Feb 17
Tuesday
CB on the Road: The Young and Funky in Turkey’s Edremit
Turkey has a rich dairying tradition, beginning thousands of years ago with nomadic tribes herding goats through the Anatolian steppes. Although Turkey is full of good cheeses that breakfast staples, these cheeses do not have the range of flavors and textures that, say, the French have with their cheese cornucopia. Three young sheep farmers and cheese makers near the Aegean coastal town of Edremit are changing that.
Ferit Uzunoğlu (29), Gudrun Wagner (31) and Şakir Kapankaya (36) have been producing Camembert-style and fresh, herb-crusted sheep’s milk cheese since 2010 in the small village of Hacıaslanlar. Uzunoğlu and Kapankaya grew up together here – Uzunoğlu helped Kapankaya work his family’s land and vice versa. Kapankaya’s father suggested that the two buy sheep and go into business because Kapankaya’s land was perfect for pasturing the sheep, and Uzunoğlu had flat land to grow feed. Uzunoğlu left for Vienna first, to study agriculture, where he met Wagner. Wagner is a focused, lighthearted and strong Austrian farm woman. She is a calming counterpart to Uzunoğlu’s excitable, passionate nature. The two hit it off and Wagner agreed to start a cheese-making business on Uzunoğlu’s father’s land in Hacıaslanlar.
Read the rest of this feature at Culinary Backstreets.
In case you didn’t know, Istanbul Eats now lives over at Culinary Backstreets. Same great culinary walks, same great culinary writing. You’ll be redirected there in a few seconds!
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Recent Posts
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
no responses - Posted 05.08.18
That much of the past seems to stick to Samatya is a marvel in Istanbul, a city being rebuilt and “restored” at an alarming pace. First, there’s the question of its name. Occupying a stretch of the Marmara Sea and squeezed between the old city walls and Kumkapı, an area home to a rotating cast of eclectic restaurants, the neighborhood still ... continue -
Spring Surprises: Skewering the First Fruits in Istanbul
no responses - Posted 04.25.18
It was the first of April and an absolutely pristine Istanbul spring day, the kind where one can break a slight sweat walking up a hill then catch a cool breeze in a nearby patch of shade. Returning to the city from a lovely weekend on Büyükada, we were smitten with spring and wanted to indulge in its finest offerings. In ... continue -
Farewell, Pando: An Istanbul Culinary Legend Passes On
no responses - Posted 04.16.18
It’s Saturday around lunchtime and business as usual in the bustling Beşiktaş Çarşı neighborhood, as crowds of mostly younger people fill the narrow streets. Down on Mumcu Bakkal Sokak, a pedestrian-only street lined with miniscule shops, a line around the block has been formed by those eager to get into one of the city’s best döner spots. For many of those ... continue -
Bağdat Ocakbaşı: Licensed to Grill
no responses - Posted 04.09.18
Istanbul’s T1 tramway is relatively pleasant if you can find a seat, but borders on unbearable if you are on your feet. Back in 2015, we wrote about a trip we took from the line’s first stop all the way to one of its last, which lies way out in the district of Güngören. By the time the tram has made ... continue -
Dose & Istos Café: Greek Revival
no responses - Posted 03.30.18
A café at its best is so much more than the sum of its parts: it’s a place where people can easily mingle, share ideas, and dertleşmek, or commiserate over their troubles, all while imbibing caffeine. At the same time, it’s a place where visitors might feel an invisible thread of common beliefs connecting them, an unspoken camaraderie, even if ... continue -
Back to the Land: Urban Turks Tackle Rural Life
no responses - Posted 03.23.18
When Buket Ulukut first moved from Istanbul to a rural plot of land in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey, she was leading a double life. “I’d be taking calls from clients in Europe while out amidst the rows of peppers and eggplants, hoping they didn’t hear the rooster crowing in the background,” says Ulukut, who worked in ... continue -
Semt Pazarları, Civic Life Perfected
no responses - Posted 03.09.18
“Two kilos five liraaa! Two kilos five liraaa!” bellowed a young and exuberant vendor of tomatoes to the ongoing stream of frugal-minded shoppers making their way through the snaking Tarlabaşı Sunday Market. Hundreds of sellers of fresh produce, dairy, seafood, kitchenware, clothing, smuggled tobacco, jewelry, fresh baked goods and numerous other items set up side by side in the central Istanbul ... continue
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
All entries filed under Features
Lakerda: Istanbul’s Salty, Fishy Soul
no responses - Posted 02.10.15
The fatty torik – the Turkish name for a large, mature Atlantic bonito, similar to the little tunny – courses the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles for just a short period each year in November and December. Yet the people of Istanbul eat it year-round by preserving the ...continue
no responses - Posted 02.10.15
The fatty torik – the Turkish name for a large, mature Atlantic bonito, similar to the little tunny – courses the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles for just a short period each year in November and December. Yet the people of Istanbul eat it year-round by preserving the ...continue
First Stop: Charles King’s Istanbul
no responses - Posted 01.10.15
Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring feature, First Stop, we asked Charles King where he stops first for food when he heads to Istanbul. King is a professor of international affairs and government at Georgetown University and the author of Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth ...continue
no responses - Posted 01.10.15
Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring feature, First Stop, we asked Charles King where he stops first for food when he heads to Istanbul. King is a professor of international affairs and government at Georgetown University and the author of Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth ...continue
