I believe you can understand a culture from the complexity of their most basic foods. Bread, cheese and wine illustrates the richness of the cuisine as well as the characteristics of it’s citizens. Don’t you agree?
Here are what most of the Turkish people grow up eating to give you an idea of what is imprinted in their personalities. By the way, you won’t be able to see these in the stores in America. But these should be the items in your list that you will insist on having when you visit Turkey, or asking your Turkish neighbor to bring back.
Let's start with carbs
Bazlama
Bazlama is a thick, fluffy, chewy and elastic homemade bread. No, it's not pita bread. Every Turkish person has a memory of having warm Bazlama off the pan stuffed with sharp cheese and real butter dripping from the bottom. It is easy to make, ask your Turkish neighbor to make you some.
Tandir Bread
Tandir bread is done using the oldest way of making bread. It is a dense, chewy and savory bread. The smell of the real wood smoke gives this bread a unique flavor. One of the best breads you can have in your soup as it doesn’t get soggy easily. This bread is not found easily unless you travel to middle or east of Turkey.
Simit
They say it is a Turkish bagel, and I would disagree. It would be like calling zucchini a cucumber. Simit is a lot more dense and chewier than the bagel, with an earthier aroma. The most authentic Simit is glazed with pekmez (a type of molasses derived from grape) covered with sesame seeds before baking which gives this hoop a dark brown crackling crust. Simit can be eaten alone without the need of dipping sauce or spread. The most traditional way of eating is pairing Simit with Turkish tea when you need a quick blood sugar fix.
Next is cheese
Tulum Cheese
The history of this cheese goes way back to old Turks. It is a semi-soft cheese matured in the dark caves wrapped in goat hide. The texture is velvety luxurious with a cheeky youthfulness. It is semi-sharp with a touch of tanginess. The combination of warm Bazlama bread and Tulum cheese is a simple magic recipe which will make you cry of happiness.
Kuflu Cheese (Cheese with mold)
Kuflu cheese is an acquired taste. If you like blue cheese, you will love this one. The texture is nutty, crumbly in the white part, chewy and supple in the green part. Its flavor is sharp and smoky. Despite its crumbly texture, you can melt this cheese and make the aroma richer. It is believed that the mold is a natural antibiotic, and it has positive effects on the body. You can try this with Tandir bread; you will thank me.
Kashar (Kashkaval) Cheese
Although it can be seen in most of the Turkish stores in America, Kashar is definitely under marketed. The texture of the cheese is semi-firm, elastic and supple. The flavor is milky and buttery. Turks eat this in their breakfast. The most common way is to Panini press it with Sucuk (Turkish salami) in a Turkish bread as it melts nicely with the heat. From 11 liters (approx. 3 gallons) of milk makes a 1 kg (2.2 lbs) Kashar cheese. That’s why the milk taste and smell appears to be more pronounced in this cheese.
Last is wine
RED
Sevilen, Kalecik Karasi
Light garnet in the glass, this wine smells of fresh mulberries. In the mouth, a complex array of flavors mix with the primary mulberry fruit, including earthy and herbal notes. The leathery tannins offer muscle beneath the darker earthy notes, and good acidity keeps the wine bright. I would recommend you 2011 Sevilen paired with any meat dishes.
Pink
Kavaklidere Rosé
Pale pink in the glass, this wine smells of rosehips and the hint of fresh berries. In the mouth, tart berry and rosehip citrus flavors meld very beautifully with a crystalline minerality. The wine leans tart and crisp in the finish, even as the juicy acidity keeps the mouth watering. Excellent. A (very successful) blend of Calkarasi and Grenache.
White
Diren Narince Tokat
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of bright grapefruit aromas. In the mouth, flavors of pink grapefruit take on a deep wet chalkboard minerality the longer they linger, crisp in the mouth. Very tasty.
You can understand how patient a woman of a country is from the way she makes her bread. You can understand how strong of a root a man has from the cheese at his table. You can understand how well these two pair from how often the wine is uncorked in between.
