Turkish cuisine () encompasses the traditional and regional foods of Turkey and its diaspora. It developed primarily from Ottoman cuisine, which synthesized Central Asian culinary traditions with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. During the Ottoman period, Turkish cuisine played a central role in influencing the cuisines of the former Ottoman territories, particularly in the Balkans, the Levant, Mesopotamia, North Africa, the South Caucasus and Crimea, resulting in a shared culinary heritage.
The cooking of Istanbul, Bursa, İzmir, and the rest of the Anatolia region inherits many elements of Ottoman court cuisine, including moderate use of spices, a preference for rice over bulgur, koftes, and a wider availability of vegetable stews (türlü), eggplant and stuffed dolmas. The cuisine of the Black Sea region uses fish extensively, especially the Black Sea anchovy (hamsi) and includes maize dishes. The cuisine of the southeast (including Urfa, Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Adana) is famous for its variety of kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, şöbiyet, kadayıf, katmer and künefe.
Especially in the western parts of Turkey, where olive trees grow abundantly, olive oil is the primary type of cooking oil. The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions are rich in vegetables, herbs, and fish. Central Anatolia has many well-known specialties, such as keşkek, mantı (especially from Kayseri) and gözleme. Food names directly cognate with mantı are also found in Chinese (mantou or steamed bun), and it is generally considered to have originated in Mongolia during the 13th century.
Specialties are often named for places, and may refer to different styles of preparation. For example, Urfa kebap is less spicy and thicker than Adana kebap. Although meat-based foods such as kebabs are common in Turkish cuisine abroad, meals in Turkey largely center around rice, vegetables, and bread.
History In the early years of the republic, a few studies were published about regional Anatolian dishes, but cuisine did not feature heavily in Turkish folkloric studies until the 1980s when the fledgling tourism industry encouraged the Turkish state to sponsor two food symposia. The papers submitted at the symposia presented the history of Turkish cuisine on a "historical continuum" that dated back to Turkic origins in Central Asia and continued through the Seljuk and Ottoman periods.
Prior to the symposia, the study of Turkish culinary culture was first popularized by the publication of Süheyl Ünver's Fifty Dishes in Turkish History in 1948. This book was based on recipes found in an 18th-century Ottoman manuscript. His second book was about the 15th century palace cuisine during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II. Following the publication of Ünver's book, subsequent studies were published, including a 1978 study by historian Bahaettin Ögel about the Central Asian origins of Turkish cuisine.
Culinary customs Breakfast
A traditional Turkish breakfast is rich in variety. A typical serving consists of cheese (such as white cheese, kashar, and others), butter, olives, eggs, muhammara, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey, kaymak, sucuk (optionally spicy Turkish sausage), pastırma, börek, simit, poğaça, açma, fried dough (pişi), and various soups may be eaten as a morning meal in Turkey. A specialty for breakfast is menemen, prepared with tomatoes, green peppers, onion, olive oil and eggs. The breakfast menu can also include kuymak (depending on the province the dish is also known as muhlama, mıhlama and yağlaş) or egg with spinach or potato. Another specialty is the Balkan Turkish dish çılbır, also known as Turkish eggs, made with poached eggs and yogurt. Invariably, Turkish tea is served at breakfast. The Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı, means "before coffee".
Homemade food
Homemade food is still preferred by Turkish people. A typical meal starts with soup (especially in wintertime), followed by a dish made of vegetables (with olive oil or ground meat), boiled meat or legumes (typically cooked with meat), often with or before Turkish pilav, pasta or bulgur pilav accompanied by a salad or cacık (a diluted cold yogurt dish with garlic, salt, and cucumber slices). In summertime many prefer a cold dish of vegetables cooked with olive oil (zeytinyağlı yemekler) instead of soup, either before or after the main course, which can also be a chicken, meat or fish plate.
Restaurants Esnaf lokantası, a typically modest restaurant that provides home-made, traditional dishes (such as bulgur, stew, dolma, lentil soup) in variety with relatively reasonable prices is found across the provinces of Turkiye. It is specifically favoured by male workers, provided that meals are often served before sunrise that is before the shifts and is suitable for lower-wage payees to afford. Many restaurants are specialized in certain foods; such as köfte, döner, kokoreç, kumpir, midye tava, börek and gözleme. Eating out has always been common in cities. Fast food is gaining popularity and many major foreign fast-food chains have opened all over Turkey.
Summer cuisine In the hot Turkish summer, a meal often consists of fried vegetables such as patlıcan (eggplant/aubergine) and peppers or potatoes served with yogurt or tomato sauce. Menemen and çılbır are typical summer dishes based on eggs. Sheep cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons and melons also make a light summer meal. Those who like helva for dessert prefer "summer helva", which is lighter and less sweet than the regular version.
Key ingredients
Frequently used ingredients in Turkish specialties include lamb, chicken, beef, fish, rice, eggplants, green peppers, onions, garlic, lentils, beans, zucchinis, chickpeas and tomatoes. The average beef consumption per person per year is . Nuts, especially pistachios, chestnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts, together with spices, have a special place in Turkish cuisine, and are used extensively in desserts or eaten separately. About 1.5 kg of pistachios are eaten per person per year, some packaged and some used in desserts such as baklava. Tahini is a common sauce made from sesame seeds, sold both pre-packaged or in bulk on tap. Semolina flour is used to make a cake called revani and irmik helvasi.
