food history

Hunkar begendi is a dish wrapped in legend, a creation of the Ottoman palace that carries the name of a sultan’s approval and the flavors of two worlds.

The simit sandwich brings together two histories: the ancient story of the sesame bread ring, which has fed the streets of Turkey for centuries, and the modern story of the sandwich, which turned that bread into…

Kumpir looks like a modern invention, a flashy creation of the Instagram age, but its roots run deeper and stranger than the golden shells of Ortakoy suggest.

Kazandibi is a dessert with a royal story and a humble soul.

Bazlama is a bread with roots that reach deep into the Turkish past.

Soup has been simmering on Anatolian fires longer than any written recipe can tell us.

The stuffed grape leaf looks like a small, humble thing, but it carries a long history behind its green folds.

Behind every golden tray of baklava and every crisp roll of börek stands a long history of dough, fire, and migration.

Every famous dish has a story, and Urfa kebab has the story of a whole region behind it.

Every Turkish city has a dish it claims as its own, but few claim one as fiercely as Adana claims its kebab.

Sutlac is a dessert with a history as long and as layered as its texture.

Turkish ice cream is one of the oldest frozen desserts in the world, and its history reaches back into the mountains of Anatolia, long before refrigeration, freezers, or ice cream makers existed.