Nutritional habits are shaped according to the prevalent cultural - geographical - ecological - economic characteristics and features and the historical process.

When one talks about the Turkish cuisine, the term should be understood as the totality of foods and beverages which provide nutrition to the people living in Turkey, the ways of preparing and preserving them; techniques, equipment and utensils required for this, eating manners and all the practices and beliefs which are developed around this cuisine.

The richness of variety Turkish cuisine possesses is due to several factors. In summary, the variety of products offered by the lands of Asia and Anatolia, interaction with numerous different cultures over a long historical process, the new tastes developed in the palace kitchens of the Seljuk and Ottoman empires have all played a part in shaping the new character of our culinary culture.

Turkish Cuisine, which in general consists of sauced dishes prepared with cereals, various vegetables and some meat, soups, cold dishes cooked with olive oil, pastry dishes and dishes made from wild vegetation has also produced a series of health foods such as pekmez, yogurt, bulgur etc. The eating habits which reflect the tastes changing from one location to the next, gains a new meaning and near - sacredness on special occasions, celebrations and ceremonies.

Turkish Cuisine, while rich in variety and taste-bud friendly, also contains examples which could provide a source for healthy and balanced diets and vegetarian cuisines.

A cook is defined in the folk tradition as someone who is skillful, capable of cooking delicious food and who has a wide reputation for cleanliness. Cooks generally prepare meals for ceremonies and rituals such as engagements, weddings and funerals.

In conservative regions, the cook is usually a woman and may go by different names, such as yemekçi (food provider), asganaci (a person who feeds others) and keyveni. Dishwashers and assistants help the cook to prepare the food for ceremonies.

The cook informs the person planning to hold a feast of the necessary materials needed for each person. She supervises the amount and the quality of the materials bought for the festivities and gives general advice. She takes charge of the cleaning and preparation of the food, such as meat, vegetables and cereals, and also controls the stoves and cauldrons. She does the cooking as well as serves.

The village of Mengen in the province of Bolu invariably takes pride of place in books about Turkish cooking. It is no exaggeration to say that most professional cooks are from Mengen. A cooks' festival is held annually in the village, and there is also a cookery high school which contributes to the training of even more skilled cooks.

Materials Used For Food and Beverages, Places to Prepare, Eat and Keep Food

Materials for Cooking

In former times, woodburning stoves, tandir (ovens consisting of a clay-lined pit or a large, earthen jar buried in the ground) and kuzine (small, iron, woodburning cooking stoves) were used, and the food was cooked in frying pans and pots made of iron or bronze. Today, however, these have been replaced by stoves that work with electricity or gas. Open stoves are the primitive forms of the fireplaces we use today. Pans are put on tripods and the food cooked over a wood fire.

The tandir is like an earthenware well. Wood is burnt inside it and when the smoke dies down, the meat or the food inside the earthenware pan is suspended inside the well. Bread can also be cooked in tandir by putting dough in the pans.

In another type of tandir, one side is closed while the other three are left open. There is a lid on the open side. This type is generally used in cooking bread and pastry.

The kuzine is a simple kind of stove using wood fire. The smoke from the wood or coal is transferred to the chimney with the help of a pipe. It is a closed system which can also be used in heating. Thus, it is more energy-efficient than open stoves and tandir.

Pans, Pots and Baking Tins

The güveç is an earthenware pan which is rarely used today. Nowadays, rustproof steel and enameled pans are preferred. On the other hand, tin covered copper pots and frying pans are still used. In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of teflon-coated pans.

The saç is a wide, shallow instrument made of iron. It is generally used on open stoves to cook bread. It is also used to cook thin pastry, bread with meat and savory pastry. After cleaning the surface, it may also be used in cooking saç kebab.

Spoons and ladles made of wood or metal (tin-covered copper or rustproof steel) are used for mixing or serving food. Mallets are used for crushing meat and chops. There are also knives in various shapes for different slicing purposes. Mortars are used for pounding walnuts, sesame and garlic. Hand mills are used for grinding nuts. Electrically operated mixers and other devices are now more frequently seen in kitchens.

Serving Implements

Glass, porcelain and rustproof steel implements take the place of plates and pans made of tin-coated copper. Since food tends to have a high liquid content, the spoon is the preferred item of cutlery for eating. Forks and knives have recently made an appearance in all houses, however. In rural areas people still eat out of the same pan. The serving plates are generally placed on a large tray made of copper called “sini.” A spoon and if necessary a fork and knife are placed in front of each person. Everyone eats from the serving plate with his own spoon. Soup, meat, vegetable-rice-pastry and dessert are served in order. The sini is placed on a base 30-40 cm high. Everyone washes his hands before and after the meal. In cities, food is served separately in the modern way.

Wooden boxes, earthenware jars, fabric bags, glass jars, bottles, barrels, plastic jars are together used for keeping the food. Various baskets composed of rushes, thin tree stems and wheat stalks are used for carrying vegetables, fruits and keeping dried fruits and vegetables. Metal sini are used instead of tables.

Kitchen

In traditional areas, the place where the food is prepared is known as the kitchen, ocaklik, asevi, asdami etc. Sometimes, bread, pastry or other foods which take longer to prapare are cooked in another place called the tandir, ocak, ocaklik etc.

The kitchen is not used only for cooking. It is also a place where the family eat, sit and sometimes sleep, and where the necessary equipment for cooking and serving is kept.