Turkish cuisine
Turkish cuisine blends Central Asian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern traditions.
Turkish cuisine (Turkish: Türk mutfağı) encompasses the traditional and regional foods of Turkey and its diaspora. It developed primarily from Ottoman cuisine, which synthesized Central Asian culinary traditions with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. During the Ottoman period, Turkish cuisine played a central role in influencing the cuisines of the former Ottoman territories, particularly in the Balkans, the Levant, Mesopotamia, North Africa, the South Caucasus and Crimea, resulting in a shared culinary heritage.
- field
- Cuisine
- nationality
- Turkish
- known_for
- Regional diversity, Ottoman heritage, kebabs, mezes, baklava, yogurt
- key_regions
- Istanbul, Bursa, İzmir, Black Sea, Southeast, Aegean, Marmara, Mediterranean, Central Anatolia
Lore & Background
The cooking of Istanbul, Bursa, İzmir, and the rest of the Anatolia region inherits many elements of Ottoman court cuisine, including moderate use of spices, a preference for rice over bulgur, koftes, and a wider availability of vegetable stews (türlü), eggplant and stuffed dolmas. The cuisine of the Black Sea Region uses fish extensively, especially the Black Sea anchovy (hamsi) and includes maize dishes. The cuisine of the southeast (including Urfa, Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Adana) is famous for its variety of kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, şöbiyet, kadayıf, katmer and künefe.
Reader's Guide
Turkish cuisine is significant for its deep historical roots and regional diversity, shaped by Ottoman court traditions and local ingredients. It influenced many former Ottoman territories, creating a shared culinary heritage across the Balkans, Levant, and North Africa. Meals in Turkey largely center around rice, vegetables, and bread, though meat-based dishes like kebabs are common abroad. Tourism in the 1980s spurred state-sponsored symposia that presented Turkish cuisine on a historical continuum from Central Asia through the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Key ingredients include lamb, chicken, beef, fish, rice, eggplants, olives, yogurt, and nuts like pistachios and hazelnuts. Breakfast is rich and varied, featuring cheese, olives, eggs, menemen, and Turkish tea. Homemade food remains preferred, with meals often starting with soup and including vegetable dishes, pilav, and salads. Restaurants range from esnaf lokantası serving traditional dishes to specialized eateries for köfte, döner, and börek.
Did You Know?
- The Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı, means 'before coffee'.
- Food names cognate with mantı are found in Chinese (mantou or steamed bun), and it is generally considered to have originated in Mongolia during the 13th century.
- The English word yogurt derives from the Turkish word yoğurt.
- In the hot Turkish summer, a meal often consists of fried vegetables such as eggplant and peppers served with yogurt or tomato sauce.
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