Turkish menu? No doubts with this helpful guide to Turkish cuisine

A trip to Istanbul also means trying a varied and tasty cuisine, a meeting of different cultures and influences, a set of flavors that draw inspiration from Asian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Balkan and obviously Ottoman cuisine. Turkish cuisine is therefore not just kebabs, as many people usually think.
The culinary tradition in Istanbul is mainly based on some ingredients around which various recipes and preparations revolve. The most used foods, from breakfast to dinner, are meat, aubergines, yogurt, green peppers, lentils and beans, tomatoes, onions and garlic. Of course, spices, from cumin to paprika and aromatic herbs such as mint, oregano and thyme, and dried fruit also play an important role.

Meze is a selection of starters (mostly creamy in texture), which in Turkish cuisine are served at the beginning of the meal, before the main courses. Meze is always eaten slowly along with drinks, especially with Raki. There is always a lot of conversation around the table with your friends, so you spend several hours without noticing. When the meze is served on the table, you take samples from each dish you like and put it on your plate, then start enjoying them. Either you are having a fish or meat dinner, you will always have the meze first.

Abroad, Turkish cuisine is often identified with kebab, a term that indicates roast meat. In reality the situation is much more complex because there are so many meat and fish dishes and it is difficult to list them all. It’s up to you to discover them on a nice trip to Istanbul.

Soups have a very special place in Turkish cuisine. No matter if rich or poor, soup is a must for any table. In addition to lunch and dinner, soup can also be eaten for breakfast in Turkey, which is a fairly common behavior. In Turkish cuisine there are many different types of soups that can be eaten both hot and cold, watery or in texture, with or without particles. Here is a list of our six favorite Turkish soups.

As you have seen in the previous sections, Turkish cuisine is very varied and rich in categories. It is often not easy to put them in a specification. In this module we wanted to include 3 Turkish dishes that you will find in any restaurant in Istanbul.

“We eat sweets, we talk softly” is the ancient Turkish proverb that emphasizes the importance of pastry in the country’s gastronomic culture. A land with a very rich cuisine, which sees in the dessert a symbol of welcome but also a sign of trust and bond. Sweets were the protagonists of the festivities reserved for the Janissaries, the private army body of the sultan at the time of the Ottoman Empire, inevitable dishes in any ritual that marks an important step in life, from birth to marriage. Here is a list of the most famous and good Turkish sweets.

Turkey is a very rich country for its cuisine and there are a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages produced throughout the country. These traditional drinks are part of the culture and all Turks drink every day, so even a foreigner must necessarily try them during his trip.