The World | Europe | Turkey

Turkey meets Europe to the west, Central Asia to the east, and the Middle East to the south, and Turkish cuisine reflects all these influences. Turkish people like contrasts in flavors, combining sweet and sour or sweet and salty, as well as contrasts in hot and cold, such as in hot spicy stews topped with cooling yogurt. Soups of all kinds are enjoyed throughout the country, and unleavened wheat or rye bread is served with all meals. Meat, especially beef, mutton, and lamb, is all important. Turkey produces many varieties of fruits and vegetables, and fish is plentiful in the coastal regions. Eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumber are popular vegetables, and fruit is used, either fresh or dried, in many Turkish dishes. Yogurt and buttermilk are consumed widely, and milk puddings and pastries are enjoyed at any time of day with strong, hot tea prepared from fruits and flower infusions.