Turkish food is some of the best in the world. Being a self sufficient country, all the produce is locally grown throughout the year and always extremely fresh and of very fine quality. Agriculture contributes to about 15% of the gross national product and makes up 43% of the work force. Turkey's agricultural exports make up 15% of total exports for the country. Turkish people know how to live off their land. Majority of families will have fruit or olive trees in their garden, have home grown vegetables or have someone in the family who does to share among all. Every city, town and village have weekly markets that also sell all locally grown produce at cheap prices.
Turkish food is not just always about the kebab, as a lot of us may think. There are many foods that make up a standard Turkish meal. There are stews of vegetables and meats, mainly lamb or beef, dolmas (stuffed vine leaves and peppers), pide (Turkish style pizza), borek (pastry filled with cheese, spinach, meat), kofte (meat balls), a delicious arrays of meze varying from dips to vegetables and all meals will always be served with a salad. Another staple to every meal is bread. A Turk will never sit to eat a meal unless there is bread served with it.
A typical turkish breakfast will consist of olives, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, eggs and bread. You are unlikely to see a Turk eating just a salad or sandwich for lunch, as we know in the western world. Lunch will normally be a hot meal of some kind of vegetable and or meat stew, rice, pasta with salad and of course, bread. Usually when a meal is made it is not made for just the one sitting, so having the same meal for dinner is not uncommon or eating it again the next day for lunch is also not an uncommon occurrence.
Certain areas are known for specialised meals. The Black Sea region is known for its fish, especially anchovies. The East is well known to have more spices in their foods and there are even cities that will specialise in their own dishes. For example, Bursa is famous for its Iskender Kebab. There will also be certain dishes made at certain times of year. Like with our Christmas's when we may make special puddings or cake, the Turks also have a special sweet at Kurban Bayram, known as "Ashure" . It is a pudding type sweet that consists of anything up to 15 ingredients including peas, beans, rice, raisins, pomegranate seeds, orange peel, figs, cinnamon just to name a few. It is something that is served in bowls and often handed around to your neighbours as a gift.
The Turks are known for having a sweet tooth. Everyone will have heard of baklava and of course Turkish Delight, but they also have many other sweets, cakes and biscuits to feast on. Not commonly served after dinner, its more an afternoon or late night treat. There are also certain snacks that are commonly found being sold along the streets of Turkey. You will often find people selling sweet corn on the cob and also a very common site are the street vendors selling what is called a "simit". Looking like a pretzel but covered in sesame seeds they are often eaten for breakfast but are also a cheap and easy snack to pick up throughout the day.
When it comes to drinks, the national drink would probably have to be tea. Known as "cay" (pronounced as shay), you will be served one where ever you go. Breakfast, lunch, after dinner, later in the evening and anyone you ever go to visit will always be putting on the tea pots as soon as the door bell has rung. Having Turkish coffee they say is an acquired taste. But for those who drink espressos in their day to day life, there is not much difference. Often served with sugar already pre mixed and in little cups on saucers, its become a common occurrence to see woman turning the cups upside down once finished to see if anyone can read their fortune. Another popular drink is a salted yoghurt beverage called "Ayran". Very popular when eating a kebab or borek, most Turks consider this a staple in their diet.
Although commonly known that muslims do not drink alcohol, this is not the case in modern day Turkey. Although alcohol is not an every day occurrence, there are more Turks enjoying a drink of an evening than in past times. Unless you are looking to buy exported beer, the only beer you will normally find for sale is the national beer called Efes. Apart from Efes, you will quite often see people drinking "Raki". A liquorice flavoured drink that you have poured quite strongly and mixed with water so it goes cloudy. It is often drunk in the evening and always accompanied by fish, fruit or cheese. Although Turkey grows more grapes than anyone else in the world, they are not known for being a wine producers. Over the past 10 years though, their wines have been improved and are now becoming recognised in the International market receiving some impressive awards over the last few years.
