After all of your sight-seeing, you are going to be hungry. Make sure you take time to enjoy the local Turkish cuisine!
Turkish cuisine rewards curiosity with time-honed flavors and some of the tastiest street foods in the Mediterranean. Traditional Turkish dishes include infamous meat-full skewers or kebabs, skillfully flavored with regional spices and dolma, which means "stuffed" and can apply to peppers, grape leaves, and even seafood.
Visit Istanbul's spice bazaar, and you'll see why Turkey is famous for its spices. Stacks and stacks of freshly ground spices line the aisles of this historical bazaar and wow visitors with their aromas and colors. The use of spices and herbs is essential in Turkish cooking. Turkish cuisine is known for its bold flavors and rich taste. Spices like cumin, mint, and oregano play an important role in bringing out the flavor of the main ingredient rather than hiding it behind sauces.
Top Dishes to Try
Menemen (traditional egg dish prepared with scrambled eggs cooked in sauteed vegetables)
Kumpir (baked potato)
Pide (similar to pizza, it's a thin pastry topped with cheese, egg, chicken or tuna and baked on high heat)
Kofte (Turkish meatballs)
Turkish Delight (a sweet dessert…cubes of jelly dusted with sugar)
Legend has it that one almost 500 years ago, a Sultan ordered a baker to create a delicious sweet to help solve a quarrel with his mistress, and thus the Turkish delight was born. Now one of Turkey's most famous exports, the Turkish Delight recipe has remained almost unchanged since the day of its creation. These small, fragrant cubes of jelly are traditionally flavored with rosewater, orange flower water, or citrus fruit juice and heavily dusted with icing sugar. Be sure to pick up some Turkish Delights during your next trip to Istanbul!
Top Beverages to Try
Raki (popular anise-flavored alcoholic beverage)
Cay (pronounced Chai...Turkish Tea)
Boza (fermented grains drink)
Turkish Coffee
Turkish coffee is famous for its robust flavor and ceremonial method of preparation. Introduced to the country in 1555 and derived from the Arabica bean, Turkish coffee is composed of a very fine grind. Sugar is added during the brewing process, not after, so the need for a serving spoon is eliminated while cream is almost never added to Turkish coffee. In some regions, much like with tea leaf reading, your fortune can be told by the coffee grinds left in the cup.
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