Traditional Tastes Of Turks
Posted on 5 November, 2020 by Administrator
TRADITIONAL TASTES OF TURKS
TURKISH DELIGHT
Turkish delight, one of the traditional flavors of Turkish cuisine; It is a Turkish dessert that is consumed everywhere, in addition to Turkish coffees, on sugar feasts, on special days, on religious holidays, and is a culturally important motif. Here is everything you need to know about Turkish delight ...
History of Turkish Delight
The history of Turkish delight, which is one of the important flavors of the Ottoman palace cuisine, dates back to ancient times. It is estimated that the "abhisa" dessert consumed by the Sassanids, who ruled in Iran between 226 and 652 BC, is the origin of the delight.
During the Ottoman period, the name "" Rahat-ul hulkum ", which means relieving the throat, was used for Turkish delight. The date when Turkish delight emerged in Anatolia corresponds to the 15th century. It was known everywhere in Anatolia and entered Turkish cuisine in the 17th century. The first mass production of Turkish delight, which is famous all over Anatolia and spread to the other side of the world with European travelers, was made in 1777.
When lokum was first made, it was produced by adding honey, fruit syrup and flour. Later, with the introduction of starch and refined sugar into the kitchens, the taste of Turkish delight has changed and reached the present day. Today, many different types of Turkish delights suitable for many tastes are produced.
Preparation of Turkish Delight
Turkish delight; It is made by mixing sugar, starch, food coloring, citric acid and flavoring. Making Turkish delight is a job that requires skill and skill. The preparation of the delight is as follows;
• First of all, sugar is boiled until dissolved in water,
• Citric acid and starch are kept in another container until it dissolves,
• Starch and citric acid mixture and sugar water are mixed together and boiled for a while on low heat,
• The time to boil and the consistency of the mixture are entirely up to the skill of the master,
• Fluid mixture is poured into iron containers and waited for twenty hours,
• In the last stage, delights are shaped and packaged.
Turkish Delight
Every region has its own kind of delight in Turkey. Some of the delight types that appeal to many different tastes are;
Hazelnut Turkish Delight, Double Roasted Turkish Delight, Bird Delight, Walnut Delight, Pistachio Delight, Lemon Delight, Mint Turkish Delight, Pomegranate Turkish Delight, Saffron Turkish Delight, Chocolate Turkish Delight, Coconut Turkish Delight, Fruit Turkish Delight, Rose Petals Turkish Delight and dozens of other delight types that we cannot count, It creates the most wonderful flavors for different tastes.
Nutritional Values of Turkish Delight
Nutritional value of Turkish delight varies according to the material used and the type of delight. The nutritional values that should be found in real Turkish delight should be as follows;
In 100 grams of Turkish delight; There are 0.23 grams of protein, 0.19 grams of fat, 89.25 grams of carbohydrates, 19 mg of potassium, 5 mg of calcium and 1 mg of iron vitamins.
What are the Benefits of Turkish Delight?
Turkish delight has many benefits for the human body and health. Here are a few of them that stand out;
• Benefits in the prevention of tonsillitis,
• Its carbohydrate content is beneficial for kidney patients,
• It is beneficial in healing skin problems such as wounds and boils.
• It affects the protection and strengthening of teeth.
Service Types of Turkish Delight
Every dessert from Turkish cuisine has a way of serving. Like desserts eaten on important days, Turkish delight is served between handkerchiefs on holidays or served alongside Turkish coffee. Turkish delight is distributed to the congregation after the Mevlid in mosques on nights that are sacred to Muslims.
Is It Harmful To Eat Too Much Turkish Delight?
Once you consume the most useful thing, it will start to be harmful. Turkish delight should not be consumed too much and its dosage should always be adjusted. It should not affect you because it is a very delicious taste and cannot be rinsed when it is started. Turkish delight is very successful in gaining weight because it contains sugar and starch. Therefore, it should not be consumed too much.
TURKISH TEA
Although it was discovered thousands of kilometers from Anatolia, tea, which became the national drink of the Turks, surpassed even Turkish coffee, which was "forty years of memory", and became the leading actor in the darkest conversations.
Tea, which is consumed at all hours of the day, the indispensable drink of conversations, the companion of cakes and cakes and the warmth of cold days, has a very important place in Turkish culture. tea in Turkey can not be considered to spend a day without tea, in the first light of morning breakfast table, takes the place of the most senior and new cases brewed tea throughout the day, tea lovers will sweeten your palate.
It has its own tea drinking habits and traditions of each region in Turkey. nor drink large cups of tea in porcelain cups nor in Turkey. The glasses of tea are thin waist glasses. So why do Turks drink tea in thin waisted glasses?
Why Do Turks Prefer Thin Waist Tea Glasses?
