Pastries

Turkish cuisine has a range of savoury and sweet pastries. Dough based specialities form an integral part of traditional Turkish cuisine.

The use of layered dough is rooted in the nomadic character of early Central Asian Turks.[6][7][8] The combination of domed metal sac and oklahu/oklava (the Turkish rod-style rolling pin) enabled the invention of the layered dough style used in börek (especially in su böreği, or 'water pastry' , a salty baklava-like pastry with cheese filling), güllaç and baklava.[6][7][8]

Börek is the general name for salty pastries made with yufka (a thicker version of phyllo dough), which consists of thin layers of dough. Su böreği, made with boiled yufka/phyllo layers, cheese and parsley, is the most frequently eaten. Çiğ börek (also known as Tatar böreği) is fried and stuffed with minced meat. Kol böreği is another well-known type of börek that takes its name from its shape, as do fincan (coffee cup), muska (talisman), Gül böreği (rose) or Sigara böreği (cigarette). Other traditional Turkish böreks include Talaş böreği (phyllo dough filled with vegetables and diced meat), Puf böreği. Laz böreği is a sweet type of börek, widespread in the Black Sea region.

Poğaça is the label name for dough based salty pastries. Likewise çörek is another label name used for both sweet and salty pastries.

Gözleme is a food typical in rural areas, made of lavash bread or phyllo dough folded around a variety of fillings such as spinach, cheese and parsley, minced meat or potatoes and cooked on a large griddle (traditionally sac).

Katmer is another traditional rolled out dough. It can be salty or sweet according to the filling.

Lahmacun (meaning dough with meat in Arabic) is a thin flatbread covered with a layer of spiced minced meat, tomato, pepper, onion or garlic.

Pide, which can be made with minced meat (together with onion, chopped tomatoes, parsley and spices), kashar cheese, spinach, white cheese, pieces of meat, braised meat (kavurma), sucuk, pastırma or/and eggs put on rolled-out dough, is one of the most common traditional stone-baked Turkish specialities.

Açma is a soft bread found in most parts of Turkey. It is similar to simit in shape, is covered in a glaze with sesame seeds and is usually eaten as part of a healthy breakfast.

Dairy products

Yoghurt is an important element in Turkish cuisine.[3] In fact, the English word yoghurt or yogurt derives from the Turkish word yoğurt. Yoghurt can accompany almost all meat dishes (kebabs, köfte), vegetable dishes (especially fried eggplant, courgette, spinach with minced meat etc.), meze and a speciality called mantı (folded triangles of dough containing minced meat). In villages, yoghurt is regularly eaten with rice or bread. A thicker, higher-fat variety, süzme yoğurt or "strained yoghurt", is made by straining the yoghurt curds from the whey. One of the most common Turkish drinks, ayran, is made from yoghurt. Also, yoghurt is often used in the preparation of cakes, some soups and pastries.

Turkey produces many varieties of cheese, mostly from sheep's milk. In general, these cheeses are not long matured, with a comparatively low fat content. The production of many kinds of cheese is local to particular regions.

