Turkish Breakfast Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is a typical Turkish breakfast? ›

If we talk about traditional Turkish breakfast, which comes from the Ottoman Empire, it includes tomatoes, butter, bread (simit, lavas, Gozleme, Yufka, cornbread, Bazlama), olives, cheese, and tea (Turkish herbal teas, apple tea, yarrow tea, black tea, sage tea).

Feta cheese (beyaz peynir) is a true standby, and other contenders include kasseri, a hard cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk, as well as lor, an uncured goat-milk cheese that's like Turkey's version of cottage cheese.

Cucumbers are low in calories and high in water content, making them a refreshing and healthy choice for breakfast. You can include them in salads, sandwiches, or simply enjoy slices with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

This spread, Tahin Pekmez, is usually eaten for breakfast, on slices of bread. Alternatively, you can spread it on some Rich tea biscuits or Digestives.

There's adequate protein from the cheese, egg, hummus and yogurt. There's healthy fat from the olives and olive oil. there's phytonutrients from the tomato, parsley, cucumber and olives. The various components of this breakfast not only have diverse flavors, but varying textures as well.

The cheese varies by region, but you will almost always will find some version of Beyaz Peynir (White Cheese) at breakfast tables throughout Turkey. The milk is clotted with vegetable rennet. The curds are, cut, salted and pressed into blocks to be aged in brine for approximately six months.

Turkey is famous for its elaborate breakfasts, featuring a huge spread of a wide variety of foods that can take hours to eat. Critics say the traditional breakfast is indulgent and leads to food waste. Others say it's part of the culture and here to stay.

Beyaz Peynir (White Cheese) from Ezine

It's an absolute staple of the traditional Turkish breakfast, but it's a fairly big staple of dinners as well and is often eaten as a meze by itself or is consumed in the summer months with watermelon or melons.

Geymar (known as Kaymak in Turkey) is an Iraqi thickened cream that is traditionally made using water buffalo milk. It is indulgent and addictive, typically served for breakfast with flaky pastry called Kahi, and smothered in either honey or date molasses.

Cucumber and other green vegetables: Green vegetables and cucumber are rich in amino acids. If consumed on an empty stomach it may very well lead to pain and bitterness in the upper abdomen. Tomato: Tomato is a fruit containing high levels of tannin.

Why can't I eat cucumber at night? ›

Cucumber, for that matter, is made up of 95% water. Having lots of it is sure to make you feel "full" and bloated and as a result, interrupt your sleep. Plus, there is another reason why you should only eat cucumber in a limited quantity.

Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

Pekmez (Turkish: pekmez) is a molasses-like syrup obtained after condensing juices of fruit must, especially grape by boiling it with a coagulant agent like wood ashes or ground carob seeds. It is used as a syrup or mixed with tahini for breakfast.

Pomegranate Molasse

Similar to Pekmez, pomegranate molasses is made from a fruit juice that, once reduced, is transformed into a syrupy liquid, concentrated and intense. Pomegranate molasses presents a flavour that is distinctly more acidic than grape molasses.

Tahini (/təˈhiːni, tɑː-/) or tahina (Arabic: طحينة, /-nə/) is a Levantine condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini.

Tea is consumed by Turks right at the beginning of the day for breakfast, and regardless of where you go for breakfast in the country, you can be sure that a large pot of tea will be placed on your table without you even asking for it.

Although meat-based foods such as kebabs are common in Turkish cuisine abroad, meals in Turkey largely center around rice, vegetables, and bread.