Gaziantep Cuisine

Gaziantep cuisine researcher and writer, Filiz Hosukoglu, held a seminar that captured the interest of the participants.  Mrs. Hosukoglu started the seminar by talking about the history of Antep. “Antep being one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia, has hosted many empires and kingdoms in its time. During World War I, the city was occupied by the English and French. After eleven months of resistance, it was granted with the cognomen “Gazi” (veteran) and took on the official name of Gaziantep.

Gaziantep is located between the areas of Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean, and Eastern Anatolia, therefore it is blessed to have the climates of all these regions and 99% of the soil is suitable for agriculture”.

Mrs. Hosukoglu continued to talk about the components of Gaziantep cuisine:

“One of the most important components of Antep food culture is lamb meat.  In cooking, clarified butter is often used. Although it is said that olive oil is not used at all in Antep, this is not true.  Especially the olive oil produced in Nizip and Kilis are widely used in the city. Among grains, bulghur, lentils, mung beans, white kidney beans, wheat and “firik” wheat (young wheat) are the most commonly used ones. During the summer months, winter preparations are very important.  Preparing brined grape leaves, drying vegetables to make “dolma,” and tomato paste are among the most important preparations. It is very common to see balconies filled with trays of tomato paste left out to dry and thicken.”

Mrs. Hosukoglu explained the components of Gaziantep cuisine in 7 main categories, including the vegetables, spices, legumes and kitchenware used.  She also mentioned that Gaziantep food culture closely matches the healthy Mediterranean diet.

In the second half of the seminar, Hosukoglu spoke of the famous “baklava.”  She explained the whole procedure of making baklava, with photographs that made the participants’ mouths water.

After the seminar, participants enjoyed some Gaziantep delicacies such as olive borek (savoury pie), grape leaves with green plums, garlic kebab, şiveydiz (yoghurt stew with lamb meat, chickpeas, fresh garlic), semolina halva with Antep cheese along with ayran (yoghurt drink).

25 May 2013

Lecture video is in Turkish.