Tavuk göğsü ( tr, tavukgöğsü, , "chicken breast") is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

milk pudding Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, ins ...

made with shredded chicken breast. It was a delicacy served to

Ottoman sultans The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its he ...

in the

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio, is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the complet ...

, and is now a well-known dish in

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 ...

. It has long been believed that this chicken pudding had originated in the Roman recipe collection

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking'') is a collection of Roman cookery recipes. It is thought to have been compiled in the fifth century AD. Its language is in many ways close ...

, and it was later on passed to

Eastern Roman 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 Constantin ...

(Byzantium) and subsequently to 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) ...

. However, no surviving copies of Apicius include such a recipe. Similar Arab dishes from the tenth century exist. Considering the lack of evidence for the Roman connection, the possible introduction of tavuk göğsü into Turkish cuisine is likely of Arab origin. The traditional version uses white chicken breast meat. The meat is softened by boiling and separating the meat into very fine fibers or pounding until smooth. The meat is mixed with milk, sugar, cracked

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

and other thickeners, and often some sort of flavoring such as

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, brea ...

. The result is a thick pudding often shaped for presentation. The dish is very similar to the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

"white dish" (''

blancmange Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured wi ...

'') that was common in the upper-class cuisine of Europe, and mentioned in '' The Canterbury Tales'' (though blancmange has since evolved into very different forms in modern Europe and Latin America).Humes (2009); "In the fourteenth century, Western Europe couldn't get enough of tavuk göğsü. Known in England as blanc-manger, or 'white dish', the pallid chicken pudding appears in English, Italian, and German cookbooks of the period."

References

Bibliography

* * * * *https://web.archive.org/web/20100723190438/http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/lifestyle/jon-fasman/repasts-blanc-manger Turkish puddings Chicken dishes Ottoman cuisine {{Turkey-cuisine-stub

See also

References

Bibliography