|
|
|
 |
| Eating
is taken very seriously in Turkey It is
inconceivable for the household members to eat
alone, raid the refrigerator, or eat on the "go",
while others are at home. It is custom to have
three "sit-down meals" a day. Breakfast
or "kahvaltı" (literally
'foundation for 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 meals on a "walk-in" basis. Others are invited ahead of time as elaborate
preparations are expected. The menu depends on whether alcoholic drinks will be served or
not. In the latter 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 soup, followed by the meat and
vegetable main 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 the living room to have a 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 elaborate
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 share
information and experience 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 belongs to 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
yoğurt / 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 fruits. The "mangal"
- the copper charcoal burner, kilims, hammocks,
pillows, musical instruments such as saz, ud, or
violin, and samovars are 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, Kalamış, and Heybeli in old Istanbul used to be typical locations for such
outings, as many songs tell us. Other memorable locations include the Meram vineyards in
Konya, Hazer Lake in Elazığ, and Bozcaada off the shores of Çanakkale. Commemorating
two Saints: Hıdır and Ilyas (representing
immortality and abundance), the May 5th Spring
(Festival Hıdırellez) would mark the beginning of the
pleasure-season (safa), with
romantic affairs, 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 fresh
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.
These days, 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 a
soup, followed by pilaf and roast meat, meat dolma,
and saffron rice - a traditional wedding dessert. Borek 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 visits 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
aside to last the duration of the visits. During the holidays, kitchens and pantries burst
at the seams with boreks, rice dolmas, puddings and desserts that can be put on the table
without much preparation. Deaths are also occasions for cooking and sharing
food. In this case, neighbors prepare and send dishes to the bereaved 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, who will remember and pray for the departed. 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 of the helva and continue reminiscing. Usually the helva will be done by the
time everyone in the room has had a chance to speak and stir the helva. This wonderful
simple ceremony by making people left behind talk about happier times, lightens up their
grief momentarily and strengthens the bond between them.
|
|
