taste

Street Foods in İstanbul

Although İstanbul is Türkiye's gastronomy center with lots of local and international restaurants, street food is also delicious! Throughout, street food culture is a pervasive and common thread of everyday life. From snacks to full meals, it’s easy to grab something tasty on the streets of İstanbul. Here are the 10 unmissable street foods of İstanbul: Simit, Balık Ekmek (Fresh Fish Sandwiches), Kestane (Chestnuts), Tantuni, Midye Dolma (Stuffed Mussels), Kumpir (Baked Potatoes), Tavuk Pilav (Chicken with Rice), Çiğ Köfte (Bulgur Patties), Fresh Almonds on Ice.

Ezine Cheese in Çanakkale

While in Western diets, "feta cheese" tends to have a standard flavour, white cheeses come in a wide variety of flavours in Türkiye. They can be made from either cow, sheep or goat milk and can be a hard, or soft, and can be from whole milk or half. It's an absolute staple of the traditional Turkish breakfast, but it's a fairly regular component of dinners as well and is often eaten as a meze by itself, or is consumed in the summer months with watermelon or melons.

İskender Kebab in Bursa

İskender Kebab is one of the most famous meat foods of Türkiye and takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi, who lived in Bursa in the late 19th century. It is a kind of döner kebab prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb basted with hot tomato sauce over pieces of pita bread and generously slathered with melted sheep butter and yogurt. Additionally, one cylindrical köfte (meatball) can be placed on top. 

Ciğer (Liver) Tava in Edirne

It is one of the most popular dishes of Edirne cuisine. It is prepared by frying the finely cut liver in sunflower oil produced in Edirne. Red peppers, also unique to Edirne, are fried and served together. There are many restaurants in Edirne where you can taste Edirne liver.

Hardaliye in Kirklareli

Produced by lactic acid fermentation from red grape or red grape juice with the addition of crushed mustard seeds and benzoic acid, it is a popular non-alcoholic beverage with a distinctive pleasant taste and smell. Traditional hardaliye in Kırklareli is produced from grapes such as Papazkarası (a Turkish grape variety), Pamit, Cardinal, Alphonse, Cabarnet, Merlot, Cinsaut and Öküzgözü (also a grape variety), which reach sufficient maturity in October and November when the harvest begins.

Köfte (Meatball) in Tekirdağ

Registered as geographical indication, Tekirdağ Köftesi (meatballs) is unique on several counts: the meat is from cows raised in a natural environment; it is prepared and rested for 24 hours after preparation and chargrilled. Served with a special chilli paste mixture, and traditionally accompanied with ayran (yogurt drink), it is often followed by Tekirdağ Peynir Helvası (cheese dessert).

Höşmerim in Balikesir

Höşmerim is a simple Turkish dessert made with roasted semolina, milk, water, sugar, and dil peyniri (an unsalted cheese), praised for its good melting properties, although any type of fresh unsalted cheese can be used.

Yalova Sütlüsü in Yalova

Dough prepared with coconut water, milk and vanilla. The dessert includes coconut and nuts. It is prepared by soaking dough with milk, sugar and vanilla. It is served with fruits after cooling.

Dartili Keşkek (Keshkek With Darti) in Kocaeli

Keshkek, a traditional Turkish dish, is also found in Kocaeli cuisine. In Kocaeli, Keshkek with dartı, especially served at weddings, includes wheat, chicken, dartı, red pepper, and black pepper.

Islama Köfte in Sakarya

Undoubtedly, the most important dish of Sakarya is the “Islama Köfte”. The most distinctive feature of this dish, which is thought to have migrated from the Balkans to the region at the beginning of the twentieth century, is the exquisite bread "dipped in broth and powdered pepper sauce" as well as the "köfte" made from the meat of the animals grown in the plateaus in Sakarya.

Büzme Dessert in Bilecik

Büzme dessert is a kind of sherbet dessert. Milk, oil, warm water, eggs, baking powder, vinegar, salt and flour are mixed to obtain a soft dough. It is then filled with chopped walnuts and held together with syrup.