Turkish food draws influence from the country’s bubbling melting pot of cultures.  A crossroads between the ancient and the modern, the east and the west, Turkey is its own.  It wouldn’t be fair to compare this country to anywhere else as it holds its own eclectic mix of tradition and modernity, shambles and skyscrapers, lamb kebaps and lasagna. 

Before traveling to Turkey I couldn’t spout off one meal that I might see on a menu, let alone one dish!  The most I knew of the food before actually traveling to Turkey was that the country is a mecca for locavore cuisine and they have enough lamb to choke a t-rex.  What most people don’t know about the country’s fare, however, is that it is vast.  Beyond the one thousand clever re-arrangements of eggplant, Turkish food is different everywhere you go.  From one town to another, and even in Istanbul, locals might not have ever heard of a dish that is served in a neighboring region. 

In the major cities, however, menus start to look a lot the same: creamy yogurt sauce with garlic, lamb döner kebap with a side of rice pilaf and spicy green pepper, and rice pudding.  Like any well-versed foodie might do, I found that it’s required to really dive off the deep end and take the road less trodden when it comes to finding delicious bites.

Snacking is a must if you truly want a taste (so to speak) of Turkey.  The saying holds true that “it’s the little things that count,” because the best foods I ate throughout Istanbul, Bursa, Konya, Cappadoccia, Ankara, and the irrationally too many car stops and villages in between were those that were bite(?) sized, potent, and fresh.  To chronicle these scrumptious snacks I have devised a list of my “Top 10 Tiny Turkish Tastes”.  

#10 Chestnuts– although at the end of their season, these toasty and milky treats were roasted street-side with an aroma so cozy I couldn’t resist.  

#9 Ayran– Turks even use their beloved yogurt to make a refreshing beverage seen and drunk everywhere in the summer months.  Ayran, seemingly more popular than Coca-Cola in the warmer seasons, is water-ed down yogurt with a potent hit of salt that cools one down on the hottest of days.  Resembling the taste of cottage cheese, but of course without the lumps, ayran is packaged and sold by many companies in every convenience store, café, and restaurant, or is homemade with a bubbly foam that bursts over the lip of the cup. 

#8 Honey Donut– I don’t know its proper name, but that’s OK because, hey, they aren’t that proper.  Fried dough is loved everywhere but this sweet bite is different from most because of it honey lacquer.  Local honey is ubiquitous, but only at a casual dessert stop near our Istanbul hotel did I see these twisted, sweet donuts.

#7 Cherries– freshly picked, eaten when still warmed by the sun, and drooling-ly juicy. 

#6 Gözleme (Turkish crepes)– Specialized by only certain towns and cities, these homemade delights are the perfect afternoon snack alongside a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.   Order with spinach, potato, mince meat, cheese, or a mix of any of the above.  

#5 Fruit and nuts– whether a nut stuffed fruit or either component solo, Turkish nuts and dried fruits are the best in the world (so far as I’ve tasted).  I was given a walnut out of the shell one day by a rickety old man in the spice market.  The natural masterpiece was so hearty and rich that just this one bite posed as the perfect pick-me-up snack.  Sometimes the pleasure evoked by eating a food surpasses its mass. 

#4 Plums– It took me well over a week to realize that the “sour green things” I had grown an appetite for were in fact plums.  Un-ripened to an American eye, Turkish plums look like lime green Bubblegum balls, but have the bite of a more fibrous and juicy crab apple.  I popped these tart bubbles in my mouth like popcorn.  

#3 Etliekmek– This local dish to Konya is like a cross between a taco and a pizza, it measures a yard in length, and is served on a long wooden plank.  Order with cheese or cheese and meat, and top with chili flake, parsley, and green peppers before rolling it up and eating it like a taco.  

#2 Peaches– Warning: MUST eat over a sink, in a bathtub, or politely as possible in the street over a curb gutter. The best on earth. Period. 

#1 The Almost Inexplicable Miracle Food– It was in Dinar, Anatolia where I believe to have tasted the country’s best yogurt.  Made by a tiny mountain tribe, this yogurt was not only one-of-a-kind by location, but also by flavor and texture.  Like a slightly softer version of cream cheese, the yogurt was topped with local clover honey and poppy seeds harvested in the mountain’s valleys.  The honey was so thick that the waiter spun it around a fork like twirl of spaghetti and placed this candied fork atop two dollops of yogurt, served with a spatula like the ones used to scoop gelato in Italy.  Then he sprinkled toasty, golden poppy seeds on top and instructed that you must swirl the whole mixture together until fully combined.  I couldn’t help but get two helpings before jumping back in the car for the rest of the day’s road trip.  I dreamed that I would one day have this very same snack again; all the while fresh poppy seeds still popping in my mouth.