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Ottoman cuisine is the
cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and its continuation in the cuisines of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
,
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
Northern Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
.
Today,
Turkish cuisine
Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...
is a continuation of Ottoman cuisine.
Sources
The Ottoman palace kitchen registers (''matbah-i amire defterleri'') are important primary sources for studies of early modern Ottoman cuisine containing information on ingredients and names of food dishes cooked by the palace kitchens.
Many cookbooks were published beginning in the 19th century reflecting the cultural fusions that characterized the rich cuisine of Istanbul's elites in the Late Ottoman period as new ingredients like tomatoes became widely available. There are few extant recipe collections before this era.
The earliest Ottoman cookbook is credited to Muhammad Shirvânî's 15th-century expansion of the earlier Arabic ''Kitab al-Tabikh'' by
Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi
Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan bin Muḥammad bin al-Karīm al-Baghdadi, usually called al-Baghdadi (d. 1239 AD), was the compiler of an early Arabic cookbook of the Abbasid period, كتاب الطبيخ ''Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ'' (''The Book of Dishes'') ...
.
''
Diwan Lughat al-Turk'' (the earliest Turkish language dictionary) is often consulted as a source for the influence of Turkic cuisine, although scholars caution against uncritically assuming the words still meant the same thing hundreds of years later in geographically distant Anatolia.
History
Influences
Ottoman cuisine represents the synthesis of
Central Asian
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Balkan
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
culinary traditions, enriched by the introduction of new spices and ingredients during the
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...
.
Maxime Rodinson
Maxime Rodinson (26 January 1915 – 23 May 2004) was a French Marxist historian, sociologist and orientalist. He was the son of a Russian-Polish clothing trader and his wife, who both were murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp. After study ...
has argued that food historians "need to show that
oodsdo not have a common, parallel origin in Graeco-Roman cooking before we adduce any oriental influence" because, according to Rodinson,
Latin Europe
The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic.
Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...
, Islam and the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
all evolved from "the civilization of antiquity".
[Rodinson, Maxime. "Venice and the Spice Trade," in Rodinson, Maxime, and Charles Perry. ''Medieval Arab Cookery: Papers by Maxime Rodinson and Charles Perry with a Reprint of a Baghdad Cookery Book'' (2006). p. 204] This type of "mutual exchange and enrichment" is a typical feature of culinary history.
The
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to:
* Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia
* Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities
* Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
-era
foodways
In social science, foodways are the cultural, social, and economic practices relating to the production and consumption of food. ''Foodways'' often refers to the intersection of food in culture, traditions, and history.
Definition and historical ...
of the
Turkic tribes
The Turkic term ''oğuz'' or ''oğur'' (in z- and r-Turkic, respectively) is a historical term for "military division, clan, or tribe" among the Turkic peoples.
With the Mongol invasions of 1206–21, the Turkic khaganates were replaced by ...
were influenced by the cultures they had encountered during their
migrations from the
Altay Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...
to Anatolia, including Persian cuisine.
[ '']Ayran
Ayran, doogh, dhallë, daw, xynogala or tan is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage popular across Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeastern Europe, North Asia and Eastern Europe. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. ...
'' is often considered to be part of the central Asian heritage of the Turkic tribes. Pilaf dishes exist in both Central Asian and Persian cuisine making it difficult to trace the path of diffusion back to its starting point.
New ingredients
Ottoman trade introduced new ingredients to the empire's regional cuisines, contributing to the evolving, unique character of Ottoman foodways. Levantine cuisine
Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant.
Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is ''meze'' including ''tabbouleh'', ''hummus'' and ''baba ghanoush''.
Levantine dishes
* Arabic coffee (قهوة عر ...
was enriched by the new ingredients from Asia and the Americas. Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel (; 24 August 1902 – 27 November 1985) was a French historian and leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects: ''The Mediterranean'' (1923–49, then 1949–66), ''Civilization and Capitalism'' ...
credits the Ottomans with introducing rice, sesame and maize to the region.
Although tomatoes had entered the cuisine by the 1690s, they are not found in the few recipe manuscripts that survive from the 18th century. Ayşe Fahriye has recipes for both green tomatoes (''kavata'') and red tomatoes (''domates'') in ''Ev Kadını''. Some of the recipes like tomato pilaf and dolma are still common in modern Turkish cuisine
Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...
. Fahriye's 1882 cookbook is the last mention of green tomatoes in Ottoman cooking. Mehmet Kamil's influential 1844 manuscript includes recipes for tomato stew, stuffed tomato ''dolma
Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...
'' and tomato pilaf.
Also from the Americas were potatoes, haricot beans
The navy bean, haricot, pearl haricot bean, Boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean is a variety of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris'') native to the Americas, where it was first domesticated. It is a dry white bean that is smaller than m ...
, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, corn and zucchini.
Diffusion
The court cuisine was diffused through the provinces by Ottoman officials.
The influence of Ottoman cuisine in Europe beginning in the early 16th century is seen in dishes like ''sharbat
Sharbat ( fa, شربت, ; also transliterated as ''shorbot'', ''šerbet'' or ''sherbet'') is a drink prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is a sweet cordial, and usually served chilled. It can be served in concentrated form and eaten with a ...
'', which spread first to Italy after Franceso I de'Medici requested a recipe for "Turkish sorbette" in 1577. Rice pudding
Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla and raisins.
Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such ...
, described in contemporaneous sources as "Turkish-style rice", was served at the wedding of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara
Ercole I d'Este KG (English: ''Hercules I''; 26 October 1431 – 25 January 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. He was a member of the House of Este. He was nicknamed ''North Wind'' and ''The Diamond''.
