Turkish food
Typical dishes of Turkish cuisine
Meze – “Meze” are a popular kind of starter or snack. The skill and originality of Turkish restaurants is often measured by their meze. There’s many types, but the most popular are those made from a base of aubergine, tomato, cheese, seafood, black olives and peppers. They’re normally enjoyed with an alcoholic drink.
Dolma – The name “dolma” means “something filled”, meaning that this normally refers to dishes filled with vegetables or meat. The most typical consists of vine leaves cooked in olive oil and filled with spiced rice, seasoned with lemon. Delicious!
Midye dolma – These are fried mussels, filled with rice. This is a typical dish from some of the villages of the Aegean Coast and Istanbul, where it’s considered a local speciality.
Çorba – “Çorba”, or soups, are very common in Turkish food. They’re enjoyed all year, cold or hot. In ancient times, they were even eaten for breakfast, but these days they’re consumed above all during lunch. The most typical soups are red lentil soup (“mercimek”) and yoghurt and wheat soup.
Döner Kebap – Although it’s a fast food dish, this is the International ambassador of Turkish cuisine. It’s name means “rotating roast meat”, and that’s the way it’s made, roasting in large skewers. The most traditional is lamb. It can be eaten alone or accompanied by sauces vegetables, bread or rice. In Turkey, it’s normal to eat them at midday, not at night.
Baklava – “Baklava” are sugary cakes of puff pastry which contain walnuts, pistachios, dried fruit and honey syrup. This is one of the most typical Turkish desserts, and there’s a very wide variety of them.
Lokum – Also known as “Turkish delight”. These are sweets with a similar texture to gummy bears, which are made with a mixture of starch and sugar. They’re flavoured with lemon or rosewater, and often include pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts. They’re cut into cubes and served dusted with icing sugar.
Typical drinks from Turkey
Ayran – This is one of the most often-consumed drinks in Turkey, ideal for combating the heat. It consists of liquid sheep’s-milk yoghurt, with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Yoghurt is a very important element in Turkish cuisine, you’ll see it included in many dishes.
Café turco – As well as tea, in Turkey lots of coffee is consumed as well. It’s called “kahve” and it’s prepared directly with sugar, so you need to say how you want it when you order. It can be “sade” (without sugar), “orta” (normal) or “sekerli” (sweet). It’s never taken with milk.
Raki – Raki is a liquor which has a flavour very similar to aniseed, and which is often enjoyed after dinner or to accompany meze. It’s normally mixed with water.
Laura – Marketing Team
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