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FOOD PROTOCOL FOR THE CULTURALLY CORRECT
Eating is taken very seriously in Turkey. It is inconceivable for
household members to eat alone, raid the refrigerator, or eat “on
the go” while others are at home.
It is customary to have three “sit-down meals” day. Breakfast or
“kalvaltý” (literally, ‘under the coffee’), typically consists of
bread, feta cheese, black olives and tea. Many work places have
lunch served as a contractual fringe benefit. Dinner starts when all
the family members get together and share the events of the day at
the table. The menu consists of three or more types of dishes that
are eaten sequentially, accompanied by salad. In summer, dinner is
served at about eight. Close relatives, best friends or neighbors
may join in on meals on a walk-in basis. Other are invited ahead of
time as elaborate preparations are expected. The menu depends on
whether alcoholic drinks will be served or not. In the former case,
the guests will find the meze spread ready on the table, frequently
set up either in the garden or on the balcony. The main course is
served several hours later. Otherwise, the dinner starts with a
soup, followed by the main meat and vegetable course, accompanied by
the salad. Then the olive-oil dishes such as the dolmas are served,
followed by dessert and fruit. While the table is cleared, the
guests retire to living room to have tea and Turkish coffee. Women
get together for afternoon tea at regular intervals (referred to as
the “7-17 days”) with their school friends and neighbors. These are
very eloborate occasions with at least a dozen types of cakes,
pastries, finger foods and böreks prepared by the hostess. The main
social purpose of these gatherings is to gossip and share
experiences about all aspects of life, public and private.
Naturally, one very important function is the propagation of
recipes. Diligent exchanges occur while women consult each other on
their innovations and solutions to culinary challenges.
By now it should be clear that the concept of having a “pot-luck” at
someone’s house is entirely foreign to the Turks. The responsibility
of supplying all the food squarely rests on the host who expects to
be treated in the same way in return. There are two occasions where
the notion of host does not apply. One such situation is when
neighbors collaborate in making large quantities of food for the
winter such as “tarhana” –dried yogurt and tomato soup, or noodles.
Another is when families get together to go on a day’s excursion
into the countryside. Arrangements are made ahead of time as to who
will make the köfte, dolma, salads, pilafs and who will supply the
meat, the beverages and the fruit. The “mangal”, the copper charcoal
burner, kilims, hammocks, pillows, musical instruments such as a saz,
ud, or violin, and samovars are also loaded up for a day trip.
A picnic would be a pale comparison to these occasions, often
referred to as “stealing a day from fate”. Küçüksu, Kalamýþ, and
Heybeli in old Istanbul used to be typical locations for such
outings, as numerous songs tell us. Other memorable locations
include the Meram vineyards in Konya, Lake Hazar in Elazýð, and
Bozcaada off the shores of Çanakkale. The May 5 Spring Festival (Hýdýrellez)
commemorating two Saints: Hýzýr and Ýlyas (representing immortality
and abubdance), would mark the beginning of the pleasure season (safa),
with lots of poetry, songs and, naturally, good food.
A similar “safa” used to be the weekly trip to the Turkish Bath.
Food prepared the day before, would be packed on horse-drawn
carriages along with freh clothing and scented soaps. After spending
the morning at the marble wash-basins and the steam hall, people
would retire to the wooden settees to rest, eat and dry off before
returning home.
Nowadays such leisurely affairs are all but gone, spoiled by modern
life. Yet, families still attempt to steal at least one day from
fate every year, even though fate often triumphs. Packing food for
trips is so traditional that even now, it is common for mothers to
pack some köfte, dolma and börek to go on an airplane, especially on
long trips, much to the bemusement of other passengers and the
irritation of flight attendants. But seriously, given the quality of
airline food, who can blame them?
Weddings, circumcision ceremonies, and holidays are celebrated with
feasts. At a wedding feast in Konya, a seven-course meal is served
to the guests. The “sit-down meal” starts with soup, followed by
pilaf and roast meat, meat dolma, and saffron rice - a traditional
wedding dessert. Börek is served before the second dessert, which is
typically the semolina helva. The meal ends with okra cooked with
tomatoes, onions, and butter with lots of lemon juice. This wedding
feast is typical of Anatolia, with slight regional variations. The
morning after the wedding the groom’s family sends trays of baklava
to the Bride’s family.
During the holidays, people are expected to pay short visit to each
and every friend within the city, visits which are immediately
reciprocated. Three or four days are spent going from house to
house, so enough food needs to be prepared and put a side to last
the duration of the visits. During the holidays, kitchens and
pantries burst at the seams with böreks, rice dolmas, puddings and
desserts that can be put on the table without much preparation.
Deats are also occasions for cooking and sharing food. In this case,
neighbors prepare and send dishes to the breaved household for three
days after the death. The only dish prepared by the household of the
deceased is the helva which is sent to the neighbors and served to
visitors. In some areas, it is a custom for a good friend of the
deceased to begin preparing the helva, while recounting fond
memories and events. Then the spoon would be passed to the next
person who would take up stirring the helva and continue
reminiscing. Usually the helva is done by the time everyone in the
room has had a chance to speak. This wonderfully simple ceremony
makes the people left behind talk about happier times and lightens
their grief momentarily, strengthening the bond between them. |
