Each country has its unique characteristic that makes it distinctive In Turkey, their specialty is their food. Traditional Turkish cuisine is recognized for its flavor. There is a myriad of delicious Turkish food items, and you might be familiar with the Kebab or other Turkish delicious desserts, but there’s plenty more to it.
Today, we will give you all the information you require to be aware of Turkey’s most well-known food items.
Top 10 best Turkish dishes
We’ve said that there are plenty of Turkish food items you should taste, but discussing the entire menu is impossible, which is why we’ve chosen some of the 10 top most popular Turkish dishes:
1. Iskender Kebab
When you visit Turkey and do not have the Kebab, you’re not even trying Turkish food. Kebabs are among the most popular Turkish food choices for foreigners. However, it is important to know that there are millions of different Kebabs types, each taste completely different.
A very well-known kind of Kebab is the Iskender Kebab. It is quite typical of Bursa, a city in the northwest region of Turkey. The history of this popular Turkish dish was discovered in 1867 when a local chef prepared it for all workers in the city’s bazaar.
It is also known as the Iskender Kebab, consists of making long lamb strips in tomato sauce and served with pita bread and rice, with yogurt, served on the side.
2. Turkish delights
The Lokum, more commonly called Turkish Delights, is among the most well-known Turkish sweets. Imagine how delicious they are and how they are bought by many as gifts to give to family members and friends upon returning to their homeland.
The source of the delicious Turkish desserts goes back many centuries ago; however, it was not until the late 19 century that it began becoming famous. You developed the corn-starch ingredient in the time of Ottoman sultans. In Istanbul, they decided to include to give it more flavor.
Making one of the top food items to eat in Turkey is as easy as boiling sugar, starch, and water. The most popular flavors are rose water and Pistachio, and the option to enjoy it either with nuts or not.
3.Baklava
In the third position, it is important to highlight another one of the most famous Turkish desserts (you will soon realize that the desserts in Turkey are fantastic). In this instance, we’re talking about the well-known Baklava that is, by many to be the best Turkish desert (even more delicious than Lokum)
Baklava is a dessert made of nuts. Baklava is a layer of pastry packed with nuts inside and then covered in syrup and crushed Pistachios on the exterior.
This popular dish is called twisted turban, nightingale’s saray, or nightingale’s Nest and is common in Antep, a city located in Turkey’s south-eastern Anatolia Region. We highly recommend eating it as soon as it’s freshly baked.
4.Dondurma
Dondurma’s meaning is the word “ice cream” in English, which is the particular type of ice cream from Turkey which is more concrete, and from the town of Maras. The ice cream is called Dovme Dondurma (Dovme is a reference to sticky), and that’s due to how it is made.
In addition to being a tasty Turkish food, Dondurma is also renowned for its delicious Turkish food. Dondurma is well-known due to the vendors who performed amazing performances on the streets while selling their Ice creams. Because of the ice cream, vendors would pull off numerous tricks before placing the ice cream in the cone. It’s a fascinating thing to witness.
Another fascinating fact about Dondurma is that it’s among the very few ice creams on the planet that can be eaten using a fork and knife. It’s a must in our list of the most famous dishes from Turkey.
5.Simit
Do you know German pretzels? If yes and you enjoy pretzels, then try the Turkish version, not just because they’re delicious, but also because it is an extremely popular food consumed in Turkey.
Locals refer to Simit for breakfast as one of Turkey’s most common breakfast dishes. You can find them in every grocery store, restaurant, and even in the bakery. It is usually eaten with tea or a hot cup of coffee.
The history of Simit is believed to be from the Ottoman Empire; although its specific origins aren’t clear at the moment, it is said that it was invented during the 1500s. The only thing we can say is that Simit is among the most loved snack foods in Turkey, and it is a must to test them!
6. Chestnuts & Corn on the Cob
When you visit Turkey, the most important thing you have to do regarding food would be to taste some of the items they sell in market stalls on the streets. We’re talking about Corn on the Cob and the chestnuts in this instance.
There are a lot of vendors in the city, and they’re famous for their incredibly affordable prices. For instance, a cob of Corn is priced at approximately two lira.
If you’re on the go or do not want to spend a lot of dollars on meals, this recipe is the perfect option since it’s very good and inexpensive.
7. Turkish tea & coffee
If you’re in search of the most well-known Turkish drinks, you should take a look at their coffee as well as their tea. Both are delicious and are commonplace in their lives. While tea is served to show hospitality, the coffee is more of something they require.
