ANTH 205 Lecture 15

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Turkey: Foodways

Everybody came into Anatolia and left their mark in some way

Istanbul, Turkey is the culinary capital of the world

• A new influential cusine next to French and Chinese food

The Turks

Migrated West out of the Altai Mountains in Central Asia about 6^th century AD

Note: A little terminology:

• Turkik = Turks from Asia
• Turkish = Turks from Turkey

Ran into Persia (modern-day Iran) on way to Turkey

• Persians were highly developed
• Both cultures exchanged much (pairing meat and fruit, kabobs, pilaf, rice)
• Diwan Lughat al-Turk: 11^th century Turkish-Arabic dictionary (lots of Turkish terms relating to food like rolling pin, clay oven, griddle, yogurt , cheese, and other milk products)

Seljuk Cuisine

Very lavish courts

big emphasis on artists, poets, mystics, musicians, and cooks Lavish lifestyle not developed out of gluttony, but out of religious belief that finer things in life should be appreciated and experienced fully

Ottoman Cuisine

Height of Turkish food

Disposed of Byzantine empire in 1453

Fusion of 3 cultures:

• Central Asian (Turkik)
• Middle Eastern (Persian)
• Balkan (Greco-Roman)

Topkapi^{without dot} Palace

White House of the Ottomon Empire

• Often attributed to Suleiman 17^th century
• 1300 kitchen staff to feed 10,000 people
• Baklava thought to come out of this place, but origins are unknown
• High degree of job specialization within kitchen (similar to today's rankings of chef, sous chef, saucier, etc.)
• Specialists came from certain areas
• Made everything, and specialization got out of control (chef-to-apprentice ratio was 1:100)

Janissaries

• Ottoman special forces
• Military Rankings are kitchen terms: Çorbaci^{without dot} = soupmen; Aşçi^{without dot}başi^{without dot} = Chief Cook; etc.

Food from outskirts flowed to Istanbul, food was modified and then re-exported to outskirts

Ottomans were at crossroads of all trade routes between Africa, Europe, and Asia

Markets

Food available to general population

Lots of enormous bazaars and open-air markets

Food sales regulated by guilds

• Isamic belief that all principal trades of man are sacred in origin

Late 19^th Century: development of Cafés and Restaurants

• Legend says that first coffeehouse was opened in Turkey in 1555

At Home

Highly cohesive; very traditional; little innovation

Unexpected guests are welcomed and fed (May have Greek influence)

Very hospitable

3 meals per day:

breakfast

almost always tomato, cucumber, egg, 2 cheeses, olives, and bread

meze

lots of little things (sampler)

desserts

highly common (big sweet tooth in this area)

fresh fruits, pudding, baked dessert

Islam

Alcohol is prohibited in traditional Islam, but popular in Turkey

Ramadan:

• 9^th month of Islam calendar
• fasting during daylight hours is characteristic
• lots of culinary development
• Sahur: meal in the morning
• Iftar: meal in the evening
• Şeker Bayramı: feltival of sweets

Characteristic Foods

• Parsley
• Cumin
• Black pepper
• Paprika
• Mint
• Oregano
• Pul biber (finely ground red pepper)
• Allspice
• Thyme

Dolmas: stuffed vegetables

Fruits

Grains:

• wheat, rice, barley, couscous
• Bread: ekmek, pide (pita), börek (savory baklava), simit (pretzel with sesame seeds), mantı (tiny, meat-filled wantons; oldest food?)
• Pilaf

Proteins:

• Lamb, mutton, beef
• Kebab: doner style or köfte style (classical on a stick)

Dairy:

• Yogurt!
• Ayran: drink made with water, yogurt, and salt
• Cheese

Desserts:

• Turkish Delight (lokum)
• Pastries! (baklava, tolumba,
• Milk desserts