28-Apr-2022
This is our third trip to Turkey, so we were already aware that the food here is fantastic. This time's a little different, though, in that it's Ramadan, so we've not been eating out. People would serve us, there's no doubt of that, but it feels a little insensitive to be eating outside, when most people are fasting, and we don't want to eat inside because we're still trying to avoid covid.
So most of the time we've been self-catering, and we generally do our shopping in the small local stores.
Our nearest outlet offers tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, apples, oranges, eggs, and sometimes eggplant. The taste of all this produce is superb. It's as though it's come out of someone's garden.
Around the corner is a slightly larger greengrocer's, known to us primarily for his peerless avocados and strawberries.
Just up the road is our newest cheese man (who also stocks olives, charcuterie, and many other items), and we've been really enjoying eating our way around his selection:
Turkish cheese is a world unto itself. For more detailed primers, see here and here, but these are our experiences so far:
Beyaz (means white; looks a little like feta, but is softer and creamier); old kasar (I can't do the accents in this typeface, but it has one under the s, and is pronounced kashar) from Kars; a couple of different kinds of tulum (traditionally the curds would be packed into goatskin, hence the name, which literally means coveralls or a onesie); "tongue cheese" (which you can split into shreds or cut into chunks, and stir into hot dishes); plaited cheese (salty and tangy); mountain-herb-studded cheese from Van; and hellim (halloumi, which fries up beautifully).
The great thing is that it's not all that expensive...
The cheese man also sells kaymak... Traditionally made from buffalo milk, this is reminiscent of clotted cream, with just the very faintest hint of cheesiness, and it comes rolled into little logs. ( I suspect we came across a close relative in Mongolia. The thing in the picture at the top of that post looks very like kaymak, and I talk about "that wonderful half-butter-half-cream product that you are routinely offered by the herder families as soon you set foot through the door".)
This is a product that inspires much loving description:
"If you don’t know what kaymak is, you are simply missing out on a piece of heaven!"
"Kaymak... is rich, creamy heaven in a bowl, and we are far from the first food writers to wax poetic about the stuff."
"Kaymak is often jokingly referred to as 'Turkish crack' [because of its addictive qualities]."
And so on...
Having read up about its uses -- "it’s safe to say that there are no strict rules when it comes to eating this creamy, cheesy delicacy" -- I feel justified in using it in lots of different ways: To top off chopped up orange and walnuts (see the picture at the top); to top off strawberries; or left to melt over a spicy vegetable stew...
Just across from the cheese man is one of the many bakers'. We don't normally eat bread, but there was a particular set of circumstances that justified a big simit (sesame-seed-encrusted bread ring). Yum...
On the same street as the bigger vegetable stall, there's a patisserie... Again this stuff has to be rationed, but Nigel's birthday has given us an excuse for one or two treats (judiciously spread over a couple of weeks).
Below is "supangle", the derivation of which name is quite funny: "The chocolate pudding that we call in Turkey 'supangle,' or 'sup' in short, comes from French soupe Anglaise, which comes from Italian zuppa Inglese, which probably is derived from British trifle. Despite the inherited name, the dessert itself bears no resemblance to either zuppa Inglese or trifle, other than the first layer of cake." You have to love these journeys of nomenclature (not to mention loving the pudding, which is delectable):
On previous trips I've swooned over the delicate rice pudding called firin sutlac (i without dot, u with umlaut, c with cedilla), and this one was as good as I remember:
On the same street can also be found purveyors of cooked dishes, which you can eat there (not recommendable at the moment, as I've explained) or take away (much better idea):
All these shopkeepers, I have to say, are really patient with my rudimentary Turkish.
So much for the local stuff. But it's always really nice when you unexpectedly come across a portable new thing-to-take-home while out and about. This happened in Kuzguncuk, where we stumbled on a wonderful patisserie called Tarihi Kuzguncuk Firini. We got to try a chewy, chocolaty "prenses", but what we bought were the "Kuzguncuk mushrooms". These come in different nut varieties; they're made with neither flour or oil; and a couple of versions contain no sugar. They are superb, with a lovely chewy texture and a great nutty taste.
On the subject of nuts, Turkey is a great place to be. They're pretty readily obtainable; they're not too expensive; and you get HAZELNUTS, which never seem to be available in the British Isles or Malaysia.
To sum up: Turkey is a culinary paradise. And we're only just getting going...