Local tastes

Dishes

• Ayvalık toast

  A loaded toasted sandwich made with a long loaf.

• Höşmerim

  A syrupy dessert of cheese and semolina.

Local products

• Olive oil

  From the olive groves of the Gulf of Edremit.

Dishes

• İskender kebab

  Döner on pide with tomato sauce, butter and yoghurt.

• İnegöl köfte

  The well-known grilled meatballs of İnegöl.

Local products

• Candied chestnuts

  Bursa chestnuts cooked in syrup.

Dishes

• Cheese halva

  A baked dessert of unsalted cheese and semolina.

Local products

• Ezine cheese

  The famous white cheese made from goat, sheep and cow milk.

• Bozcaada grapes

  From the island's vineyards.

Dishes

• Fried liver

  Thinly sliced fried liver served with dried chillies.

Local products

• Almond paste

  A traditional sweet made from almonds.

• Edirne cheese

  The well-known white cheese of Thrace.

Dishes

• Fish sandwich

  Grilled fish in bread on the Eminönü waterfront.

• Simit

  A sesame bread ring sold on every corner of the city.

• Stuffed mussels

  Mussels stuffed with spiced rice.

Local products

• Turkish delight

  Made for centuries at the historic confectioners.

Local products

• Hardaliye

  A non-alcoholic fermented drink of grapes and mustard seed.

Local products

• Pişmaniye

  A floss-like halva similar to candyfloss.

Dishes

• Islama köfte

  Grilled meatballs on bread soaked in meat broth.

• Pumpkin dessert

  Pumpkin cooked in sugar and served with walnuts.

Dishes

• Tekirdağ köfte

  Small, oblong grilled meatballs.

Local products

• Grapes and vineyard produce

  From the vineyards around Şarköy.

Local products

• Cut flowers and ornamental plants

  Yalova is known for greenhouse flower growing.

Local products

• Afyon clotted cream

  Thick clotted cream from buffalo milk; the star of breakfast with honey.

• Afyon sucuk

  Spiced, dried beef sausage.

• Afyon Turkish delight

  Known especially for lokum filled with clotted cream.

Local products

• Aydın figs

  The famous figs of the plain, dried and exported worldwide.

• Olives and olive oil

  From the olive groves all across the province.

Dishes

• Denizli kebab

  Oven-roasted lamb served on flatbread.

Local products

• Buldan cloth

  Cotton cloth woven on hand looms in the Buldan district.

Dishes

• Boyoz

  A flaky pastry usually eaten for breakfast with a boiled egg.

• Kumru

  A sandwich of cheese, sucuk and tomato in a special sesame bun.

• İzmir köfte

  Meatballs baked with potatoes and peppers in tomato sauce.

• Lokma

  Small fried dough balls soaked in syrup.

Dishes

• Cimcik

  A local dish of small pieces of dough served with minced meat and yoghurt.

Local products

• Kütahya tiles

  Hand-painted tile plates, vases and panels.

Dishes

• Manisa kebab

  Small meat patties on flatbread with tomato and butter.

Local products

• Mesir paste

  A paste of dozens of spices, scattered to the crowd at a spring festival.

• Seedless grapes

  Sultana grapes grown on the Manisa plain and sold dried.

Dishes

• Çökertme kebab

  Thin strips of meat on matchstick fries with garlic yoghurt, from Bodrum's kitchen.

• Keşkek

  A wedding dish of wheat and meat slow-cooked for hours and pounded smooth.

Local products

• Pine honey

  A dark honey made in the red pine forests; Muğla's best-known product.

• Datça almonds

  Almonds grown on the Datça Peninsula, famous for their flavour.

Dishes

• Tarhana

  Dried tarhana made with yoghurt and vegetables, cooked as a soup.

Local products

• Uşak carpets

  Hand-woven carpets that adorned Ottoman palaces and European paintings.

Dishes

• Adana kebab

  Hand-minced spicy meat grilled over charcoal on a wide skewer.

• Bici bici

  A summer dessert of starch jelly with shaved ice and syrup.

Local products

• Şalgam juice

  A sour drink made with purple carrot, served with kebab.

Dishes

• Piyaz

  An Antalya-style bean salad dressed with tahini.

• Hibeş

  A meze of tahini, lemon and chilli flakes.

