Turkey Conference Tour 2: Food

Certainly one of the most fascinating parts of traveling to any country is to try its diverse and world-renowned dishes which in turn helps us get to know the culture and tastes of that country.

Throughout history, food has been a major part of every culture in the world. In countries with a strong food culture, food symbolizes national history. Turkish cuisine, or Turkish national and traditional foods, is also the symbol of its Ottoman cultural heritage. Influenced by Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisine, Turkish cuisine has one of the richest and most important culinary cultures in the world, expanded by a combination of different food cultures that reflect regional differences. Each region of Turkey has its own food culture, such as Black Sea foods, Eastern region foods, and Aegean foods.

When in Turkey, forget about the international (fast) food chain, like Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s.

Following the topics to get to know Turkey well for our upcoming conferences in February 2020, today we will discuss different foods of this beautiful country for those who love to try them.

Turkish Breakfast

The Turkish breakfast is slightly different from the European breakfast. Simit (a kind of pastry), cheese, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, and tea are Turkish people’s most favorite things in breakfast. This is the simplest type of breakfast you can have in Turkey. But in Turkish restaurants the case is a bit different; in every Turkish restaurant white cheese, black and green olives, butter, cream, honey, jam, menemen, and boiled eggs are on your table.

Many people also eat Börek as their favorite food for breakfast. In the restaurant menu, you might also see Sucuk which is made of beef, garlic, red pepper, cumin, and sumac cooked with eggs.

Börek

Börek is one of the most popular and delicious Turkish dishes served as breakfast and snacks. Börek comes in many varieties, in different shapes and flavors. It is made with Yufka dough that is cut into the desired shape and then stuffed with various ingredients such as minced meat, cheese, and vegetables.

Menemen

Menemen is a delicious Turkish omelet, usually served as breakfast. To make Menemen, fry the onion, tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, and aromatic vegetables and then add the eggs. Sometimes cheese and sausages are also added. Turks order this mostly for breakfast.

Turkish Lunch and Dinner

Döner kebab

Döner kebab is undoubtedly the most popular street food in Turkey, made of layers of sliced beef, lamb or chicken cooked on a vertical rotisserie, over a slow fire. Döner is served both on a plate or wrapped in a thin flatbread such as lavash or yufka, known as a dürüm with onions and peppers.

Dürüm

Dürüm is a Turkish burrito filled and wrapped with döner kebab and different vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn. The wrap is made from lavash or yufka flatbreads.

İskender Kebab

İskender Kebap is one of the most well-known dishes of northwestern Turkey, called the king of Turkish kebabs. It is actually döner meat with long strips of lamb cooked in tomato sauce and served over rice and pita bread with yogurt, on the side.

Adana Kebab

If you are a food enthusiast, try this kebab which is a long, hand-minced meat kebab around a skewer. Known as one the most delicious kebab variety of Turkish cuisine, Adana kebab is served with sumac and bread and tomatoes.

Mantı

Mantı is made in many varieties and is delicious and very popular. Manti is wrapped pieces of dumpling dough filled with grounded beef or lamb, onion, mixed with salt and pepper. The Turkish Mantı is very similar to the Italian Ravioli, but the difference is that Mantı is served with cold yogurt.

While in Turkey you can try this delicious dish and enjoy its unique taste. Although Manti is often made with beef, it is also served with eggplants and other types of meat such as chicken in some restaurants.

Lahmacun

Lahmacun, also called Turkish pizza because of its appearance, is made of a thin piece of dough, sometimes Yufka dough, topped with minced meat, chopped vegetables, onions, tomatoes, parsley and spices such as thyme, pepper, cinnamon and turmeric and then cooked in the oven. It is considered Turkish street food, no cheese is used and is traditionally spicy.

Pide

Pide is very similar to Lahmacun and the main difference is in their appearance. Pide is a flatbread, usually shaped in an oval or boat or round shape, topped with different ingredients like minced meat, sucuk, pastrami, or spinach and cheese and baked in a wood-fired stone oven.

Köfte

Köfte is also one of the most delicious Turkish cuisines that have many fans. It is mainly made like meatballs, but in Turkey, you may also find it in different shapes.  Important ingredients of Köfte include ground beef combined with bread crumbs, onion, garlic, and spices.

Dolma

Dolma in Turkey is usually made of rice, meat, vegetables and sometimes dried fruits stuffed into hollowed-out pepper, tomato, vine leaves, cabbage leaves (Sarma), zucchini, and eggplant, and then are slowly braised.

Desserts

Baklava

Baklava is a kind of delicious dessert made with layers of phyllo dough stuffed with nuts, especially pistachio and topped with syrup. It comes in many varieties and shapes and you can find them in bakeries and restaurants.

Künefe

Künefe is a traditional and is a very tasty shredded wheat dessert with pistachio filling and cheese. It is soaked in a sweet syrup and served hot so that the cheese melts inside.

Lokum

Lokum, a family of confections, is succulent, sugary cubes based on a gel of starch and sugar. Lokum, flavored and often garnished with almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios, is typically offered with tea and coffee after breakfast.

Drinks

Tea

Black tea is one of the most popular and inseparable drinks in Turkish culture. It is found everywhere, and most people drink more than 10 cups per day.

Turkish coffee

This coffee is made with a different brewing method, unfiltered with a very fine coffee grind in a cezve, a traditional pot made of copper or brass.

Ayran

Ayran is a Turkish drink made by mixing yogurt, water, and salt and is very refreshing especially during summers.

Raki

This alcoholic drink is called the Turkish national drink which is a serious business in the country. It is made of twice-distilled grapes and aniseed. Drinking Raki has its own way: One glass of pure Raki mixed with another glass of cooled water (preferably with ice).

Aşlama

Aşlama is a cold drink made of licorice. It is a traditional drink sold by peddlers wearing traditional clothing in the streets.