(Turkish residents drink coffee frequently throughout every day).
Turkish Apple tea is well-known around the globe as one of the most delicious teas across the globe, and lucky for us, they offer it at almost every café or eatery. Like we said earlier, Turkish people share the tea as a gesture of hospitality and occasionally even enjoy an iced tea for their customers (It’s the norm for sales in Turkey)
On the other hand, Turkish people drink coffee frequently, more than once daily, and the primary reason they drink it is that they enjoy coffee. It is Turkish coffee known for its dark color and power, and that’s why they typically serve it along with some delicious desserts (normally Turkish delights).
8. Mezes
You can get all sorts of food items in Turkey, including sweets, meats, and fish to vegetable dishes; they have everything you could need. Imagine the absurdity that they have a food item like the Spanish tapas. These are called Mezes; however, we’ll also call them Turkish tapas in the future.
Mezes are small meals usually served as appetizers before a meal and are often served along with drinks or even as an accompaniment to main dishes.
The typical food items served in mezes include cheese, dolma, hummus. Yogurt with herbed or other types of salads. As with the Spanish tapas, Mezes is a popular dish to be shared with your friends. However, you can enjoy them for yourself too.
9. Gozleme
While the Gozleme was a popular choice for breakfast or a snack in the afternoon, it is among Turkey’s top sought-after street food items. It is also available in cafes and restaurants, not just street food. It is known as the Gozleme is a common fast food item that is loved all over Turkey.
Its Gozleme is also referred to as sac boregi. It’s bread with a flat crust composed of yogurt, flour, and water. You can also add yeast olive, and according to your preferences, you can add other ingredients like eggs, meat, vegetables or cheeses, mushrooms, and minced beef or spinach.
It might appear to be simple, but you didn’t know that they hire experts to roll out the thin paper dough without breaking it in reputable eateries.
10. Pide
When we were done with our list of the most well-known Turkish food items, we couldn’t forget the Pide, also called”the “Turkish Pizza.”
Like the Italian pizza pide, it’s a flaky pastry base with meat, cheese, and vegetable topping. You can include all the ingredients you like in the Pide, which is why it’s an amazing vegetarian meal. When you’re ready to cook, you’ll cook the dish in a brick oven and wait until it is cooked.
Turkish people love Pide and usually spice it up with something spicy. It’s a common food in Istanbul, and you should try it when you travel to Turkey.
Other information concerning Turkish food
They were among the most well-known Turkish foods; however, there are many more details about the cuisine in Turkey that you need to be aware of before traveling to Turkey or attempting to cook the meals at home.
Pistachio in every dessert
One thing that shocked us the most while we were in Turkey was that nearly every dessert contained pistachios in it.
Whatever kind of Turkish dessert you choose to try, they will always come up with variations of it, with Pistachios in. Turkish people are fond of Pistachio.
Baklava, Kunefe, and Turkish delights are just Turkish sweets made with Pistachio.
Breakfast is a must.
Breakfasts served in Turkey are the largest and most significant food in the morning. In many countries, breakfast is usually an apple and glass of milk and cereals, but in Turkey, they can consume eggs, cheese butter, olives and tomatoes, cucumbers Simit, fried dough, or anything else they wish.
All food items are allowed at breakfast because they believe it is essential to eat plenty of food early on in the day. It is believed that Turkish breakfasts have been deemed among the most nutritious breakfasts. Therefore, it is recommended that we all adhere to the Turkish breakfast tradition.
On the other hand, Turkish families normally have gatherings on Sundays to share breakfast and build social connections.
Yogurt with every meal
You may think that we didn’t include yogurt in the top 10 foods of Turkey However, the truth is that we could not include it on the list because yogurt is featured in almost all meals.
If you walk into the restaurant in Turkey and order the first dish, you’ll be surprised to learn it is often served as a dessert to go with the main course.
Another way to enjoy yogurt when in Turkey is on its own. It is possible to have a small portion of yogurt with olive oil sprinkled on top.
Get the famous Turkish food.
This is all you need to know about the traditional meals in Turkey. As you’ve noticed, Turkish food is amazing, and they offer an immense variety of foods and flavors.
Of course, we’ve chosen what we believe to be the most well-known dishes in Turkey. However, there are plenty of other dishes to choose from. If you feel we’ve not covered any of them, We would love to discuss your most loved dishes and recipes with us.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the famous Turkish dishes. If you have any questions or suggestions, please inform us.