Biography
Ercole was born i ...
in 1529. Similar to the Western-style confection ''nougat
Nougat ( , ; ; az, nuqa; fa, نوقا) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The c ...
'', ''koz halva'' is found in the cuisines of Central Europe, where it is called ('Turkish honey') in Hungarian, and in Austria and southern Germany.
Characteristics
The Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, representing a wide range of climate zones and flora and fauna, and so the cuisine includes not only the cuisine of the Ottoman Palace, but a rich diversity of regional specialties.
Böreks and pastries
The iconic Ottoman stuffed pastry ''börek'' may be related to the triangular ''sanbusak'' pastries of Safavid cuisine. The cognate term ''senbuse'' appears in Turkish sources as early as the 13th century, becoming corrupted as ''samsa''. (''Samsa'' are often associated with Uzbek cuisine
Uzbek cuisine shares the culinary traditions of peoples across Central Asia. There is a great deal of grain farming in Uzbekistan, so breads and noodles are of importance, and Uzbek cuisine has been characterized as "noodle-rich". Mutton is a pop ...
.)
The term "börek" does not appear in Kashgari's dictionary but two recipes for ''pirak'' are recorded in the 14th century '' Yinshan Zhengyao'', a Chinese cookery manuscript from the Mongol Yuan
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
era. The description of Danishmend Gazi
Danishmend Gazi ( fa, دانشمند غازی), Danishmend Taylu, or Dānishmand Aḥmad Ghāzī (died 1085), was the Turkmen general of the Seljuks and later founder of the beylik of Danishmends. After the Turkic advance into Anatolia that fo ...
's wedding feast in ''Danishmendname
Danishmend Gazi ( fa, دانشمند غازی), Danishmend Taylu, or Dānishmand Aḥmad Ghāzī (died 1085), was the Turkmen general of the Seljuks and later founder of the beylik of Danishmends. After the Turkic advance into Anatolia that fo ...
'' mentions both samsa and "well-buttered böreks".
Ottoman banquets in the 19th century served a mix of Alafranga and alaturca Alafranga and alaturca are musical and cultural concepts specific to the Ottoman Empire and its people. The terms describe a distinction between Western culture and Eastern culture in the Balkans. They are also associated with the old-fashioned (ala ...
foods. At these dinners, ''börek'' was sometimes replaced by the similar French pastry, or .
The pastry ''boyoz
Boyoz is a Turkish pastry of Jews of Turkey, Sephardic Jewish origin, associated with İzmir, Turkey, which is practically the only city where it is prepared for commercial purposes and follows the original recipe. As such, in the eyes of Smyrnio ...
'' (etymologically linked to the Spanish ''bollos'' meaning "small loaves") may date to the arrival of Sephardic Jews in 1492. In modern times the pastry is found mainly in the city of Izmir where it represents the cultural heritage and contributions of Ottoman Jews
By the time the Ottoman Empire rose to power in the 14th and 15th centuries, there had been Jewish communities established throughout the region. The Ottoman Empire lasted from the early 14th century until the end of World War I and covered par ...
.
Bread
Bread was made with wheat and classified according to the quality and origin of the flour. Istanbul's demand for grain could not be met by local production alone and it received shipments from the Thracian coastlands, western Anatolia, Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
, Macedonia and Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
.
Many types of bread were baked in the palace kitchens—flat white bread (), loaves of good quality whole wheat () and white bread () and filo
Filo or phyllo is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and börek in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Filo-based pastries are made by layering many sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter; the pastry is then ...
().[ The addition of seeds like sesame and aniseed, or spices like cloves, was considered a luxury. Evliya Çelebi noted "the fine white Mudejar francala bread", referring to the European-style bread baked by the ]Mudéjar
Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...
in Galata.
''Lapa'', ''keşkek
Keşkek, also known as kashkak, kashkek, keške and helîse is a ceremonial meat or chicken and wheat or barley stew found in Turkish, Iranian, Greek and Balkan cuisines.
In 2011, keşkek was confirmed to be an Intangible Cultural Heritage of ...
'' and other Ottoman porridge dishes were less expensive alternatives to white bread.
Desserts
Sugar was still prohibitively costly in the 17th century; far more common were honey and syrups like ''pekmez
Pekmez ( tr, pekmez, az, bəkməz/doşab) is a molasses-like syrup obtained after condensing juices of fruit must, especially grape by boiling it with a coagulant agent like wood ashes or ground carob seeds. It is used as a syrup or mixed with t ...
'', made with grapes.
The wheat berry pudding '' aşure'', in modern times a part of the Islamic holy day Ashura
Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the ...
, has roots in the harvest rituals of the Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
period, since which time domesticated wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
is known to have been cultivated at Karaca Dağ
Karaca Dağ ( ku, قهرهژداخ, ) is a shield volcano located in eastern Turkey.
It was also known as Mount Masia. Which in turn was used to give the title of an iris found on the mountain, as '' Iris masia''.
On 6 March 2006, repo ...
.[
There are multiple competing theories of the origin of '']baklava
Baklava (, or ; ota, باقلوا ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.
The pre- Ottoman origin of the ...
'', variously ascribing it to the Ancient Roman ''placenta cake
Placenta cake is a dish from ancient Greece and Rome consisting of many dough layers interspersed with a mixture of cheese and honey and flavored with bay leaves, baked and then covered in honey.. The dessert is mentioned in classical texts such ...