* Beyaz peynir is a salty cheese taking its name from its white color ("white cheese"). It is analogous to Greek feta. This is produced in styles ranging from unmatured cheese curds to a quite strong mature version. It is eaten plain (e.g. as part of the traditional Turkish breakfast), used in salads, and incorporated into cooked foods such as menemen, börek and pide.
* Çökelek is one of two types of unsalted white cheese, made by boiling the whey left over from making beyaz peynir. There are many regional varieties of çökelek. Some are eaten fresh while others are preserved, either by storage in goatskin bags or pottery jars, or by drying in the sun. Kurut and keş are regional names for dried bricks of yoghurt made from low-fat milk or from çökelek made from buttermilk.[5]
* Lor is the other type of unsalted white cheese, similarly made from the whey left over from kaşar manufacture. Lor is used in traditional desserts made from unsalted cheese like höşmerim.
* Kaşar is Turkey's other ubiquitous cheese, a moderately fatty sheep's cheese similar to the Greek kasseri. Less matured kaşar, called fresh kaşar, is widely consumed as well.
* Kaşkaval is a wheel-shaped yellow sheep's cheese, similar to fresh kaşar. The name is probably of Turkish origin.
* Tulum is a sheep's cheese preserved in an animal skin bag (Turkish: tulum, which is also the word for a traditional bagpipe). There are regional varieties of tulum peynir in such areas as İzmir, Ödemiş and Erzincan.[5]
* Otlu peynir ("herbed cheese") is produced in many areas, chiefly in East Anatolia. Traditionally sheep's or goat's milk is used, but more recently cow's milk otlu peynir has been produced. The type of herb used varies by region: in Van wild garlic is traditional; Bitlis otlu peynir contains a damp-loving herb known as sof otu. In other areas horse mint (Mentha longifolia) and Pimpinella rhodentha are used.[5]
* Hellim (Greek: halloumi) is a salty, firm-textured cheese, generally with some mint added, made in Cyprus. In Turkey, it is common that hellim is fried in a pan with some olive oil.
* Gravyer (analogous to Swiss gruyere) is produced in Turkey as well. Among others, Kars is famous for its graviera.
* Mihaliç peyniri or Kelle peyniri is a hard sheep's cheese that can be grated, like Parmesan cheese. Sometimes goat or cow milk is used. It is a specialty from Balıkesir.
* Örgü peyniri, "braided cheese", is a specialty from Diyarbakır.
* Çerkez peyniri, "Circassian cheese".

Dolma and sarma

Dolma is a verbal noun of the Turkish verb dolmak 'to be stuffed(or filled)', and means simply 'stuffed thing'.[10] Dolma has a special place in Turkish cuisine. It can be eaten either as a meze or a main dish. It can be cooked either as a vegetable dish or meat dish. If a meat mixture is put in, it is usually served hot with yoghurt and spices such as oregano and red pepper powder with oil.

Zeytinyagli dolma (dolma with olive oil) is the dolma made with vine leaves cooked with olive oil and stuffed with a rice-spice mixture. Such a type does not contain meat, is served cold and also referred to as sarma, which means "wrapping" in Turkish. The word "sarma" is also used for some types of desserts, such as fıstık sarma (wrapped pistachio). If dolma does not contain meat, it is sometimes described as yalancı dolma meaning "fake" dolma. Dried fruit such as figs or cherries and cinnamon used to be added into the mixture to sweeten "zeytinyağlı dolma" in Ottoman cuisine. Vine leaves ("yaprak") could be filled not only with rice and spices but also with meat and rice, in which case it is served hot with yoghurt etli yaprak sarma.

Melon dolma along with quince or apple dolma was one of the palace's specialities (raw melon stuffed with minced meat, onion, rice, almonds, peanuts, cooked in an oven). In contemporary Turkey, a wide variety of dolma is prepared. Although it is not possible to give an exhaustive list of dolma recipes, courgette ("kabak"), aubergine ("patlıcan"), tomato ("domates"), pumpkin ("balkabağı"), pepper ("biber"), cabbage ("lahana") (black or white cabbage), chard ("pazı") and mussel ("midye") dolma constitute the most common types. Instead of dried cherry in the palace cuisine, currants are usually added into the filling of dolma cooked in olive oil. A different type of dolma is mumbar dolması, for which the membrane of intestines of sheep is filled up with a spicy rice-nut mixture.

Meze is a selection of food served as the appetizer course with or without drinks. Some of them can be served as a main course as well.

Aside from olives, mature kaşar kashar cheese, white cheese, various mixed pickles turşu, frequently eaten Turkish mezes include:

