Without question, Turkish cuisine is one of the most famous cuisines in the world. Turkish people are always glad to see that tourists/visitors enjoy the food they serve.
You should not expect to try or taste everything since there are endless dishes, sweets, side dishes, salads, appetizers, and pastry. But we will explain the most common Turkish eating habits and most famous Turkish food to try on your short visit.
Why Is Turkish Food So Good?
The food is good because it’s healthy, fresh, flavorful, and delicious. It’s also very diverse regarding the ingredients used to make the food.
There are no secret ingredients in Turkish Food. Taste comes from fresh fruits & vegetables and cooking habits.
Turkey has four seasons: Winter, Summer, Autumn, and Spring. Each season provides a friendly atmosphere for visitors and allows farmers to produce and plant almost any kind of vegetable and fruit in their gardens or greenhouses.
There are about 300 days of sun in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, and it’s the center of citrus fruits (orange, tangerine, grapefruit), tomatoes, and fresh vegetables.
Turkey is also the world’s no:5 olive oil producer, and cooking with olive oil makes the food delicious.
It’s also prevalent to use the tail fat (fat rendered from sheep’s tail) in some sorts of Turkish Kebab, such as the most famous Adana Kebab (spicy kebab) and Urfa kebab ( non-spicy) while preparing them.
Spices like cumin, red chili pepper, black pepper thyme, sumac, and Safran are commonly used in Cuisine. Cinnamon, anise, poppy seed, sesame seed, and black cumin seed are also widely used when preparing sweets and pastry.
Additionally, grape molasses was the main ingredient in preparing Turkish Sweets before sugar became available. Using honey instead of refined sugar also increases the quality of Turkish Delights. Get your favorite meal delicacies from a Turkish online grocery store. What can be better than buying it online from a famous store like basilgrocery.com?
1. Turkish Meals And Famous Turkish Dishes
The typical Turkish food is a wide range of different dishes and flavors. Many other cultures have influenced the Turks in the past, resulting in various foods.
The food mainly consists of vegetables and meat dishes spiced with cumin, paprika, or garlic. The cuisine is famous for its fresh ingredients, spices, herbs, and use of olive oil. It’s one of the healthiest cuisines but has delicious treats like baklava and Turkish delight.
If you want to try authentic dishes, you should visit Istanbul or any other major city in Turkey.
2. What Do Turks Eat?
There are many different things to eat in Turkey. Still, some of the most popular dishes include kebabs (a dish made from meat cooked on a skewer), kofte (meatballs), borek (Turkish-filled pastry), and baklava (pastry made with layers of filo dough filled with chopped nuts).
3. Turkish Food In Everyday Life
The most important aspect is “eating healthy.” This means that Turkish cuisine has a lot of vegetables, whole grains, and fresh fruit.
The meals are typically served with courses called “meze,” which can be shared among family members or friends.
Traditional Turkish dishes include kebabs, doner kebabs (Turkish gyros), dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), pides (pizza-like bread), and much more.
The cuisine of Turkey is based on centuries of regional and international influences. Turks have long favored red meat, and the religious prohibition against eating pork has not discouraged them from consuming other types.
4. Traditional Turkish Meat Dishes
Turkish food is distinctive for its variations in tastes, such as sweet, salty, and sour. It is also diverse in its varied cooking styles, such as grilled, fried, and fried with spices or curries.
Some tasty dishes may include:
- Kebab – a dish that can be grilled or cooked on a skewer and consists of chunks of meat (lamb) mixed with vegetables and spices.
- Turkish meatballs – a dish that consists mainly of ground lamb mixed with egg and onion and then baked in tomato sauce.
- Pide kebab – kebab that can be made from a base dough of either filo pastry (yufka) or pre-made dough, which is then topped with ground lamb to form meat patties
5. Turkish Pastry
It is a type of dessert that has been around for centuries. These sweet delicacies comprise an outer layer of dough and a filling that can be either sweet or savory.
6. What Do Turks Eat At Breakfast?
Turkish breakfast usually consists of different pieces of bread, olives, jams, and preserves. In addition to these food items, you may also find eggs or cheese on the table. Turkish people drink tea for breakfast and eat pastries called baklava for dessert.
A traditional breakfast usually consists of various types of bread and rolls, olives in oil and salt, jams and preserves of all kinds (especially figs), butter or margarine, cheese or eggs cooked in a variety of styles (such as scrambled eggs), tomatoes (usually sliced), cucumbers (also sliced), pickles such as hot peppers or cabbage in a vinegar brine.
7. Typical Turkish Sea Food
Turkish cuisine includes regional foods from various parts of the country, and seafood is one of them. Its freshness and original taste characterize it.
The most prominent examples would be Mediterranean-style fish dishes, including common varieties such as swordfish and sea bass, and those from the Black Sea, such as red mullet, whiting, and eel.
8. Typical Turkish Soups
Turkish soup is one of the most popular dishes in Turkey. It is made with vegetables or meat broth, spices such as cumin, paprika, oregano, or thyme, and vegetables such as carrots or potatoes. Some recipes use rice to thicken the soup or add extra flavor and texture.
9. What Do Turks Eat As Sweet – Typical Turkish Sweets
Turkish baklava is a well-known dessert. It’s made with layers of phyllo dough and chopped nuts, often filled with pistachios or walnuts. The dough has to be paper-thin for the baklava to turn out correctly.
There are many different versions of the recipe for Turkish baklava, but there is a general idea of what it should look like. There should be a mixture of ground almonds, butter, sugar, and honey or syrup on the bottom layer. On top of that, you need another layer of fragile sheets or phyllo pastry, which is layered with chopped nuts such as walnuts or pistachios.
10. Typical Turkish Drinks
The beverages can be broadly divided into two main categories; alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic drinks contain traces of ethanol from fermentation, such as rakı, wine, beer, and ayran (an unsweetened yogurt drink). On the other hand, non-alcoholic beverages do not contain any traces of ethanol, such as tea (çay), black tea (kahve), soft drinks (soda), coffee (kahve), and mineral water (su).
Conclusion
Give yourself a refreshing touch of exotic taste with the best food in Turkey. While every cuisine of this country is linked to its ancient traditions, the taste is nothing less than feasting in paradise.