'', Perisan ''lauzinaj
''Lauzinaj,'' also spelled ''lawzinaj'', ''lawzinaq'', ''luzina'' (Latin: ''losenges'', ''lesynges'') is an almond-based confection known from medieval Arab cuisine. Described as the "food of kings" and "supreme judge of all sweets", by the 13th-ce ...
'' or the influence of Central Asian desserts, found also in the milky layered dessert ''güllaç
Güllaç (pronounced ) is a Turkish dessert made with milk, pomegranate and a special kind of pastry. It is consumed especially during Ramadan.
Güllaç is considered by some as being the origin of baklava. The similarities between the two des ...
''.[ Dernschwam describes a baklava-like dish made by cooking thin wafers of starch flour and egg white, then filling with layers of sugared nuts with rosewater and nutmeg to create a dessert about as thick as a finger.
Dernschwam describes '' zerde'' as rice pudding that is cooked in honeyed water and colored with ]saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...
, garnished with toasted almonds and served with fruits. ''Muhallebi
Muhallebi is a milk pudding commonly made with rice, sugar, milk and either rice flour, starch or semolina, popular as a dessert in the Middle East. While the dessert is called Muhallebi in Greece, Turkey and Iraq, the Egyptian variant is called ...
'' is also listed among the foods Dernschwam encountered on his travels.
Visiting Europeans noted with interest the Ottoman manner of serving sweet dishes between other courses, instead of at the end of the meal as the custom was in France and other European countries. German army officer Helmuth von Moltke whilst serving in the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
noted the unusual presentation of courses with the sweet courses served between roasts and other savory dishes. Edward Lear
Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
's account of a banquet in Ottoman Albania similarly notes the unexpected order of courses, roast meats followed by honeyed pastries, fruits followed by shellfish, savory and salted meats and stews followed by chocolate, and so on, he says, innumerable courses were served in confounding permutations of sweet, sour and salty combinations.
Dolma
Dolma
Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...
were made by stuffing whole fruits and vegetables, or by wrapping leaves around a filling, either minced meat or spiced pilaf.
Dernschwam described a stuffed vegetable dish of young pumpkins and aubergines (which he calls '), stuffed with cubed mutton and garlic filling, and served with yogurt. He also describes the dish called '' sarma'' as stuffed vine leaves cooked with sour plums.
Drinks
Coffeehouses
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
developed first in the Ottoman Empire and spread to Italy, then across Europe. There were coffeehouses, sharbat
Sharbat ( fa, شربت, ; also transliterated as ''shorbot'', ''šerbet'' or ''sherbet'') is a drink prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is a sweet cordial, and usually served chilled. It can be served in concentrated form and eaten with a ...
shops and ''boza
Boza, also bosa, is a fermented beverage originating from the Middle East and made in parts of Southeast Europe, Central and Western Asia, Caucasus and North Africa. It is a malt drink made by fermenting various grains: wheat or millet in Alban ...
hanes'' around the port of Galata where imported coffee, sugar and other colonial goods arrived to Istanbul in the 18th century. Bozahanes were one of the most popular public hangouts in 15th and 16th century Bursa until overshadowed by the coffeehouses in the 17th centuries. These were lucrative businesses that generated tax revenue and rent.
Thomas Smith mentions boza in the 17th century ''Epistola de moribus ac institutis Tucarum'': "They also have other liquors peculiar to them of which I shall only mention ''Bozza'' made from millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
."
Fish
Jean de Thévenot
Jean de Thévenot (16 June 1633 – 28 November 1667) was a French traveller in the East, who wrote extensively about his journeys. He was also a linguist, natural scientist and botanist.
Education
He was born in Paris and received his educat ...
described the fish market of Galata
Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...
in the 17th century:
The most beautiful fish market in the world is located on the marina, on a street where fish shops occupy both sides, offering large quantities of fish of all varieties...The Greeks run many taverns/cabarets in Galata, where they attract many rascals...
Anchovies were a favorite in the coastal city of Trabzon
Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...
. One of the many dishes recorded by Evliya Çelebi in his Book of Travels (''Seyahatnâme
''Seyahatname'' ( ota, سياحتنامه, Seyāḥatnāme, book of travels) is the name of a literary form and tradition whose examples can be found throughout centuries in the Middle Ages around the Islamic world, starting with the Arab travel ...
'') is an anchovy
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
dish from Trebizond. Cooked in a stoneware pan, the anchovies are arranged in rows and covered with a cinnamon and black pepper scented mixture of leeks, celery, parsley and onions. The vegetable and fish layers alternate to fill up the pan, and olive oil is poured over the top. Çelebi described the dish as "like congealed light, and one who eats it is full of light ... This fish is indeed a table from heaven".
Fruits, nuts & seeds
Many different fruits and nuts are recorded in the palace records. Pomegranates
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall.
The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean region. It was introduc ...
were sourced from villages around the Marmara Sea
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
. Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...
's fields and meadows had been converted to vineyards by the end of the 16th century. Oranges were not introduced until the 18th century, tangerines even later. Bananas, pineapples and other tropical fruits are not mentioned in any known records from the 19th-century imperial kitchens.
Fruits were used to make sharbat
Sharbat ( fa, شربت, ; also transliterated as ''shorbot'', ''šerbet'' or ''sherbet'') is a drink prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is a sweet cordial, and usually served chilled. It can be served in concentrated form and eaten with a ...
and compotes
Compote or compôte (French for ''mixture'') is a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon ...
