Wiki Project

TURKISH CUISINE

We would prefer to introduce you one of our most important heritage ‘Turkish Cuisine’ as our topic. While deciding which topic would be suitable for this project, Turkish cuisine came to our mind. Actually, we found it impressive and informative enough to present you. 

Firstly, I will make and introduction before my friends introduce you the sub-topics. I will give general information about Turkish Cuisine.

Turkish Cuisine takes its source from Ottoman Empire which ruled over many regions in the world, so it includes different tastes from different cultures which makes it a rich cuisine. Turkish cuisine is also renowned as one of the world’s best cuisines. because of the variety of its recipes, its use of natural ingredients, its flavors and tastes which appeal to all palates and its influence throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The cuisine originated in Central Asia, the first home of the Turks, and then evolved with the contributions of the inland and Mediterranean cultures with which Turks interacted after their arrival in Anatolia. 

Turkish cuisine varies across the country. The cooking of Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, and rest of the Aegean region inherits many elements of Ottoman court cuisine, with a lighter use of spices, a preference for rice over bulgur, and a wider use of sea foods. The cuisine of the Black Sea Region uses fish extensively, especially the Black Sea anchovy (hamsi), has been influenced by Balkan and Slavic cuisine, and includes maize dishes. The cuisine of the southeast—Urfa, Gaziantep and Adana—is famous for its kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, kadayıf and künefe (kanafeh).

Especially in the western parts of Turkey, where olive trees grow abundantly, olive oil is the major type of oil used for cooking. The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions are rich in vegetables, herbs, and fish. Central Anatolia has many famous specialties, such as keşkek(kashkak), mantı (especially from Kayseri) and gözleme.

A specialty's name sometimes includes that of a city or region, either in or outside of Turkey, and may refer to the specific technique or ingredients used in that area. For example, the difference between urfa kebab and adana kebab is the thickness of the skewer and the amount of hot pepper that kebab contains. Urfa kebab is less spicy and thicker than adana kebab.




MEAT DISHES

  It is surely beyond doubt that turkish cuisine is popular with its meat dishes. Turks are so fond of meat that there is a festival named  ‘The Feast of Sacrifice’.Meat is mostly eaten mostly in ceremonies. There are numerous meat dishes which one is more delicious than another. I would like to talk about one type of these dishes.

KEBAPS

Kebabs are usually made out of ground lamb meat and tail fat, though there are many regional variations. Kebabs are fairly common in the area from Mersin in Turkey to Kirkuk in Iraq, and includes Aleppo in Syria. According to many authors, this kebab was born out of a fusion of Turkish and Arab cultures. Birecik, once an important locality in the Eyalet of Aleppo, is said to be the creator of this very kind of kebab. The version prepared and consumed today in the province of Adana also has a history rooted in the modern Turkish culture, only to receive a "Controlled Designation of Origin" in February 2005, after subsequent legal trials.
 Spicy meatballs on skewers

This is known as ‘Adana Kebabı’. It is a type of meat which is really popular. Its taste is a little bit hot but extremely delicious. Kebap is the dish which is on the top in the Menus.

Griled meatballs on skewers

This one is known as  ‘Urfa Kebabı’ Both of these kabaps are mostly similar but their taste is different Adana Kabap is hot.



DESSERTS

Turkish cuisine is very rich in desserts. The diversity comes from the fact that Turkish cuisine is the successor of the Ottoman culture. Another factor is that Turkey spreads over a huge land with different regions and culture. Turkish desserts are so well-renowned that not only in Turkey but also in several countries these desserts are highly consumed. Dessert is such an important and indispensable part of Turkish culture that there are lots of sayings and festivals about desserts.

DESSERTS WITH SHERBET

                                    BAKLAVA

Baklava is one of the most well-known desserts of Turkey but I don’t like much. It is usually baked in Ramadan Festival. The name “baklava” comes from Ottoman Empire. It is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. Baklava is prepared in large pans. Before baking the dough is cut into regular pieces, often parallelograms (lozenge-shaped), triangles, or rectangles

Gaziantep is famous for baklava. Peanut is used in Gaziantep baklava. However it may vary from region to region. Nuts in Black Sea, walnuts in Central Anatolia almonds in Aegean can be used instead of peanut. Baklava can be served with ice-cream or Turkish cream (kaymak).

                                      KÜNEFE

 Künefe is made of cheese and kadayıf (oven baked shredded pastry with pistachio filling in thick syrup angel’s hair dessert). It is also one of my favorite desserts. Hatay is famous for Künefe. However it is prepared in different cities in different ways, as well. The pastry is heated with butter, margarine or palm oil, then spread with soft white cheese and topped with more pastry. A thick syrup of sugar, water and a few drops of Rose water or orange blossom water is poured on the pastry during the final minutes of cooking. Often the top layer of pastry is tinted with orange food coloring. Crushed green pistachios are sprinkled on top as a garnish. Künefe can be served either hot or mild. It is also served with peanut, walnut or nut.

CONFECTIONERY DESSERTS

                   TURKISH DELIGHT

 

The original date for the invention oflokum is not clear. However, it is certain that Ali Muhittin Hacı Bekir’s lokum introduced the taste to the world. He opened his confectionery shop in Istanbul in 1776. An English explorer got lokum from his shop and took them to England. Turkish delight’s fame spread since then.