* Acılı ezme (hot spicy freshly mashed tomato with onion and green herbs)
* Acuka (A circassian meze prepared with walnut, tomato paste and garlic)
* Arnavut ciğeri (meaning "Albanian liver") (Fried small pieces of liver served with onion, parsley and hot pepper)
* Roka salad
* Patlıcan salatası (eggplant salad)
* Bakla Ezmesi (hummus prepared from broad bean)
* Barbunya
* Borani
* Börek (very thin dough layers staffed with cheese, meat or vegetables)
* Cacık (cucumber with yoghurt, dried mint and olive oil)
* Cevizli Biber (a meze prepared with walnut, red pepper, pepper paste, onion and cumin)
* Çerkez tavuğu (meaning "Circassian chicken")
* Çiğ Köfte (raw meatball prepared with bulgur and minced meat)
* Çoban salatası (a mixed salad of cucumber, tomato and pepper)
* Deniz Börülcesi
* Dolma (vine leaves, cabbage leaves, chard leaves, peppers, tomato, squash, pumpkin, eggplant or mussels stuffed with rice and/or meat)
* Fasulye pilaki (bean cooked with garlic, tomato paste, carrot and olive oil)
* Fava (broad/horse bean puree)
* Fried köfte (meatballs)
* Fried vegetables (fried eggplants, peppers and courgettes with yoghurt or tomato&garlic sauce)
* Gavurdağı salad
* Hardalotu (mustard plant salad)
* Haydari
* Hummus (a word coming from Arabic and prepared from sesame, chickpea, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice)
* İçli köfte (Also known as oruk or kubbeh, can be served either as a meze or a main dish; especially in the east of Turkey, when it is cooked through boiling in a pot, içli köfte is served as a main dish)
* Kabak Çiçeği Dolması (a kind of dolma, which you stuff a cabbage flower)
* Kısır (Also known as 'sarma içi', a very popular meze or side dish prepared with "bulgur", tomato paste, parsley, onion, garlic, sour pomegranate juice and a lot of spices).
* Muhammara
* Piyaz (white bean or potato salad with onion and vinegar)
* Semizotu salad (semiz plant served with yogurt)
* Şakşuka or another version Köpoğlu (fried and chopped eggplants & peppers served with garlic yogurt or tomato sauce)* Taramasalata
* Turp otu salad
* Kalamar (fried and served with tarator sauce, grilled)
* Octopus (ahtapot) (salad, grilled)
* Mussels (fried and served with tarator sauce or as midye dolma; mussles stuffed with rice filling)
* Shrimp (karides) (salad, grilled or cooked with vegetables in güveç-casserole)

Non-Alcoholic beverages

At breakfast and all day long Turkish people drink black tea. Tea is made with two teapots in Turkey. Strong bitter tea made in the upper pot is diluted by adding boiling water from the lower.

Ayran (salty yoghurt drink) is the most common cold beverage, which may accompany almost all dishes in Turkey.

Kefir is prepared with kefir grains and milk.

Şalgam suyu (mild or hot turnip juice) is another important non-alcoholic beverage which is usually combined with kebabs or served together with rakı.

Boza is a traditional winter drink, which is also known as millet wine (served cold with cinnamon and sometimes with leblebi).

Sahlep is another favorite in winter (served hot with cinnamon). Sahlep is extracted from the roots of wild orchids and may be used in Turkish ice cream as well. This was a popular drink in western Europe before coffee was brought from Africa and came to be known.

Sherbet (Turkish şerbet, pronounced [ʃerˈbet]) is a traditional Turkish sweet soft drink made of rose hips, cornelian cherries, rose, or licorice and spices. Some contemporary adaptations can be found at http://www.lezzet.com.tr/dosyalar/01205/.

In classical Turkish cuisine, hoşaf [hoˈʃaf] (komposto) alternatively accompanies meat dishes and pilav.
A cup of Turkish coffee; kahve.

Turkish coffee is a world-known coffee which can be served sweet or bitter. In Turkish, there is a saying that emphasizes the importance in Turkish culture of offering a cup of coffee to someone: "a cup of coffee has a 40-year consideration". (For the link between coffee beans left behind by the Ottoman Army and today's coffee shops in Vienna, take the BBC test at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4305656.stm). It should also be noted that although Arabs call their coffee Turkish coffee, it is different in aroma and taste from the classical Turkish coffee.

Other non-alcoholic beverages may include:

* Rose sherbet
* Lemonade
* Mırra
* Molasses
* Nogay tea

Breakfast

A typical Turkish breakfast consists of cheese (beyaz peynir, kaşar etc.), butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, reçel (jam/marmalade; a preserve of whole fruits) and honey usually consumed on top of kaymak. Sucuk (spicy Turkish sausage), pastırma, börek, simit, poğaça and even soups can be taken as a morning meal in Turkey. Perhaps more so than traditional breads such as pide, a crusty white loaf is widely consumed. A common Turkish speciality for breakfast is called menemen, which is prepared with roasted tomatoes, peppers, olive oil and eggs. Invariably, black tea is served at breakfast. The Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı, means "before coffee" (kahve, 'coffee'; altı, 'under').