. Sugar was too expensive for all but the wealthiest members of Ottoman society, and desserts, compotes
Compote or compôte (French for ''mixture'') is a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon ...
and ''sharbat
Sharbat ( fa, شربت, ; also transliterated as ''shorbot'', ''šerbet'' or ''sherbet'') is a drink prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is a sweet cordial, and usually served chilled. It can be served in concentrated form and eaten with a ...
'' were more likely to be sweetened with dry fruits, molasses or honey.[ There were hundreds of shops in 17th-century Istanbul specializing in preparations of the Ottoman-style compote '' hoşaf'', often taken at the end of a meal.
Cakes and bread with poppy seed filling had been consumed in Byzantium since Roman times, a tradition that continued under the Ottoman Turks, entering ]Central European cuisine
Central European cuisine consists of the culinary customs, traditions and cuisines of the nations of Central Europe.
The cuisines within each country in the region is strongly influenced by the local climate. For example, German, Polish, Aus ...
and the related culinary culture of Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
Jews.
Meat dishes
Kebabs
Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
, mantı
Manti is a type of dumpling popular in most cuisines of the Caucasian cuisine, South Caucasus, Balkan cuisine, Balkans, Central Asian cuisine, Central Asia, and Afghan cuisine, Afghanistan. Manti is also popular among Chinese Islamic cuisine, Chi ...
, köfte
Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in Balkan, Middle Eastern, South Caucasian, South Asian and Central Asian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meatusually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mut ...
, pastırma
Pastirma or basturma, also called pastarma, pastourma,, basdirma, or basterma, is a highly seasoned, air-dried Curing (food preservation), cured beef that is found in the cuisines of Turkish cuisine, Turkey, Armenian cuisine, Armenia, Azerbaijani ...
and yahni
Yakhni ( fa, یخنی , ar, يخني, ur, یخنی, hi, यख़नी, el, γιαχνί), yahni ( Turkish), or yahniya ( bg, яхния, Serbian, mk, јанија) is a class of dishes prepared in a vast area from South Asia to the Balkans. ...
are types of meat dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine. Evliya Çelebi describes shish kebab on skewers and meat slow-cooked in tandoor ovens. He says there were hundreds of stalls in the city of Istanbul selling kebabs and kofta.
Ottoman kebabs were slow-cooked in their own juices in earthenware casseroles (''çömlek'') or tandoor ovens. The recipe named "as the Turk likes it" from Hungarian noblewoman Anna Bornemisza
Anna Bornemisza (1630-1688), was a Hungarian noble, princess consort of Transylvania as the spouse of Michael I Apafi, and mother of Michael II Apafi. Her cookery book from 1680, as well as her preserved household budget book, are regarded as im ...
's collection uses this technique:
Sprinkle salt on the meat then roast it. Wash the rice well and boil it in water until soft. Wash the meat, place it in the pot and cover with beef or chicken juices. If you do not have these juices, boil it in melted butter, but so that it remains in one piece. When you serve it, turn it over onto a "platter", sprinkle with olive oil and a little sugar; in this way it will be tastier.
Stuffed roasted lamb with a filling of rice and raisins was served at a feast held in honor of Mahmud II
Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839.
His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...
's sons. It was a choice offering at the garden parties of Istanbul's elites. In 1719 stuffed lamb was served as a feast organized by the newly appointed governor of Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
. The 13th century ''Danishmendname
Danishmend Gazi ( fa, دانشمند غازی), Danishmend Taylu, or Dānishmand Aḥmad Ghāzī (died 1085), was the Turkmen general of the Seljuks and later founder of the beylik of Danishmends. After the Turkic advance into Anatolia that fo ...
'' describes whole stuffed lambs served at a wedding feast: ''Çevirme kuzıların dolmış içi.
Hunting for food was common. Sultan Ahmed I
Ahmed I ( ota, احمد اول '; tr, I. Ahmed; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal f ...
hunted rabbits at the palace in Üskudar. This style of hunt in gardens was practiced in Byzantine times at Blachernae Palace
The Palace of Blachernae ( el, ). was an imperial Byzantine residence in the suburb of Blachernae, located in the northwestern section of Constantinople (today located in the quarter of Ayvansaray in Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey). The area of the pala ...
. The 19th-century hunting lodge Ihlamur Pavilion
Ihlamur Palace ( tr, Ihlamur Kasrı), is a former imperial Ottoman summer pavilion located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid I
Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evve ...
was designed by the Ottoman-Armenian architect Nikoğos Balyan in Istanbul for Sultan Abdulmejid I
Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the ...
. Deer, wolves and foxes were all hunted, but rabbits were by far the most common game.
Offal
Ottoman court proceedings show that the ''boza'' peddlers claimed, by custom, exclusive rights to sell sauteed liver kebab (cığer).
Rice pilaf
Rice was mostly imported from Egypt and used to make pilaf
Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...
. In Ottoman language
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
pilaf dishes were called ''dane'', a term borrowed from the Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
. Made with mulberries, stir-fried meats, honey, pomegranates and gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...
s, rice dishes were rich and varied, at least for the wealthy. Evliya Çelebi
Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...
's description of rice dishes draws a distinction for the long-grain Persian rice used in ''dane'' dishes, which he calls ''çilav'' (چلو). He reports attending a feast in Bitlis
Bitlis ( hy, Բաղեշ '; ku, Bidlîs; ota, بتليس) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The city is located at an elevation of 1,545 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis R ...
where rice dishes were presented ambrette seeds, partridge, kofta
Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in Balkan, Middle Eastern, South Caucasian, South Asian and Central Asian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meatusually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mutto ...
and eggs. These festive platters were often enriched with almonds, pistachios and currants.
