Discover the delicious Turkish Cuisine

The Turkish cuisine may be well known for its kebab, baklava and Turkish pizza, but it has much more to offer. Together with the French and Chinese cuisine, it froms the three classic world cuisines. Unfortunately, the Turkish cuisine knows only limited fame, despite its high-quality food and large diversity. Even kebab, which is well-known all over the world, is not the simple döner kebab as many Europeans know it, but rather a high standard meat dish with spices, served with greens and pilav on the side.

Influences and varieties of Turkish food

The full flavor combined with the diversity makes the Turkish cuisine famous all over the world. The rich history and variety of food in each region makes the richness of Turkish food. Whether it is the palace kitchens of Ottoman and Seljuk empires, the geographical conditions, the variety of cultivated products in Asia and Anatolia or the cultural interactions in history: it shaped the character of todays Turkish culinary culture.

The varieties of Turkish food are strongly linked to the regions within the country. Where the regions of Istanbul, Ismir and Bursa inherit elements of Ottoman cuisine, the Marmara, Mediterranean and Aegean regions have a cuisine that is rich of vegetables, herbs and fish. The Black Sea region also uses fish extensively and the Black Sea anchovy, called hamsi, is popular food in this region. In the southeast regions of Turkey, like Gaziantep, Urfa and Adana, are famous for their kebab and baklava. In Central Anatolia you can find a dough-based dish with yoghurt called mantı and flat bread with all sorts of filling: gözleme. Everywhere in the country you’ll find that olive oil is abundantly used.

The different meals in a day

Breakfast is a crucial meal for all Turks. Every region has its variation on breakfast, but it differs only slightly. It is healthy, rich in nutrients and very delicious. During this meal a lot of vegetables, like tomatoes, green, cucumbers and peppers (hot or not) are consumed. Dairy product such as feta cheese, milk cream, eggs and butter are used and other natural products such as olives and honey. Bread is also an important component of breakfast, or actually of any meal, in Turkey and next to village bread there is multigrain bread, corn bread and the Turkish sesame bagel, simit, served. Breakfast at Sunday is a traditional gathering of family and friends and the meals are even more enriched with foods as fried vegetables, watermelon, dried fruits and other delicious treats. 

Meals in the afternoon or evening are generally soupy and consist of some kind of stock or stew. Therefore, bread consumption tends to be too much among Turks. Other main dishes are kebabs and köfte. Kebab is known as döner kebab in Europe, but is so much more than that. Adana kebab, şiş kebab, Iskender kebab and Ali Nazik are other famous kebab types. They all have various methods of cooking and are served with rice and greens. Köfte is adopted into the Turkish cuisine in the 13th century and knows many varieties: more than 200 are known only in Turkey. As for starters, the Turkish cuisine has more than 300 sorts of soup. Most soups have yoghurt as basic ingredient and many of the soups eaten in Turkey contain seafood or entrails.

Snacks are offered at every street corner and are a crucial part of the food culture in Turkey. Simit, roasted or boiled corn, chestnuts and many other snacks are all delicious options if you are looking for something to eat at the middle of the day. Also, Turks are real sweet tooths. If you are invited for tea or Turkish coffee, not only will the beverage contain a lot of sugar, you will most likely also get something on the side. Baklava, lokum (Turkish delight) and kadayıf are some of the very sweet treats you simply must try when you are in Turkey.

Turks as food lovers

Turks love to eat and relish food. Most meals at Turkish homes are like feasts: they contain various delicious and healthy ingredients and are eaten with the people you love. If you are invited for lunch, breakfast or dinner, the hospitality and variety of food may pleasantly surprise you. Inviting guests over to eat is part of the tradition and culture in Turkish families and hospitality and good care are crucial.