Originally, there were three colors meaning three flavors: red – rosewater, yellow – lemon peel and green – bitter orange. With today’s rich variety of ingredients and nuts there currently are several flavors such as rose, pistachio, hazelnut, walnut, almond, coconut and almond, cream, cream with cinnamon, mint, mastic, cinnamon, ginger, clove and coffee, and fruit flavors like sour cherry, strawberry, orange, apricot, and lemon.

      

               

                                           PİŞMANİYE

Also known as Turkish fairy floss which makes sense given its texture. Pişmaniye is another Turkish dessert with a very old traditional taste. The place of birth is the Kandıra district in the city of Kocaeli. It dates back to the 15th century.

Sugar is melted, frozen, shaped like a big ring and placed on the mixture of roasted flour with butter. The rest of the process is constantly pulling the ring and shaping it back to a ring again until it becomes flossy.It is similar to cotton candy but different in texture. It is garnished with different flavors like ground pistachios or cacao. It looks a bit messy — which it actually is while eating because it falls off in very small pieces — and it is also sticky. Yet, the trouble is certainly worth trying.

 PASTRIES

Pastries have a very important place in Turkish Cuisine. There are lots of delicious food come our mind when one says pastries. I want to share some of most known pastry recipes. 

Firstly I want to start with Börek. Börek is one of the great indulgences of Turkish cuisine. You can find specialist börek cafes in every town, with great metal trays heaving under rectangular slabs of the stuff. It can have different ingredients like cheese, meat, spinach... But there is one börek that you usually won’t see in the börek cafes but that is served in almost all the restaurants in Turkey is Sigara Börek. Small cylindrical rolls of filo pastry (shaped like cigarettes), stuffed with white cheese and parsley, and served hot and crispy. Here our recipients:
Ingredients: Serves 4
2 sheets of filo pastry (known as yufka in Turkish)
250 ml oil (Olive or Sunflower) for frying (or you can bake them, in which case you will need 50 grams of butter)
Filling:
200 grams of crumbled white cheese (Turkish white cheese, or feta cheese)
1 egg yolk
¼ bunch parsley
¼ bunch dill
Pinch of salt


Preparation:
Divide the filo pastry sheets into two semi circles, and then into four curved triangles. Cover any filo pastry you are not using with a towel to stop it drying out. Place the filling at the wide end, fold up the long sides to hold in the filling, and then roll it up like a small cigar. Wet the pointed end with a wet (use water/milk/egg) pastry brush and stick it down.

Fry in hot oil until golden, making sure you turn the cigars frequently, and serve piping hot.

Lastly Lahmacun, every one of us knows and most of us love to eat lahmacun. This pizza-like, thin, round dish, topped with herbs and minced meat, also known as Armenian Pizza, Turkish Pizza, Lahmajun and Lahmajoon, is very famous in Turkey. Here the ingredients of this delicious meal:
Ingredients for the dough:
• 1 tsp dry active yeast
• 0,5 tsp sugar
• 1+1/2 cup of warm water
• 4,5 cups of flour (you can use pain wheat)+
• Little oil to brush the dough
Ingredients for the topping:
• 12 oz of minced beef or lamb (I always use 85 % lean beef)
• 1 big onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp of butter
• 1,5 cups of fresh curly parsley
• 1 cup of fresh mint
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 tsp of chilli pepper
• 1 jalapeno (optional) (I personally use pickled hot peppers instead of jalapenos)
• 1 tsp paprika (optional)
• 1 tsp of cumin (optional)
• salt according to your own taste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• little oil to brush the dough.

Here is news about out topic...

Due to its geographical position, at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Turkey has many culinary influences which make its cuisine irresistible, as the country itself.

For this reason, distinguished chefs from the Sheraton Istanbul Maslak Hotel will come to peak the flavor cooking original Turkish dishes in an event which will take place at the Hotel Arion Resort Spa, AstirPalace, from April 12 to 21.

The 2nd Turkish Cuisine Festival is a sequel of the initiatives taken by Astir Palace to incorporate ethnic style cuisines and offer the opportunity to the culinary Athenian public to experience the rich heritage of Turkish cuisine.

Visitors will be able to taste original Turkish dishes and desserts such as Anadolu kebab, Adana kebab, stuffed eggplant with minced meat and rice, lamb with eggplant and tomato sauce, traditional baklava, kataifi (resembles shredded wheat) and ravani.

The restaurant Il Tramonto will be opened on the weekdays and weekends from 19:00 to 00:00.

During the Festival there will be a draw for a journey in Istanbul for 2 people, offering a stay at the Sheraton Istanbul Maslak Hotel. Tickets are sponsored by Turkish Airlines.

The Turkish Cuisine Festival is organized under the auspices of the Embassy of Turkey in cooperation with Turkish Airlines, and the magazine Athens Insider.

Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. The Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced them and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of Western Europe. The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences from Middle Eastern cuisines, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia (such as yogurt), creating a vast array of specialities—many with strong regional associations.



And Here is a Video...  

 



REFERENCES


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_cuisine#Meats
http://www.theturkishcuisine.com/http://www.turkishfoodandrecipes.com/
http://turkeyworld.tv/general/links.htmlhttp://www.turkishfoodandrecipes.com/
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/04/15/turkish-cuisine-comes-to-athens/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azDPh-EC1L8


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Merve Bayram

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