Cooking Class

In planning activities for Istanbul, Martha had found a nearby cooking school and arranged for us to take a class. We met our instructor on Istiklal Street about 20 minutes from our room. He greeted us and then collected the other students for our class. There were 11 of us altogether - 3 Dutch women, one Canadian woman, and the rest of us from the US. There was one other guy, in addition to our instructor. Our class started with a walking tour of a local market area, where fresh fish, spices, and vegetables were available. As he described the foods, we were offered samples to taste. Many of the items that we had seen on menus were clarified for us. One of the most unique items was chili paste. It is very similar in consistency to tomato paste, but made from chili peppers instead - quite spicy. The mounds of spices were incredible to see and imagine the hundreds of little tiny bottles that could be filled from the spice mound and sold at Safeway for $5 or more each. Our instructor bought the ingredients that we would use to cook our dinner that evening. 

At his cooking classroom/yoga studio, he asked us about our culinary experiences in Turkey so far - we mentioned the turnip juice - and answered questions that we had. Then he started explaining Turkish food cultures as they related to social and geographic elements. The three cultures that he described were kebab culture, fish culture, and the royal (Ottoman) culture. Kebab culture comes from southeastern Turkey - bordering Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It is focused on roasted meats and is very spicy. The fish culture is from the Aegean and Marmara Sea areas. Besides fish, its focal food is called meze, which is somewhat similar to Spanish tapas, small dishes of food intended to be served cold. The third cuisine was the food that Istanbul residents grew up with, originating in the kitchens of Topkapi Palace and then spread throughout the city. A key feature of this food culture was food that was stuffed. We learned to make five different dishes: hummus (kebab culture), bulgur salad (kebab culture), aubergine (eggplant) meze (fish culture), cigarette borek (royal culture), and helva (royal culture). Way too much food, but very tasty. He used long eggplants (similar to Asian eggplants) that were roasted directly over a gas flame. The preferred method of cooking them is over a grill - no problem there. This gave the eggplant a smoky flavor which was combined with lemon and then chilled. The most involved dish was probably the borek. The stuffing was cheese and parsley, which was then rolled in fila dough and fried in oil. The helva was dessert - basically semolina soaked in boiling water and then boiled with a sugary syrup. The dessert was the favorite dish of one of the most popular Sultans; so, when he died, everyone was told to make helva to remember him. Now, helva is often eaten after people die. The evening was most informative and enjoyable. We were stuffed at the end. Here's why.