Fine found that certain glasses who, although not known exactly how this idea emerged, a 90-year history of the slender glass in Turkey.
After the Industrial Revolution, glass cups started to be produced in large numbers in Europe. However, the costs of these large sized glasses corresponded to very high figures. Instead of producing glasses with such high costs, the Turks discovered thin waist glasses that could be produced at lower costs.
Of course, the emergence of the thin waisted glass isn't just because of its cost. At the same time, slim waist glasses are the product of a design and functionality. Thanks to its thin waist structure, the fingers can be easily held from the top of the glass without burning, and thanks to its curved structure, the tea can maintain its temperature for much longer.
TURKISH TEA TRADITION
It is estimated that the idea of thin waist tea glass design, which shows features in terms of aesthetics and functionality, was taken from tulips.
How Did Tea Enter Turkish Culture?
It is written in the literature that tea was first discovered by the Chinese. The tea leaves that coincidentally fell into the boiling water gave the water its own color after a while, and tea with a different taste was found. Turks, on the other hand, met with tea in Central Asia before coming to Anatolia. Turkish poet Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, who lived in Kazakhstan in the 12th century, is considered to be the first Turk to drink tea. Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, who accidentally met tea in a Turkmen house where he was a guest, then for tea; "It is a fatigue-relieving and relaxing drink, your patients need to drink from this drink for healing." he said.
Features of Turkish Tea
Turkish Tea is Friendly
Tea is never drunk alone. Even if it is drunk, it does not give as much pleasure as it is drunk in crowded places. When drinking tea, you must have someone with you. Tea is the key to socializing and being a part of society. New acquaintances first go to have tea. Friends who meet take a breather somewhere to drink tea. Tea is the indispensable drink of friends' assemblies, evening sittings, guests and every moment of the day.
Turkish Tea is Equal
Turkish tea offers a feature that anyone can drink anywhere. It is simple, it is drunk without adding anything, it is cheap and easy to prepare and serve. It is very pleasant to drink.
Turkish Tea Promotes Peace
Turkey to which region you go, what you do, why you are there any other questions or tea is direct without being asked. It is insisted to have a cup of tea even if you are in homes and businesses.
Tea is a product of friendship, conversation and shared values. Everywhere from coffee shops to tea shops, from cafes to restaurants; Do not refuse the tea served in the form of rabbit blood in a thin waisted glass.
TURKISH LOCAL SPREAD BREAKFAST CULTURE
Turks are one of the nations that have the most breakfast habit, or more precisely, the habit of eating. The day starts with breakfast and continues with lunch and dinner. These meal times have a meaning in themselves.
Weekend breakfasts have become a habit where the whole family comes together, conversations and family members mingle. While lunches are mostly business meetings and meeting dinners, dinners have become romantic and family meals.
The Whole Family Gathered Happy Weekend Breakfasts
The breakfasts that make up the healthiest and most delicious flavors of meals appear with many different presentation styles. Open buffet breakfast, brunch breakfast and mixed breakfast are examples of the Turkish breakfast tradition.
The word breakfast is actually derived from the word "coffee six". Turkish coffee, which is usually drunk in the mornings and provides a good start to the day, was served as a snack before drinking it so that the empty stomach does not burn. These snacks made before coffee have been replaced by breakfast tables over time.
Turkish mixed breakfast is a breakfast culture that includes numerous types of breakfast. However, as in the open buffet, there is not much more than anything else. Turkish breakfast varieties sprinkled on the table in small plates that are enough for everyone to eat, create different tastes.
Turkish mixed breakfast is a combination of traditional Turkish flavors. It is possible to find foods suitable for every taste in the mixed breakfast, where all traditional flavors are served together, from Kars honey to Ezine's cheese, from Gemlik's olives to Trabzon's butter.
Spread Breakfast Becomes the Meeting Point of Turkish Local Tastes
Jams and marmalades hold a special place in Turkish mixed breakfast, where all breakfast types are natural and local. Many breakfast desserts such as strawberry jam, apricot jam, raspberry jam are indispensable for mixed breakfasts. Hazelnut butter, marzipan and chocolate also take their place among the mixed breakfast varieties and create great flavors for dessert lovers.
Cheese is a must for Turkish breakfast tables. In the mixed breakfast, there are all kinds of cheese from herbal cheese, gruyere cheese, white cheese to tulum cheese, and cheese types can be determined according to the taste of the people.
Tea is a must for the mixed Turkish breakfast, which includes butter, cream, honey, jams and dozens of breakfast flavors that we cannot count. Tea drinking habits are quite common in Turkey. In the morning breakfasts, teas on a brew, like a rabbit, smoke in thin waisted glasses and accompany the breakfast. Spread breakfast pleasure continues with the joy of tea in the samovar.
