Ignorant Historian

By request, I’m going to talk about Turkish food today.  Turkish food is very Mediterranean (though I have never had Greek–I know!–it looks the same), and doesn’t have a lot of variety (all restaurants basically serve the same thing).

Here are my favorite Turkish foods:

1.  Tavuk Döner (Tavuk is chicken)

This is actually a popular dish that’s been exported throughout Europe, and is originally of Greek or Turkish origin (they fight over it like everything else).  It’s made on a spit like this:

The meat is then cut off and served with veggies on a sandwich or in a wrap (the bread is like pita bread).  This was my favorite meal in Ankara, but it doesn’t seem to be served the same in Izmir, the city I’ve visited on my last 2 trips.  It’s also super cheap…a meal including a drink (usually ayran, see below) would be just 2 or 3 dollars.  The rest of Turkish food is a bit cheaper than our food, but not a ton.

2. Kaşarlı pide (the “ş” makes an “sh” sound and the “i” without a dot is an “uh” sound instead of an “eye” sound)

Kaşar is the cheese that they use, and pide is a pizza-like dish (they have “real” pizza as well, that’s not a whole lot different than ours).  The crust is more like pita bread, and there is no tomato sauce on it.  My favorite has just cheese, or cheese and egg (sounds weird, but is good).

3.  Kaşarlı tost

If you’ve been paying attention, I bet you can figure out what this is.  Yep, it’s grilled cheese, but oh so delicious.  It was actually a humorous point of contention in our group as those of us who have been to Turkey before argued if this is a respectable dish or not.  After all, you wouldn’t expect a foreigner to come to America and order grilled cheese, would you?  Still, this is good as it’s made on a panini press with kaşar cheese.  It also is frequently served with tomatoes on it, but I don’t eat it that way.

4.  Tavuk şiş

That’s “shish” as in “shish kebab” for good reason.  Tavuk şiş is what we would call chicken shish kebab, made on a stick.  It may or may not be served on the stick, but that’s how it’s made.  I have no idea what spices they put on it, but it’s really good.  It’s frequently served with veggies: pepper, tomato, cucumber, and onion (the main veggies you see served).

And now for some things that I don’t love, but represent Turkey and so I have a fondness for:

1.  Çay (pronounced “chai”)

Çay is Turkish tea, something that you drink all the time in Turkey.  It’s served in little glasses like these (they might have a pattern of some sort, but often are just plain glass) and with a couple of sugar cubes.  Most meals end with it, of course you drink it during tea time, and you will be offered it anytime you visit someone’s shop or home.  There’s really nothing special about the tea other than the way it’s made, but it’s incredibly Turkish.

2.  Ayran

This is a drink that Turks drink with a lot of meals.  It’s cold, and is basically watered-down, salty yogurt.  It’s not pleasant to Western taste buds, but I can tolerate it, if not enjoy it.

3.  Turkish breakfast

Turkish breakfast is much heavier than what we’re used to.  Often has meats of unknown origin (hey, if something looks like it’s pork and you know it’s not, you have no idea what to think), hard-boiled eggs, cheeses, and breads.    Oh, and the traditional veggies of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions.

4. Gözleme

Gözleme has various ingredients in between layers of thin dough.  Might be meats, veggies, or cheeses.  The best one that I had this last time was spinach and cheese…who knew that I’d like it? (I’m not a fan of spinach.)  You have to go specific restaurants to get it, and are often served traditionally, sitting on cushions at a low table.

5.  Simit

Simit looks like a pretzel, but isn’t salty or buttery.  Instead, it’s covered with sesame seeds.  You can buy it at vendors on the street for half a lira (about 35 cents).

I’m sure there are things that I have overlooked and even things I haven’t tried.  They don’t eat a ton of beef (though they eat some), but eat a lot of lamb and chicken.  American fast food can be found all over the cities, and they regularly eat fries with most things.  Feel free to ask any questions!

Photos by ccarlstead, mawel, and Penny

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