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The Hospitable Turkish Table
| Article
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10534 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1993 |
1,024 Words |
| Author
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Judy Erkanat
Judy Erkanat lives in San Jose, California, and writes on food
and travel. |
The latest advances in Istanbul's restaurant fare include McDonald's hamburgers and Pizza Hut's salad bar. But fast food will never replace the hospitable Turkish culture's more traditional cuisine.
I became familiar with the myriad ways of Turiksh food when my husband took me to his native land. The convivial culture that I encountered from Istanbul to Trabzon was alive with culinary people who hold food in the utmost reverence.
PALATABLE HOSPITALITY
Throughout the Middle East hospitality is a cultural mainstay. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Turkey.
The Turkish host greets his guests with "Hosh geldiniz" (May you find comfort). "Hosh bulduk" (we have found comfort), the guests dutifully reply. Their words can quickly become reality.
Cool, lemon-scented kolonya (cologne) is splashed into the visitors' cupped hands. A dark-haired child of the house passes a crystal or silver dish of chocolates sure to sweeten any visit.
Served usually at the beginning of a special visit is thick Turkish coffee, once the daily drink of Ottoman Turkey. Its strong, pungent flavor is expected to stand on its own. Poured foaming into tiny demitasse cups, the coffee has been sweetened to the drinkers' individual preferences before simmering.
Sunday morning visitors rate pide. Homemade fillings of ground meat friend with finely chopped onions, peppers, and tomatoes are sent to the neighborhood baker. A short time later, fresh fragrant loaves are returned, stuffed with the fillings. For afternoon tea, the hostess may bustle into the room, gold bangles jingling on her arm, with a huge platter of flaky katma bread. She might serve savory borek (delicate pastry encasing a variety of meats, spinach, or feta cheese.) pasta (cake, in Turkish) comes covered in Krem Shante, whipped from freshly culled cream, or recel, boiled down from fresh fruit and sugar.
Before supper, Turkish hostesses gracefully pour countless glasses of tea, a perennial Turkish favorite. They simmer the dark, potent brew in double-boiler-style kettles and dilute it to the drinkers desired strength in tiny cut crystal tea glasses in silver saucers. Lump sugar is stirred in, the little spoons making bell like
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