Turkish Mixed Breakfast Appealing to Both the Eye and the Stomach
The hot flavors in the Turkish mixed breakfast, which appeals to both the eyes and the stomach with its dozens of different varieties, conquer the hearts. One of the indispensable flavors of traditional Turkish breakfast tables is fried egg varieties. For mixed breakfasts, omelettes, menemen or eggs with sausage also come to the fore, and breakfast delicacies turn into works of art.
The mixed breakfast, which is a great opportunity to relieve the tiredness of a whole week, provides a breakfast pleasure far from ordinary breakfast tables. Turkey's views in many places, especially if you want breakfast located in the spreading and whether the sea in major cities in the places in nature, you can enjoy a family breakfast spreading.
Of course, at this point, sprinkle breakfast prices come to mind. It should be noted that the mixed breakfast prices are the same as the normal breakfast prices, and there are also places that offer a mixed breakfast at very affordable rates.
TURKISH COFFEE CULTURE
Turkish coffee, which has existed in Turkish culture for centuries, is a type of coffee unique to Turks that enables the mornings to start more vividly, cheers up conversations and appears as a cultural motif.
With the maxim that even a bitter coffee has forty years' sake, the place and importance of Turkish coffee in Turkish culture is emphasized. Turkish coffee, which has different meanings according to the regions, is a type of coffee that is preferred on special occasions, important visits and daily.
While Turkish coffee is made with sugar in some regions, it is consumed by biting and drinking sugar called "kıtlama" in some regions. Turkish coffee is sometimes diversified with milk and sometimes with liquor, making it suitable for different tastes.
A Coffee Has Forty Years of Remembrance
Although Turkish coffee culture is a very ancient culture, there are also varieties of drinking Turkish coffee. Turkish coffee, which is prepared and consumed in different ways in each region, is made without sugar according to Bosnian traditions. It is believed that the taste of Turkish coffee mixed with sugar has stopped. If you want to drink coffee with sugar, cut sugars are bitten and a sweet layer is formed in the mouth. Turkish coffee is drunk by taking a sip of coffee and a bite of sugar.
Caucasian Turks make their coffee with milk. But not with every milk. Turkish coffee made with the milk of a newly born cow tastes slightly sour and creates an indispensable coffee tradition for the Caucasus.
Many idioms and proverbs about Turkish coffee, which have taken place in Turkish culture since ancient times, are also used in society. If it has been waited too long in the cooking and serving of the coffee; They say "Does the coffee come from Yemen?" The most important reason for this is that the homeland of Turkish coffee is Yemen and Abyssinia.
The Oldest Hot Drink of the Turks; Turkish coffee
The story of coffee's entry into Ottoman cuisine and being a traditional Turkish flavor dates back to ancient times. There are two different stories told about this. The first story is that in 1554, two Syrian merchants introduced coffee into Ottoman lands.
Another story about coffee finding its place in Ottoman cuisine takes place in the period of Suleiman the Magnificent. Sultan Suleiman, who wants Turkish coffee from the Governor of Yemen, invites the most beautiful coffees and coffee makers to his palace. The masters, who know 40 different types of coffee cooking methods, settle in the palace and thus Turkish coffee entered the Ottoman palace.
Of course, Turkish coffee begins to be cooked and served with innovations and changes specific to the palace cuisine. For example, the water served with the coffee, giving different flavors with rose petals emerged during these periods.
First Drink Water, Then Take a Sip of Coffee
The beans of Turkish coffee, which was widespread in Istanbul in ancient times and transported to every corner of Anatolia in time, were ground by pounding in copper mortars and then roasted and made ready for drinking. Turkish coffee coming from Yemen and taking its current form with different cooking styles; It is cooked in copper pots over low heat. The best Turkish coffee would be cooked on candle fire. Cooking Turkish coffee on candle fire, which is a laborious method of cooking, creates a very delicious coffee.
In addition, it is quite common today to cook Turkish coffee in different techniques such as cooking in hot sand and in black fire.
There is a manners and tradition of drinking Turkish coffee. Before sipping a traditional cultural motif of Turkish coffee, a sip is taken of the cold water that comes with the coffee. In this way, the mouth is cleaned and the taste of the coffee is fully taken.
Do Not Drink Turkish Coffee Without Turkish Delight
It is necessary to drink Turkish coffee while slurping. This drinking method, which is made to drink the sparkling part and not to lose the foam of the coffee, is considered as one of the manners of drinking coffee, although it looks funny from the outside and is a part of the tradition of drinking coffee.
There are various treats alongside Turkish coffee and these treats increase the flavor of the coffee. Turkish delight is one of the most preferred treats besides Turkish coffee. Light flavored, flower or fruit flavored Turkish delights are the most preferred.