Soups and stews
Hans Dernschwam, a 16th-century German traveler, confirms that ( ota, چوربا) was a common dish of this period, prepared with butter and rice for the janissary
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
corps. According to Dernschwam, most 16th-century Ottoman soups began with a base of chicken stock
Stock, sometimes called bone broth, is a savory cooking liquid that forms the basis of many dishes particularly soups, stews, and sauces. Making stock involves simmering animal bones, meat, seafood, or vegetables in water or wine, often for an ...
and rice, with different vegetables added, although lamb stock was also used. Garlicky ''işkembe çorbası
Tripe soup, tripe stew or tripe chorba ( tr, işkembe çorbası, bg, шкембе чорба, škembe čorba, mk, чкембе чорба) is a soup or stew made with tripe (cow or lamb/mutton stomach). It is widely (not universally) consider ...
'' (tripe soup) was sold in the early morning hours by Ottoman Greeks
Ottoman Greeks ( el, Ρωμιοί; tr, Osmanlı Rumları) were ethnic Greeks who lived in the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922), much of which is in modern Republic of Turkey, Turkey. Ottoman Greeks were Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Orthodox Christians who ...
as a hangover cure.[
Soup could be thickened with a mixture of egg and flour or bread and an acidic ingredient such as lemon juice, and served over stale bread. This style of soup could be found, with some variations, in Balkan territories like Romania and ]Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, as well as in Turkey.[
Hand-cut soup noodles called '' erişte'' are a basic dish found in ]Central Asian cuisine
Central Asian cuisine has been influenced by Persian, Indian, Arab, Turkish, Chinese, Mongol, African, and Russian cultures, as well as the culinary traditions of other varied nomadic and sedentary civilizations. Contributing to the culinary div ...
.[ Tutmaç and erişte are both mentioned in the 13th century ''Danishmendname''.
]
Spices
When Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
took the city of Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
in 1453, the Turks gained control of the spice trade in the eastern Mediterranean. Spices were used in health tonics produced by the palace confectionary
Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlappi ...
that could be consumed as sweets and for health purposes, and could include up to 60 different spices in their preparation.[
According to Evliya Çelebi, the local melons in Diyarbekir were seasoned with cinnamon and cloves, according to the "recipe of Caliph Mu'awiya". The upper echelons of Ottoman society ate ]aniseed
Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia.
The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and tar ...
perfumed bread. Street vendors in Istanbul sold warm milk drinks sprinkled with fragrant cinnamon or ginger. Fish stews often included cinnamon, and kebabs
Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
could be spiced with cumin. Breads were made with seeds, cumin and spices either mixed into the dough or sprinkled on top.[
A 17th-century report says that the used of spice in Istanbul was moderate and mostly limited to black pepper, but as the intensity of spice is subjective, other reports differ. The 16th-century Flemish ]herbalist
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...
and diplomat Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq
Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (1522 in Comines, Nord, Comines – 29 October 1592 in Saint-Germain-sous-Cailly; la, Augerius Gislenius Busbequius), sometimes Augier Ghislain de Busbecq, was a 16th-century County of Flanders, Flemish writer, Her ...
described the Ottoman culinary culture as "very frugal", with a simple meal of bread and salt, garlic or onion and yoghurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bact ...
being all that was needed for nourishment. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, who later served a ...
, writing in the 18th-century, says Ottomans use "a great deal of rich spice", and that she was unable to eat the food as the intensity of flavors took their toll on her and she "began to grow weary of it and desired our own cook might add a dish or two after our manner".[
]
Sweet and sour
Sweet and sour dishes were typical of classical Ottoman cooking. The Turkish epic ''Danishmendname'' records "They put lots of fig and apricot in sour dishes, as well as raisins and dates."
The sweet and sour lamb dish '' mutancana'' is rumored to have been one of Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
's favorite courses. The recipe survives in Shirvani's 15th century manuscript, and some versions appear in Romanian cookbooks, most likely influenced by cultural contact with Hungary.
'' Mahmudiyye'' is a sweet and sour chicken and noodle dish of note from the Shirvani manuscript.
Vegetables
Palace archives from the reign of Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
confirm purchases of carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, parsley, spinach and chard in the late 15th century.
Leek
The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
s are native to the eastern Mediterranean and are mentioned in the Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
Numbers 11:15. ''Prasa'' (پراصه), as they were called, were a staple food for Salonican Jews who suffered economic hardship during the Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire
Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire were contracts between the Ottoman Empire and other powers in Europe, particularly France. Turkish capitulations, or Ahidnâmes were generally bilateral acts whereby definite arrangements were entered into ...
.
Braising was a typical way of cooking vegetables in the 19th century Ottoman Empire, sometimes with the addition of lamb. By the 1880s printed recipes had added tomato in the preparation of braised dishes. Vegetables were also used in the preparation of stuffed ''dolma''.[
]
Pickles
Dernschwam wrote that, while cabbage was found, the Turks did not know how to cook it with beef like the Hungarians, saying they instead pickled it, a common preparation in those days. Pickled cabbage was known as early as Byzantine times according to the description of a Byzantine feast recorded in 'Danishmendname
Danishmend Gazi ( fa, دانشمند غازی), Danishmend Taylu, or Dānishmand Aḥmad Ghāzī (died 1085), was the Turkmen general of the Seljuks and later founder of the beylik of Danishmends. After the Turkic advance into Anatolia that fo ...
