Turkish Cuisine - by food author Howard Hillman

Turkish Cuisine

a helpful guide to
Turkish Cuisine
for diners & travelers

by an established authority

Why the cuisine of
Turkey is special

Turkish cuisine is a Middle Eastern culinary marriage - and the nation has some of the most dedicated and talented cooks on earth.

Turkish Cuisine
Insights

Outbound influence

Turkish Cuisine has had a great influence on the cooking of many Middle Eastern countries - especially Greece.

Inbound influence

At the same time, Turkish Cuisine has borrowed much. The Turks (who began arriving in the 6th Century A.D.) brought cooking techniques such as shish kebab cooking from their ancestral homeland in Central Asia.

Turkey also absorbed the cooking styles indigenous to the neighboring lands of Greece, Syria, Iran and Armenia.

The Greek influence is most noticeably apparent along Turkey's Aegean Coast while the Arab influence is readily apparent along Turkey's Mediterranean Coast - this means, for example, cooks along the Aegean Coast use olive oil far more liberally in their dishes than do their countrymen along the Mediterranean Coast.

Favorite beverage

Turkish coffee comes quickly to mind when most foreigners think of Turkey's favorite drink. In reality, tea is the country's leading beverage. Coffee doesn't even come close.

Famous specialties
of Turkey

Borek

Cheese- or meat-filled phyllo dough pastries with crisp, brittle skins.

Doner Kebab

A large vertical spit used to roast large pieces of lamb or mutton. The constant turning of the spit gives all sides of the meat a crisp crust, which is sliced off and served.

Iman Bayildi

A dish of eggplant stuffed with tomatoes and onions, then baked in olive oil. The name derives from the classic Turkish tale about a priest (iman) who fainted (bayildi) because his bride used up her entire multi-barrel-sized dowry of olive oil preparing a few eggplant dishes.

Midya Dolmasi

Steamed mussels stuffed with rice and pine nuts. Served cold.

Shish Kebab

Marinated cubes of lamb grilled on a skewer. If vegetables such as onions or tomatoes are to complement the Shish Kebab, they are typically grilled separately.

Yalanci Dolma

Rice-stuffed vine leaves. Lamb may or may not be added to the stuffing.

Best city for gourmets

Istanbul is the top all around Turkish Cuisine city. Criteria include cooking, food markets, cooking ingredients, cooking schools, beverages, dining and restaurants. Ankara, Antalya, Bodrum, Izmer and Konya are runners-up.