In history, the Turks led a nomadic life, dependent on agriculture and on the breeding of domestic animals. Turks were the first to make Yogurt. At the time, Turks had devised numerous methods to preserve their food for their long journeys.
A country of south west
Early Turks cultivated wheat and used it liberally, in several types of leavened and unleavened breads either baked in clay ovens, fried on a griddle, or buried in embers. Stuffing not only pastry, but also all kinds of vegetables was common practice, and still is, as evidenced bv dozens of different types of "dolma".
Skewering meat as well as other ways of grilling, later known as varieties of kebab, and dairy products, such as cheeses and yogurt, were convenient staples of the Turks.
The Turkish Cuisine has the privilege of being at the cross-roads of the Far-East and the
Turkish kitchen reached its best during the Ottoman dynasty. Ottoman Turks had been cooking many different fresh vegetables using exotic herbs and spices for many decades. The richness of Turkish cooking originates from Ottoman Sultans. During their reign, many of the chefs were trying to create a new dish and taste to please the Sultan in order to receive praise and reward. This movement created a large variety of dish offerings from meat to many fresh vegetables. Most beef dishes were cooked on open flame generally named " kebabs". Besides meat and vegetables, they also excelled in baking by creating different types of bread for different occasions and dishes.
The foundation of Turkish cuisine is based on grains (rice and wheat) and vegetables.
Kebabs are dishes of plain or marinated meat either stewed or grilled. Lamb is the basic meat of Turkish kitchen. Pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal form the famous Shish Kebab. Doner Kebab is a roll of lamb on a vertical skewer turning parallel to a hot grill. Turkish Kuftes (meatballs) are in all shapes and sizes mixed with spices and onions and are grilled, fired or baked. Soups are are generally based on meat stock and served at the start of the meal.
For dessert, there's Asure, a pudding of cereal grains, sugar and raisins, dried fruits stewed into compotes, apricots topped with fresh cream , Baklava and Kadayif , Revani - semolina sweet, small sweet cakes , and Lokma .
Among the national drinks , Turkish coffe, tea, ayran (yogurt drink) and sahleb should be mentioned.
Cyprus is the 3rd largest Island in the Mediterranean and is 65 km away from Turkey`s southern coast. Other neighbouring countries are
The island was settled by Phoenicians c. 800 B.C. and thereafter fell successively to the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Macedonian Greeks, Egyptians again, and finally Romans (58 B.C.). The Byzantines controlled it from A.D. 395 until 1191, when it was captured by Richard I of
Various empires, invasions, foreign settlers and traders over the past 3,000 years influenced
In North (turkish)
Greek Cypriot cuisine derives from
The Turkish Cypriot Cuisine is also famous for its kebab dishes and starters called mezze’s. Daily fresh meat, fish, vegetables and fruit used in the Turkish Cypriot cuisine . Turkish Cypriots are also very fond of lemon juice as a flavouring and fresh lemon juice or the sliced fruit are invariably served with each meal, together with slices of radish and brown bread.
One of the most common ways of cooking in
Aubergine is the prince of vegetables in
The sweet cuisine includes lokum, lokrna and arni. Lokum is Turkish Delight, and is famous throughout the world. Lokrna are little balls of paste made from flour, sugar, and yeast, fried and then dipped in syrup. Arni is made of fried flaky pastry filled with jellied cream.