''.
Palace cuisine
Background
Of the four Ottoman Palaces, Edirne Palace, Topkapı Palace
The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio
A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...
, Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace ( tr, Dolmabahçe Sarayı, ) located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coast of the Bosporus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and from 1909 t ...
and Yıldız Palace
Yıldız Palace ( tr, Yıldız Sarayı, ) is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas in Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the sultan and his court in the late 19th ...
, it is Topkapı that for 400-years oversaw the development of the classical Ottoman palace cuisine. Topkapı could host up to 4,000 persons at a time and the kitchen staff was huge. At one 18th-century event at least 1,000 chefs were required to prepare a meal of pilaf, soup and '' zerde'' for 10,000 attendant janissaries
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
.[
Ottoman palace cuisine was amalgamated and honed in the Imperial Palace's kitchens by chefs brought from certain parts of the empire to create and experiment with different ingredients. These chefs were tested and hired by their method of cooking rice, a simple dish. They were brought over from various places for the express purpose of experimenting with exotic textures and ingredients and inventing new dishes.
Each cook specialized in specific tasks. All dishes intended for the sultan were first passed by the palate of the , or imperial food taster, who tested the food for both poison and taste. The creations of the Ottoman palace's kitchens also filtered to the common population, for instance through ]Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
events, and through the cooking at the houses ( ''yalis)'' of the pashas, and from there on to the people at large.
Clarified butter
Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e. w ...
was the favorite cooking fat of the Ottoman Palace. Butter was used for pilafs, sweet pastries, savory ''börek
Börek or burek are a family of pastries or pies found in the Balkans, Middle East and Central Asia. The pastry is made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach or potatoes. Boreks are mainly ...
'', and other dishes.[ ]Olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
, although used in the palace cooking since the time of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, was used mostly for lighting lamps and in the manufacture of soaps. Its use in cuisine was limited, but included stuffed vegetables (''dolma
Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...
''), İmam bayıldı
İmam bayıldı (literally: "the imam fainted") is a dish in Ottoman cuisine consisting of whole eggplant stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes, and simmered in olive oil. It is a ( olive oil-based) dish and is found in most of the forme ...
, Karnıyarık
Karniyarik (lit. 'riven belly' in Turkish) is a dish found in Turkish cuisine consisting of eggplant stuffed with a mix of sautéed chopped onions, garlic, black pepper, tomatoes, optional green pepper, parsley and ground meat.
A similar ...
and ''pilaki
Pilaki is a style of Turkish meze and may refer to several dishes that are cooked in a sauce made out of onion, garlic, carrot, potato, tomato or tomato paste, sugar, and olive oil. Beans prepared in this style (''fasulye pilaki'', with white ...
''.[
'' Majun'', ]compote
Compote or compôte (French for ''mixture'') is a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon o ...
and halva
Halva (also halvah, halwa, and other spellings, Persian : حلوا) is a type of confectionery originating from Persia and widely spread throughout the Middle East. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made f ...
were sweets made by palace chefs.[
]
17th century
A palace register from 1692 lists different kinds of vegetables eaten in the palace, squash (), celery, lettuce (), cucumber, garlic, aubergines, borage (), cowpeas, spinach, turnips, vine leaves, Jew's mallow (), beets, carrots and okra. Parsley, dill, mint, and tarragon are also listed among the foodstuffs allocated for the sultan. Green tomatoes
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
() are listed for the '' hasseki sultan'' (the sultan's favorite concubine), who also received snow for iced coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
and to cool sharbat
Sharbat ( fa, شربت, ; also transliterated as ''shorbot'', ''šerbet'' or ''sherbet'') is a drink prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is a sweet cordial, and usually served chilled. It can be served in concentrated form and eaten with a ...
and '' hoşab''. Chicken was reserved for the elite, and pigeon only for the sultan, , other potential concubines and princesses. Some large portions allotted to non-imperial high-ranking servants like the female steward of the harem, who received one sheep and 10 chickens per day, indicate that persons in these roles were responsible for feeding their subordinates.
Salep
Salep, also spelled sahlep or sahlab,( tr, salep, sahlep; fa, ثعلب, ; ar, سحلب, ; al, salep; az, səhləb; he, סַחְלָבּ, ; el, σαλέπι, ; Serbian language, Serbian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Bulgarian language, Bu ...
is a drink made from the tubers of the orchid also consumed in this era.
18th century
Pepper and cinnamon were the dominant spices of the 18th-century Ottoman court
Ottoman court was the culture that evolved around the court of the Ottoman Empire.
Ottoman court was held at the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople where the sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Some served in the Treasury and the ...
, used in huge quantities, such as of pepper and over of mastic
Mastic may refer to:
Adhesives and pastes
*Mastic (plant resin)
*Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid
* Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay.
*Mastic, high-grade con ...
for a 15-day festival attended by various dignitaries in 1720. Black pepper was immensely popular in early modern European cuisine, and was used in nearly all Ottoman dishes.[
]
19th century
Mutton, clarified butter, flour and rice were the most common ingredients in the 19th century palace cuisine. Butter and yogurt, made with milk from Egyptian and Dutch cows, were purchased from the Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...
and Eyüp
Eyüp () or Eyüpsultan is a district of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The district extends from the Golden Horn all the way to the shore of the Black Sea. Eyüp is also the name of a prominent neighborhood and former village in the district, lo ...
markets. The most common cheeses were '' kaşar'', '' kaşkaval'', ''tulum peyniri
Tulum cheese ( tr, tulum peyniri) is a traditional Turkish goat's milk cheese ripened in a goatskin casing, called ''tulum'' in Turkish.
