Food Lover's Town

May 19, 2017

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is historically known as Constantinople and Byzntium. It is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center. Everyone knows Constantine the Great. Constantine the Great became the emperor of the whole of the Roman Empire in September 324. Two months later, he laid out the plans for a new, Christian city to replace Byzantium. As the eastern capital of the empire, the city was named Nova Rom. Constantinole's location ensured its existence. The walls and seafront protected Europe against invaders from the east and the advance of Islam. Likewise, as the history developed, the food and its flavor evolved as well.

Though, many visitors come to Turkey, thinking they know or handled on Turkish cuisine - such as skewer grilled meat, Turkish cuisine is actually complexed and cotains the multi-layered nature. Turksih food, in terms of types and geography, was served in Istanbul with a rich history, covering an area from the Middle East to North Africa and part of Europe. It reveals its various ethnic culinary cultures.

First of all, Turkish breakfast is slightly different from European style of breakfast. Tea is served instead of coffee. The other elements such as bread and cheese are similar. In addition to those ingredients, the most common dishes sucuklu yumurta and borek are served. sucuk is dried sausage made of ground beef with garlic with the spices of red pepper, cumin and sumac. borek is made of thin sheets of dough filled with cheese, minced meat and vegetables.

Kebap obssessed? let's foget about normal doner meat. We all know. Adana kebap is a must if you are a meat kebap enthusiast. It is named after the city of Adana, located in the southeast of the country. The ingredients are ew, yet the process of preparing and cooking are speicific. The essential ingredients are the lamb meat and the tail fat. Traditionally, it has to be the meat of a male lamb that is younger than one year of age. The animal has to be grown in its natural environment and fed with the local flora. After a detailed cleansing and resting process, the meat is kneaded with dried red and green hot peeper and fresh local red peppers, brochette mounted on the skewers, charcoal grilled and served with grilled onion, tomato and green pepper on the side.

Finally, Baklava is the finest Turkish dessert. The ingredients are very simple: phyllo dough, nuts and syrup. The thinness of the dough layers is crucial for its taste and texture. The nuts are varied in walnuts, hazelnuts, or pistachios depend on the regions in Turkey.

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