Local products

• Citrus fruit

  Known for its orange, tangerine and lemon groves.

Dishes

• Burdur şiş

  Minced meat grilled on skewers and served on flatbread.

Local products

• Walnut paste

  A traditional sweet of walnuts and sugar.

Dishes

• Künefe

  A hot dessert of shredded pastry and cheese.

• Tepsi kebab

  Minced meat spread on a tray and baked with tomatoes and peppers.

• Hummus

  A meze of chickpeas and tahini.

• Kaytaz pastry

  A round pastry topped with minced meat.

Dishes

• Oven kebab

  Lamb cooked in pit ovens.

Local products

• Roses and rose oil

  Oil-bearing roses picked in May and June become rose oil and rose water.

• Isparta carpets

  Also known for its hand-woven carpets.

Dishes

• Maraş ice cream

  Ice cream made with salep and mastic, pounded until stretchy.

Local products

• Maraş tarhana

  Tarhana dried in thin sheets, eaten as soup or a snack.

• Maraş chilli

  Sun-dried red chilli flakes.

Dishes

• Tantuni

  Finely chopped meat cooked on a griddle and wrapped in flatbread.

• Kerebiç

  Pistachio-filled semolina pastries served with a white soapwort cream.

Local products

• Cezerye

  A carrot-based sweet rolled in coconut.

Local products

• Peanuts

  One of Türkiye's best-known peanut-growing areas.

Dishes

• Ankara tava

  Lamb and rice baked together.

• Ankara simit

  A crisp sesame ring glazed with grape molasses.

Local products

• Beypazarı biscuits

  The long-lasting dry biscuits of Beypazarı.

Dishes

• Çiğ börek

  Fried half-moon pastries with minced meat, from Tatar cuisine.

Local products

• Met helva

  Eskişehir's white halva.

• Meerschaum

  A white stone mined here and carved into pipes and ornaments.

Dishes

• Kayseri mantı

  Tiny dumplings eaten with yoghurt and butter sauce.

• Yağlama

  Layers of thin flatbread with a minced meat filling.

Local products

• Pastırma

  Dried beef coated in fenugreek paste.

Dishes

• Etli ekmek

  Minced meat on a very long, thin flatbread.

• Okra soup

  A sour soup made with dried okra.

• Oven kebab

  Lamb cooked in a pit oven.

Dishes

• Pottery kebab

  A stew cooked in a clay pot that is broken open at the table.

Local products

• Cappadocian grapes and wine

  From vineyards in volcanic soil.

• Avanos pottery

  Pottery made from the red clay of the Kızılırmak river.

Local products

• Niğde apples

  Apples grown on the high plain.

• Niğde soda

  The city's old soda brand.

Dishes

• Sivas köfte

  Grilled butcher-style meatballs served with peppers.

• Madımak

  A local dish of a wild green cooked with bulgur.

Dishes

• Arabaşı

  A spicy chicken soup eaten with a set dough on the side.

Dishes

• Bakla dolması

  Stuffed vine leaves with broad beans and meat.

Local products

• Amasya apples

  A small, fragrant local apple.

Dishes

• Laz böreği

  A syrupy filo dessert filled with custard.

Local products

• Artvin honey

  From beekeeping in the highlands.

Dishes

• Amasra salad

  A leafy salad served with fish.

Dishes

• Abant kebab

  Lamb cooked in butter with tomatoes and peppers.

Dishes

• İskilip dolması

  Rice with meat cooked in a cauldron.

Local products

• Roasted chickpeas

  Çorum's roasted chickpeas.

Local products

• Hazelnuts

  The region's main crop.

Local products

• Giresun hazelnuts

  The "tombul" hazelnut with a geographical indication.

Local products

• Pestil and köme

  Mulberry molasses fruit leather and walnut "sausages".

Local products

• Saffron

  The spice that gave Safranbolu its name.

• Safranbolu Turkish delight

  Made at the confectioners in the bazaar.

Local products

• Taşköprü garlic

  Pungent garlic with a geographical indication.

• Siyez bulgur

  Made from siyez, an ancient variety of wheat.

Local products

• Hazelnuts

  One of Türkiye's largest hazelnut-growing areas.

Dishes

• Muhlama

  A stretchy dish of butter, cornmeal and cheese.

