I picked up a book named Turkish Cuisine, an odd book, at least the cover was between bizarre and silly. It depicts a budgie caged in a bread basket, looking like a cage. I opened the book, it isn’t a cook book but a story about the chronology of the Turkish cuisine. A well written book, it explains in a chronological model how Turkish food was influenced by Arabian and Persian cultures and how Anatolian culture and products enhanced Turkish cuisine.

As the Ottoman Palace contributed the single most important change took place after the discovery of the Americas. The people of Anatolia became acquainted with tomatoes, green beans and corn in the 17/18 centuries. The importance of Honey over sugar until the 19th century. The book delves into the importance of food and rituals, celebrations and the symbolic relations between food and political power and how food was used to reinforce individual power. What is fascinating is the introduction of European table manners in the 19th Century and finally where we are today.

ISBN 978-975-17-3377-1