Cheesemaking
Conventional
Tulum cheese is made by heating high-fat goat's milk to a temperature of and s ...
'' and ''beyaz peynir
Beyaz peynir (meaning "white cheese" in Turkish) is a brine cheese produced from unpasteurized sheep, cow or goat milk. The cheese has a slightly grainy appearance and is similar to lighvan, feta, sirene and other Balkan white cheeses. Vege ...
''. Typical spices included cinnamon, clove, saffron, cumin, sumac, nutmeg, oregano, mastic, cardamom and black pepper.[
Compared with earlier centuries, more fish, roe and caviar were consumed, including the pickled bonito dish called '' lakerda''. Roe and ]Beluga caviar
Beluga caviar is caviar consisting of the roe (or eggs) of the beluga sturgeon ''Huso huso''. The fish is found primarily in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. It can also be found in th ...
were even served for the ''iftar
Iftar ( ar, translit=Iftar Ramadan, إفطار رمضان), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer (a ...
'' meal during Ramadan. Offal meats were more common than lamb meat, which was a seasonal luxury item. More common were tripe
Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep.
Types of tripe
Beef tripe
Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...
, liver and trotters. Beef was only used in the production of ''pastırma
Pastirma or basturma, also called pastarma, pastourma,, basdirma, or basterma, is a highly seasoned, air-dried Curing (food preservation), cured beef that is found in the cuisines of Turkish cuisine, Turkey, Armenian cuisine, Armenia, Azerbaijani ...
'' and '' sucuk''.[
Starch was used to make the dessert '']güllaç
Güllaç (pronounced ) is a Turkish dessert made with milk, pomegranate and a special kind of pastry. It is consumed especially during Ramadan.
Güllaç is considered by some as being the origin of baklava. The similarities between the two des ...
'' during the month of Ramadan.[
19th century banquets served a mix of alaturca and alafranga dishes. At an 1856 banquet celebrating Ottoman victory in the ]Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
the alaturca dishes were savory börek pastry, ''pilaf'' and the desserts ''kadayıf
Kadayıf is a traditional Ottoman dessert. Several varieties exist, including tel kadayıf, yassı kadayıf and ekmek kadayıf.
Preparation
Kadayıf is made by pouring liquid wheat dough onto a rotating hot plate, after which sweeteners are ...
'' and baklava. Some of the dishes given French names were new creations of the palace kitches like ''croustade d'ananas en sultane'' and ''suprême de faisan à la Circassienne''.
Dishes
* Roasted pigeon
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
* Ayva dolma
Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with whol ...
and (vegetable—or fruit as in this case—cooked without meat, with olive oil and tomato after a short sautéing
Sautéing or sauteing (, ; in reference to tossing while cooking) is a method of cooking that uses a relatively small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Various sauté methods exist.
Description
Ingredients for sa ...
)
* ( stuffed melon)
* Piyaziye
İmam bayıldı
''İmam bayıldı
İmam bayıldı (literally: "the imam fainted") is a dish in Ottoman cuisine consisting of whole eggplant stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes, and simmered in olive oil. It is a ( olive oil-based) dish and is found in most of the forme ...
'' is an iconic eggplant dish with legendary folk origins. It was a dish created in the imperial kitchens that remains a popular entrée of modern Turkish cuisine.
Public kitchens
Hebron
The "Table of Abraham" (''simat al-Khalil'') was a custom of pre-Ottoman Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
to host and feed travelers. According to Nasir Khusraw
Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī Balkhi ( fa, ناصر خسرو قبادیانی, Nasir Khusraw Qubadiani) also spelled as ''Nasir Khusrow'' and ''Naser Khosrow'' (1004 – after 1070 CE) w ...
, any guest to Hebron received a bowl of lentils with olive oil, and a round loaf of bread and raisins. The in Hebron, reinstated by the Mamluk sultan Qaytbay
Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay ( ar, السلطان أبو النصر سيف الدين الأشرف قايتباي) (c. 1416/14187 August 1496) was the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt from 872 to 901 A.H. (1468–149 ...
in the 15th century, was still serving lentils each day in the 16th century. On Thursday evenings pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall.
The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
seeds and seasoned rice () were served. According to Mujir al-Din
Mujīr al-Dīn al-ʿUlaymī (Arabic: ) (1456–1522), often simply Mujir al-Din, was a Jerusalemite ''qadi'' and historian whose principal work chronicled the history of Jerusalem and Hebron in the Middle Ages.Little, 1995, p. 237.van Donze ...
, all were welcome at the . Evliya Çelebi
Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...
, writing in the 17th century, said "each person had his bowl filled with the soup of Abraham, enough for the subsistence of men with their families. I vliyawas also fortunately among the group of those poor. I received a plate of wheat soup, a gift from God. I never witness such a tasty meal at the table of either viziers or men of learning".
Jerusalem
At the Haseki Sultan Imaret
Haseki Sultan Imaret was an Ottoman public soup kitchen established in Jerusalem to feed the poor during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The imaret was part of a massive Waqf complex built in 1552 by Haseki Hürrem Sultan, better known i ...
in Jerusalem guests received two bowls of soup each day, enriched with clarified butter, and including legumes, grains, root vegetables and other seasonal ingredients, and always served with bread. On Fridays, and for special occasions like ''iftar
Iftar ( ar, translit=Iftar Ramadan, إفطار رمضان), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer (a ...
