Turkish Cuisine History
What people eat is shaped by their culture and belief, along with geographical and climatic conditions (Közleme, 2012, p.12). Culture is the whole of the material and spiritual values and lifestyle of a society; it is a whole formed by inventions and traditions (Şanlıer, Cömert and Durlu-Özkaya, 2008, p.1123). One of the most defining elements of a country, region or culture is the cuisine (Constantin, 2012, p.54).
In addition to the livelihoods offered by the geography of the societies, the differences in their belief systems have brought about the differences in the rules of food and beverage. Because the principles brought by religions regarding food and drink are often important details that separate religions from each other. Any food or drink that is prohibited in one religion can be a means of worship or a recommended food in another religion.
For example; While wine is among the prohibitions in Islam, it is a religious object in Christianity. In addition, the rules of a religion regarding food and beverages may cause the religion to be accepted or not accepted by the society, depending on the livelihoods of the societies in some cases (Kılıç, 2012, p.1).
From past to present, depending on the socio-economic life maintained, meat from animal foods, especially beef and sheep meat, has an important place in Turks. In many celebrations and commemoration ceremonies, the most important meal on the table is those made from meat products.
In Turkish folk beliefs, symbolic meanings have been attributed to some fruits and they have been used for various purposes. Wheat and bread made from cereal-type foods are among the foods respected by the Turkish society. Likewise, it is noteworthy that sweet-type foods take place in every stage of folk beliefs. Among the beverages, those that have an important place in folk beliefs are water and milk (Kılıç, 2012, p.12).
Most of the foods that are the basis of human nutrition were grown in Central Asia, the homeland of the Turks, and in Anatolia, where they migrated, and moved to other parts of the world. They benefited from the animals and plants found in the regions where they migrated, they raised the ones suitable for the local conditions, and they used the ones they grew by processing with simple techniques (Ertaş and Karadağ, 2013, p.119).
In this study, the eating and drinking habits that have changed with the effect of Islam in Turkish Cuisine History have been examined under two main headings, namely pre-Islamic and post-Islamic.
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