+Commonly used spices and flavorings:NameTurkishUsed inReferencesAllspiceYenibahar or dolma baharDolma, vegetables, pilav, fish, köfteAniseAnasonPeksimet, rakı, used to season nut and dried fruit mixtures in both sweet and savory dishesBlack pepperKara biberEgg dishes, meat dishes, laz böreğiCardamomKakuleRarely used, mostly in coffee. A common ingredient in Persian and Indian desserts, Turkish variations usually replace it with vanilla and rosewater.CinnamonTarçınDesserts, pastries, salep, boza, iç pilav, fish, lamb, vegetables, tomato sauces, milk puddings, dessertsCloveKaranfilFruit compotes, spiced black tea, meat casseroles, sweets, breads, pastriesCorianderKişnişExtremely rare. Used in some fish and meat dishes, particularly in southern and eastern Anatolia.CuminKimyonKofta spice, pastirma, lentil soupFenugreekÇemen otuVegetables, fish, breads, pastirmaIsotUrfa biberiCiğ köfteMahlepMahlepBaked goodsMasticSakızUsed in milk desserts, ice cream, Turkish delight Nigella seedsÇörek otuSavory pastries, homemade cheese. Can be mixed with coriander, cumin and haspir to make a spice for fish.Red pepperKırmızı biber, pul biberGarnish for soups, manti, Adana kebabRose waterGül suyu, Su muhallebisi, güllaç, aşurePoppy seedsHaşhaş Bread, rolls, meat, fish, light sauces and yogurt dressingsSafflowerYalancı safran (fake saffron)Used primarily in the regional cuisine of Gaziantep to give yogurt soups a saffron-like tintSaffronzafiranZerde, pilavSalepSalepA winter beverage made with milk, vanilla, sugar and starch; tastes like warm liquid vanilla pudding. Originally it was thickened with these ground wild orchid roots.Sesame seedsSusamSimit, tahini, helvaSumacSumakJuice from sumac berries can be used in a marinade for fish or chicken. Ground sumac can be used to season salads, pilav and soups. A spice mix of sumac, dried thyme and roasted sesame seeds is used with grilled meats.
Olives are also common on various breakfast and meze tables. Beyaz peynir and yoğurt are part of many dishes including börek, manti, kebab and cacık.
Oils and fats
Butter, olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, and corn oil are widely used for cooking. Sesame, hazelnut, peanut and walnut oils are used as well. Kuyruk yağı (tail fat of sheep) is sometimes used in kebabs and meat dishes.
Fruit The diverse flora of Turkey means that fruit is varied, abundant and cheap. In Ottoman cuisine, fruit frequently accompanied meat as a side dish. Plums, apricots, pomegranates, pears, apples, grapes, figs and quinces along with many kinds of citrus are the most frequently used fruit, either fresh or dried, in Turkish cuisine. For example, komposto (compote) or hoşaf (from Persian khosh âb, literally meaning "nice water") are among the main side dishes to meat or pilav. Dolma and pilav usually contain currants or raisins. Etli yaprak sarma (vine leaves stuffed with meat and rice) used to be cooked with sour plums in Ottoman cuisine. Turkish desserts do not normally contain fresh fruit, but may contain dried varieties.
Meats
The main use of meat in cooking remains the combination of ground meat and vegetable, with names such as kıymalı fasulye (beans with ground meat) or kıymalı ıspanak (spinach with ground meat, which is sometimes served with yoğurt).
Alternatively, in coastal towns cheap fish such as sardalya (sardines) or hamsi (anchovies) are widely available, as well as many others with seasonal availability. Poultry consumption, almost exclusively of chicken and eggs, is common. Milk-fed lambs, once the most popular source of meat in Turkey, comprise a small part of contemporary consumption. Kuzu çevirme, cooking milk-fed lamb on a spit, once an important ceremony, is rarely seen.
Pork is available in some stores but is not commonly eaten since most Turks are Muslims.
Dishes and foods Dairy products
Yoğurt is an important element in Turkish cuisine. In fact, the English word yogurt or yoghurt derives from the Turkish word yoğurt. Yoğurt can accompany almost all meat dishes (kebabs, köfte), vegetable dishes (especially fried eggplant, courgette, and spinach with minced meat, along with others), meze, and mantı (folded triangles of dough containing minced meat). In villages, yoğurt is regularly eaten with pilav or bread. A thicker, higher-fat variety, süzme yoğurt or "strained yogurt", is made by straining the yoğurt curds from the whey. One of the most common Turkish drinks, ayran, is made from yoğurt. Also, yoğurt is often used in the preparation of cakes, some soups and pastries. Keş (kashk) is a fermented and strained sour yogurt that can be consumed on its own as a cheese, or used as an ingredient in soups.
Cheeses Turkey produces many varieties of cheese, mostly from sheep's milk. In general, these cheeses are not long-matured, with a comparatively low fat content. The production of many kinds of cheese is local to particular regions. There are 193 different cheeses in Turkey, but only 8 of these cheeses have geographical indication.
Beyaz peynir – a salty brined cheese taking its name from its white color ("white cheese"). It is similar to feta but not as strong. This is produced in styles ranging from unmatured cheese curds to a strong mature version. It has many varieties due to different sources of milk, regions (Ezine or Thrace) and production methods (classic or cultured). It is eaten plain (for example, as part of the traditional Turkish breakfast), used in salads, and incorporated into cooked foods such as menemen, börek and pide. Çerkez peyniri – means "Circassian cheese". It has two variations, smoked or non-smoked.