Yogurt; The Obvious yet Hidden Secret of Turkish Cuisine

2016-2017 YESAM lecture period has started with a seminar on yogurt presented by food writer and researcher of Turkish culinary culture Mrs. Aylin Öney Tan. Mrs. Tan started the lecture by explaining the importance and significance of yogurt for the Turks and the daily life in Turkey.

“Even though yogurt is a big part of Turkish culinary culture and may seem like a simple topic to talk about, there are many aspects of yogurt; from how it’s made, to how it’s named, and how widely it is used, that even Turkish people do not know about.” That is why Mrs. Tan named her seminar as the obvious yet hidden secret of Turkish cuisine.  Mrs. Tan gave detailed information about methods of making yogurt, the types of milk and starter used in making yogurt as well as the types of vessels that yogurt is being made in. However, the most important aspect is the usage of yogurt in Turkish cuisine.

Yogurt is used in various ways and forms in the cuisine. For example; yogurt is used as a topping or accompaniment to some of the famous dishes of Turkish cuisine such as;“etli yaprak sarma”(stuffed grape leaves), ground beef filled dumplings (mantı) and fresh broad beans cooked in olive oil (zeytinyağlı bakla) which are always served with yogurt, therefore there is a strong association.  Other times it is used as an ingredient in various Turkish products such as “tarhana”, the dried yogurt soup, and “kurut” dried yogurt cheese. There are times when the use of yogurt is more subtle, for example when used in “yogurt dessert”; a syrup-drenched sponge cake where one of the main ingredients is yogurt. It is almost always used in making of “börek,” the savory pastries. And finally one last but not least example given by Mrs. Tan is the dried fig pudding (incir uyutması) which does not use any yogurt in the making but, due to the making process the milk used is fermented to yield a type of fig flavored yogurt, which is the only example of a fruit-based yogurt used in Turkish cuisine.

At the end of the lecture the participants had a chance to taste a variety of dishes prepared with yogurt, some obvious and some hidden; Yogurt soup with wheatberry, pistachios and almonds, Traditional hand-cut noodles with walnuts and “kurut” cheese, baked chicken with warm yogurt sauce and cheese, yogurt drink and dried fig pudding.

21 September 2016