Best Bites of 2014
no responses - Posted 12.22.14
Editor’s note: To cap off our annual review of the year’s best eating experiences, we’ve unleashed our imaginations to create the Turkish food court of our dreams. After a period of protest, we finally broke down and visited the Zorlu Center, a new, high-profile shopping mall in Istanbul and a showcase ...continue
no responses - Posted 12.22.14
Editor’s note: To cap off our annual review of the year’s best eating experiences, we’ve unleashed our imaginations to create the Turkish food court of our dreams. After a period of protest, we finally broke down and visited the Zorlu Center, a new, high-profile shopping mall in Istanbul and a showcase ...continue
A Revived Grape Harvest in Thrace
no responses - Posted 11.25.14
Zeynep Arca Şallıel had a successful career in advertising in Istanbul, but in 1995 she decided to take on a daunting new challenge: taking part in the revival of small-scale viniculture in the ancient winemaking region of Thrace. “I wanted to do something with soil, something that mattered a little bit ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.25.14
Zeynep Arca Şallıel had a successful career in advertising in Istanbul, but in 1995 she decided to take on a daunting new challenge: taking part in the revival of small-scale viniculture in the ancient winemaking region of Thrace. “I wanted to do something with soil, something that mattered a little bit ...continue
Hail Caesar: Mushroom Hunting in Istanbul’s Forests
no responses - Posted 10.22.14
“This would be front-page news in France!” Jilber raved, darting off between tall chestnut trees and oaks, obscured by a hazy steam that seemed to hang in the forest like a gauzy Halloween decoration. He looked over each shoulder and all around him where it seemed he was surrounded by ...continue
no responses - Posted 10.22.14
“This would be front-page news in France!” Jilber raved, darting off between tall chestnut trees and oaks, obscured by a hazy steam that seemed to hang in the forest like a gauzy Halloween decoration. He looked over each shoulder and all around him where it seemed he was surrounded by ...continue
Farming on the Edge: Istanbul’s Threatened Urban Agriculture
1 response - Posted 09.30.14
“We grow everything here – kale, dill, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, arugula, eggplant, lettuce, cauliflower... everything,” the elderly woman says proudly, waving her hand in the direction of her small field as she digs her worn plastic sandals into the dirt. While she grows the vegetables and herbs, her 80-year-old husband tends ...continue
1 response - Posted 09.30.14
“We grow everything here – kale, dill, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, arugula, eggplant, lettuce, cauliflower... everything,” the elderly woman says proudly, waving her hand in the direction of her small field as she digs her worn plastic sandals into the dirt. While she grows the vegetables and herbs, her 80-year-old husband tends ...continue
Gastronomika: The High-Concept Free Lunch
no responses - Posted 09.04.14
Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? In fact, over at Gastronomika, a new Istanbul culinary project, the food is served not only free of charge but also with an intriguing – and ambitious – backstory. As Gastronomika’s founders describe it, the project is “an open-source, long-term, community ...continue
no responses - Posted 09.04.14
Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? In fact, over at Gastronomika, a new Istanbul culinary project, the food is served not only free of charge but also with an intriguing – and ambitious – backstory. As Gastronomika’s founders describe it, the project is “an open-source, long-term, community ...continue
CB on the Road: Fırtına Valley, a Garden of Eden on the Black Sea
no responses - Posted 08.29.14
Misty, lush Fırtına Valley is worlds away from Istanbul’s concrete urban hustle. It’s a land of cascading waterfalls, rushing rivers, wild edibles and precipitous hillsides covered with glossy tea bushes. We came to escape Istanbul’s infamous August heat and learn about the region’s special foods. After a week, we had stomped ...continue
no responses - Posted 08.29.14
Misty, lush Fırtına Valley is worlds away from Istanbul’s concrete urban hustle. It’s a land of cascading waterfalls, rushing rivers, wild edibles and precipitous hillsides covered with glossy tea bushes. We came to escape Istanbul’s infamous August heat and learn about the region’s special foods. After a week, we had stomped ...continue
The Break Fast of Champions
no responses - Posted 07.09.14
Think of Ramadan, which began in late June in many parts of the world, as a kind of monthlong biathlon that consists of an all-day race to beat back the hunger and thirst of fasting, followed by an all-night marathon of eating and drinking in order to fortify the body ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.09.14
Think of Ramadan, which began in late June in many parts of the world, as a kind of monthlong biathlon that consists of an all-day race to beat back the hunger and thirst of fasting, followed by an all-night marathon of eating and drinking in order to fortify the body ...continue
First Stop: Anissa Helou’s Istanbul
no responses - Posted 07.05.14
Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring feature First Stop, we asked chef and food writer Anissa Helou where she heads first for food when she arrives in Istanbul. Helou is the author of many cookbooks, including Lebanese Cuisine, Mediterranean Street Food, Savory Baking from the Mediterranean and The Fifth Quarter and has also written for publications ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.05.14
Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring feature First Stop, we asked chef and food writer Anissa Helou where she heads first for food when she arrives in Istanbul. Helou is the author of many cookbooks, including Lebanese Cuisine, Mediterranean Street Food, Savory Baking from the Mediterranean and The Fifth Quarter and has also written for publications ...continue
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