Local products

• Rize tea

  Most of Türkiye's tea grows on these slopes.

Dishes

• Bafra pide

  A long, thin pide with minced or diced meat.

Dishes

• Sinop mantı

  Local dumplings with walnuts and yoghurt.

Dishes

• Tokat kebab

  Lamb on a skewer with aubergine, potato and tomato.

Local products

• Tokat printed scarves

  Fabric hand-printed with wooden blocks.

Dishes

• Anchovies

  Fresh in winter, pan-fried or steamed.

• Akçaabat köfte

  Akçaabat's famous grilled meatballs.

• Hamsiköy rice pudding

  Rice pudding with hazelnuts from Hamsiköy in Maçka.

Local products

• Vakfıkebir bread

  A large loaf baked in a stone oven.

Local products

• Ereğli strawberries

  Small, fragrant Ottoman strawberries.

• Devrek walking sticks

  Handmade carved and burnt-pattern walking sticks.

Dishes

• Abdigör köfte

  Boiled meatballs made from finely pounded meat.

Local products

• Ardahan honey

  Honey from highland flowers.

• Kaşar cheese

  Kaşar made from highland milk.

Local products

• Bingöl honey

  Honey from highland flowers.

Dishes

• Büryan kebab

  Lamb hung and roasted in a pit oven.

Local products

• Orcik

  Strings of walnuts dipped in grape molasses.

Local products

• Erzincan tulum cheese

  White cheese matured in skin sacks.

Dishes

• Cağ kebab

  Lamb cooked on a horizontal spit over a wood fire and served on skewers.

• Stuffed kadayıf

  A kadayıf dessert filled with walnuts and soaked in syrup.

Local products

• Oltu stone

  A black stone from Oltu used for prayer beads and jewellery.

Local products

• Iğdır apricot

  Large apricots grown in the mild climate of the plain.

Dishes

• Goose

  Goose dried in winter and roasted or cooked with bulgur.

Local products

• Kars gruyère

  A hard cheese with holes, made from highland milk.

• Kars kaşar

  Kars's famous kaşar cheese.

Dishes

• Paper kebab

  Meat wrapped in greaseproof paper and baked.

Local products

• Malatya apricot

  The famous apricot, dried and sold worldwide.

Local products

• Mountain garlic

  Single-clove garlic that grows in the Munzur mountains.

Dishes

• Van breakfast

  A lavish breakfast with herbed cheese, murtuğa, kavut and honey with cream.

• Pearl mullet

  The only fish species living in Lake Van; fishing is banned in its breeding season.

Local products

• Herbed cheese

  Cheese matured with mountain herbs.

Dishes

• Adıyaman çiğ köfte

  Köfte kneaded with fine bulgur and isot pepper.

Dishes

• Liver kebab

  Lamb liver grilled on skewers with tail fat, often eaten at breakfast.

Local products

• Diyarbakır watermelon

  Huge watermelons grown on the banks of the Tigris.

Dishes

• Baklava

  The famous pistachio pastry with a protected geographical indication.

• Katmer

  A thin pastry with clotted cream and pistachio, eaten at breakfast.

• Beyran

  A spicy garlic and meat soup eaten in the morning.

• Ali nazik

  Minced or diced meat on smoky aubergine and yoghurt.

• Yuvalama

  A yoghurt dish with tiny meatballs.

Dishes

• Kilis tava

  Minced meat baked in a tray with tomatoes and peppers.

Dishes

• Stuffed lamb ribs

  Lamb ribs stuffed with rice and slow-cooked.

• Sembusek

  A half-moon pastry filled with minced meat.

Local products

• Mırra

  A bitter, strong coffee made by long boiling.

Dishes

• Büryan kebab

  Lamb hung and roasted in a pit oven.

• Perde pilaf

  Chicken pilaf wrapped in thin pastry and baked.

Local products

• Siirt pistachio

  The large-kernelled Siirt pistachio.

Dishes

• Urfa kebab

  A mild kebab of hand-chopped meat on skewers.

• Şıllık

  Thin crêpes rolled with walnuts and soaked in syrup.

• Çiğ köfte

  Köfte kneaded with isot and bulgur.

Local products

• Isot

  Dark Urfa pepper dried in the sun.