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| The
importance of culinary art for the Ottoman Sultans is evident to every visitor of Topkapı
Palace. The huge kitchens were housed in several buildings under ten
domes. By the l7th
century some thirteen hundred kitchen staff were housed in the Palace. Hundreds of
cooks,
specializing in different categories of dishes such as soups, pilafs,
kebabs, vegetables, fish, breads, pastries, candy and helva, syrup and jams and
beverages, fed as many as ten
thousand people a day and, in addition, sent trays of food to others in the city as a
royal favor.
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The importance of food has been
also evident in the structure of the Ottoman military elite, the
Janissaries. The
commanders of the main divisions were known as the Soupmen, other high ranking officers
were the Chief Cook, Scullion, Baker, and Pancake Maker, though their function had little
to do with these titles. The huge cauldron used to make pilaf had a special symbolic
significance for the Janissaries, as the central focus of each division. The kitchen was
also the center of politics, for whenever the Janissaries demanded a change in the
Sultan's Cabinet, or the head of a grand vizier, they would overturn their pilaf
cauldron. Overturning the cauldron, is an expression still used today to indicate a
rebellion in the ranks.
It was in this environment that hundreds of the
Sultans' chefs, who dedicated their
lives to their profession, developed and perfected the dishes of the Turkish
Cuisine,
which was then adopted by the kitchens of the provinces ranging from the Balkans to
Southern Russia, and reaching North Africa
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| Istanbul was the capital of the world and had
all the prestige, so that its ways were imitated. At the same time, it was supported by an
enormous organization and infrastructure, which enabled all the treasures of the world to
flow into it. The provinces of the vast Empire were integrated by a system of trade routes
with refreshing caravanserais for the weary merchants and security
forces. The Spice Road,
the most important factor in culinary history was under the full control of the Sultan.
Only the best ingredients were allowed to be traded under the strict standards established
by the courts.
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| Guilds
played an important role in development and sustenance of the Cuisine. These included
hunters, fishermen, cooks, kebab cooks, bakers, butchers, cheese makers and yogurt
merchants, pastry chefs, pickle makers, and sausage
merchants. All of the principal trades
were believed to be sacred and each guild traced its patronage to the Prophets and
Saints.
The guilds prevailed in pricing and quality control. They displayed their products and
talents in spectacular floats driven through Istanbul streets during special
occasions,
such as the circumcision festivities for the Crown Prince or religious
holidays.
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Following the example of the Palace, all of the grand Ottoman houses boasted elaborate
kitchens and competed in preparing feasts for each other as well as the general
public. In fact, in each neighborhood, at least one household wouldopen its doors to anyone who
happened to stop by for dinner during the holy month of Ramadan, or during other festive
occasions. This is how the traditional Cuisine evolved and
spread, even to the most modest
corners of the country.
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