'', Eid celebrations and other holy days like Aşure, Mevlud and Berat
Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier.
Berat is located in th ...
, lamb and rice would be served instead of soup, and '' zerde'' (rice pudding with honey and saffron).[
]
Istanbul
All travelers were welcome to three days of basic meals at the in Fatih, İstanbul, but the special service of bread, honey and sweets upon arrival was limited to guests of the caravansarai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
(roadside inn). Two soups were served each day, rice soup in the mornings, and wheat soup in the evenings, similar to the Jerusalem kitchens, but with meat and fresh parsley. The Friday menu was lamb with rice, , and '' zırbaç'' (a dessert puddings with dried fruits and nuts). The highest ranking guests ate lamb and rice every day. When members of the ''ashraf
Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...
'' were in attendance, they were served sheep's trotters
Sheep's trotters, also referred to as lamb's trotters, are the feet of sheep. They may be cooked by being boiled, broiled or fried, and are used in various dishes. Sheep's trotters may also be parboiled and then finished by an additional cooking me ...
() for breakfast each day, with hearty lamb and rice portions, and a spiced squash dish sweetened with honey, cloves and cinnamon. 3,300 loaves of bread were baked each day by the kitchens and leftovers distributed to the poor.[
]
Terminology
The culinary terminology of Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
includes many Persian loanwords:[
*'']Meze
Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levant, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Iran. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A mezze may be served as a part of a multi-course me ...
''
*'' Çorba''
*'' Hoşaf''
*'' Reçel''
*''Pilaf
Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...
''
Other culinary terms that have entered the Turkish language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
reveal an assortment of linguistic influences like Italian ('' barbunya''), Greek (), Chinese ('' manti'') and Arabic (''muhallebi
Muhallebi is a milk pudding commonly made with rice, sugar, milk and either rice flour, starch or semolina, popular as a dessert in the Middle East. While the dessert is called Muhallebi in Greece, Turkey and Iraq, the Egyptian variant is called ...
'').[
Beginning in the 19th century the Ottomans began using French culinary terms at diplomatic events. ]French cuisine
French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...
was considered, in those times, the epitome of culinary accomplishment and its influence was felt not only in the Ottoman court, but also other European courts, where French chef Marie-Antoine Carême
Marie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (; 8 June 178412 January 1833) was a French chef and an early practitioner and exponent of the elaborate style of cooking known as ''grande cuisine'', the "high art" of French cooking: a grandiose style of cookery ...
cooked in the imperial kitchens of the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, and Alphonse Gouffe was Head Pastry Chef to Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
. Banquet menus for international dignitaries were written in French and service à la russe
The historical form of (; "service in the Russian style") is a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially, and the food being portioned on the plate by the waiter (usually at a sideboard in the dining room) bef ...
replaced service à la française
(; "service in the French style") is the practice of serving various dishes of meal at the same time, with the diners helping themselves from the serving dishes. That contrasts to (; "service in the Russian style") in which dishes are brought ...
at formal dinners. Ottoman pilaf
Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...
, and kebabs
Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
continued to be served. Food remained a symbol of Ottoman power and prestige and the adaptation of French culinary practices to Ottoman palace cuisine reflected the Ottoman desire to prove themselves the cultural equal of Europeans.
Menus of formal banquets at the imperial court dating to the early 20th century show the use of French terms and their Turkish equivalents:
Legacy
Ottoman culinary influence survived the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922) began with the Young Turk Revolution which restored the constitution of 1876 and brought in multi-party politics with a two-stage electoral system for the Ottoman parliament. At the same tim ...
in Mesopotamia, the Levant, Balkans, Anatolia and Greece. Hungarian, Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
, Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
, Serbian, Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
and Bosnian cuisine
Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine ( bs, Bosanska kuhinja) is balanced between Western and Eastern influences. The food is closely related to former Yugoslav, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Austo-Hungarian and other Balkan cuisines.
Ingredients
Bo ...
all share in the heritage of Ottoman culinary culture. Fragner notes that these cuisines, in the modern forms, "offer treacherous circumstantial evidence of this fact" of their shared cultural history, and that the origins of its legacy are impossible to ascertain:
It is a matter of mere speculation whether the origins of this imperial culinary legacy are to be traced back to Greek antiquity, the Byzantine heritage, or the Turkish and Arab nations, not forgetting Phoenician traditions; nowadays you may find support for any of these claims in various countries in the Balkans and the Near East.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire gave rise to the creation of modern nation-states in the Balkans and Middle East. Nationalist ideologies became the tools to forge integrated, shared identities by erasing the shared Ottoman heritage and identity of these many nations. The newly founded states based their national identities on the ancient past (Pharonic, Mesopotamian, Phoenician, Greek). This has made the shared culinary heritage of these nations a flashpoint as competing nationalist agendas have fought over claims to the most prestigious dishes such as baklava. Fragner notes that the emergent national cuisines also represent "a good deal of local or regional culinary traditions".[Fragner, p. 52]
Bibliography
* Priscilla Mary Işın, ''Bountiful Empire: A History of Ottoman Cuisine'', Reaktion Books, London, 2018,
* Marianna Yerasimos, ''500 Years of Ottoman Cuisine'', 2nd English edition, Boyut Publishing, İstanbul, 2007,
References
; Sources
* Bert Fragner, "From the Caucasus to the Roof of the World: a culinary adventure", in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, ''A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East'', London and New York, 1994 and 2000, .
External links
*
Culinary cultures of the Ottoman Empire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottoman Cuisine