked. Hellim is a salty goat cheese with a firm texture, similar to Cypriot halloumi. In Turkey, it is common to grill it with olive oil. Kaşar is a ubiquitous cheese in the country. Made from sheep's milk, it is sometimes sold as "Turkish cheddar". Kaşkaval is a yellow sheep's cheese with several variations found throughout the Balkans. Spinning like a mozzarella,örgü peyniri or "braided cheese" is a specialty of Diyarbakır. Finally,otlu peynir is a type of fresh cow's milk cheese, similar to feta, flavored with mint, anise and wild garlic.