Taste Amasya Çorum Samsun Tokat www.visitmiddleblacksea.com www.oka.org.tr Kale Mah. Cumhuriyet Cad.No:8 İlkadım/SAMSUN [email protected] Tel : 0362 431 24 00 /OrtaKaradenizKalkinmaAjansi Fax : 0362 431 24 09 /okaorgtr Amasya 3 Amasya Amasya which has hosted civilizations with its long history has rich cuisine culture which also protects the past’s tastes today. The dishes of Amasya which has hosted The okra is called as the many civilizations during its historical life and sultan of the dishes by which undertook the duty of being a school the local community of to the princes in the Ottoman Period have also been affected from these cultures. In Amasya, each dish has been shaped with the taste and presentations fitting to the sultans. Amasya. The one which is called “Sultani Bamya” (Sultani Okra) among the varieties of the okra is the masterpiece of the special tables in terms of its taste Keşkek (a dish of mutton or chicken and and quality. coarsely ground wheat) which is one of the main dishes in many Anatolian cities has become different in the cuisine culture of Amasya and it has gained such a different taste and appearance that it makes said that all keşkeks are to one side and Amasya keşkek is to the other side. Sultan Çelebi Mehmet named his soldiers making practice in the Amasya Yedikır locality as “Cabbage eaters and Okra eaters” (“Lahanacılar ve Bamyacılar”) while he was a prince. Even, the figures of cabbage and okra were applied to the historical The Cherry Bread which is a kind of range stones in İstanbul. dessert eaten in the Amasya Prince palace is made with the old bread. The old breads For the Okra dish are buttered and they are fried in the oven with Meat made of the the cherry sherbet is poured on it and it locality-specific okras, is served. Unutma Beni (Do not forget the lamb, okra, onions, me) which is of the local dishes is also a tomatoes and lemon are dessert prepared with the old breads and used. It is slightly watery flavored with the molasses. and different tasted dish. 4 Taste Amasya is also famous for guests that they will entertain at their tables its legendary apple and on that day, they call one of the needy people cherry gardens. The joy to their houses and they share their dishes of wandering in the sweet with them. If they have guests coming from smelling apple gardens outside for staying at the night, s/he is called in the harvest period and heavy guest and at the table prepared for eating fresh apples by this guest, 6 plates of dishes are served as picking them from their definitely toyga soup, whole meat, rice pilaf, branches is utterly different. sinusu pastry, okra and dessert. The characteristics of The toyga soup is soup made with the the Amasya’s symbol coarsely ground wheat, chickpeas and muscatel apple (misket skimmed milk and being thickly viscous and elması) are that one of specific to the locality. its faces is red, the other face is yellow and it is Especially in the village wedding in Amasya, thin-skinned and fragrant, the tables are put on the courtyards. On the hard and durable. When it tables, the keşkek, pilaf, meat and halvah is cut from the middle into which are cooked in big boilers are offered. two parts, the shape of star Before the wedding, also entertainment is is observed. organized in the bath for introducing the While mentioning about bride to the family relatives and on the navel Amasya, Evliya Çelebi stone, the songs are sung together with the mentions about its breads, instrumentalist team. In the entertainments, forty kinds of pears, eleven the Stuffed Beans, Walnut Pastry, Bat (‘Bat’ is types of cherries and seven a dish of vine leaves stuffed with a mixture of types of grapes and seven green lentils, walnuts and herbs) and donuts types of quinces. are eaten and it is called Bride Bath. The dessert of Ayva Peverdesi (a dessert made of quinces) made of quinces in Amasya is so nice that it was sent as a gift to the sultan in that period. According to what was told, The Stuffed Beans which is one of the tastes the people of Amasya love specific to the region is a type of stuffed dish to entertain quests at the cooked on the rib of beef wrapped to the vine tables too much and even leaf by adding okra, coarsely ground wheat, if they do not have any minced meat and spices types. 5 Amasya In Amasya, the historical houses have been generations, and you restored and today they give services as should try these hot poppy hotel and restaurant. In these palaces, seed and walnut cookies. where you can find the local tastes, the Yoğurmaç which is a feast can be started with the soups such as delicious pastry which Toyga soup, Helle soup, Kesme İbik soup is cooked in the oven by and then again, you can crown your table kneading the dough being with many dishes from the local tastes such formed by being pulled as stuffed beans, stuffed liver, smartweed, by two persons with the ravioli, göbek dolması (a dish made of meat), mixture of the butter, butter, eggplant stew (pehli), pastırma pağallemesi crushed walnuts and poppy (bacon), pirpirim (Purslane Tomato Salad). seed is another wonderful taste that you can taste in the places of the city which make local dishes. It is buttered in layers and made lumps. It is waited for 15 You can also taste the wonderful tastes of minutes and it is reformed Amasya such as Dene Hasudası (a dish again and placed into the made with of starch, water and molasses), oven. Quince Galle, Gelin parmağı (a kind of dessert), Gömlek Kadayıfı (oven baked shredded pastry), Höşmerim (cherry bread).. You can try various kebabs in the presence of unique Amasya scene in Çakallar Hill. The quality of the vegetables and meat and the type of the wood determine the taste of the kebabs made of the eggplant, lamb You can taste the Topuz and potato, tomato and green pepper in the Kebab and sherbets wood fire. specific to the Ottoman In Amasya in two-storey together with many local historical Taşhan, you can dishes in the historical try the Ottoman dishes covered bazaar in the and Ottoman sherbets Merzifon district of Amasya and you can sip your which will bedazzle you coffee against the scene with its architecture. of King Rock Graves. In the Rumi Usta which You should go early to the pastry store in is famous with its stuffed the city center which cooks the legendary lamb in Merzifon, you Amasya pastries of Amasya for three should definitely taste the keşkek and semolina halva. 6 Çorum 7 Çorum The Çorum Cuisine having approximately hundred dish types reflects what it has accumulated in its thousands of years of history to the tables. The sun which is the symbol of the Hittite civilization gives birth to the fertility again every day. Çorum and it community become the cradle of all kinds of richness from the wheat from which the bread is made to the grape from which the wine is made for The humid forest areas centuries. in the Çorum Mountains host the rarely observed söbelek mushrooms. The stuffed dishes prepared with the collected söbelek mushrooms are cooked for the important The Çorum cuisine is a hidden treasure for guests at the houses. years like the Hittite civilization. The addiction of the Anatolia people to the bread and The İskilip stuffing is dough goes back to the Hittites. The Hittites a banquet dish alone. used the cereals as flour and grain and they It is said to be a dish consumed them by grilling or roasting them prepared for the soldiers in the fire while they were spikes. in the soldier camps in the Ottoman. It is composed of The women of Çorum who roast the wheat pilaf and lamb meat. and chickpea today while they are green spikes frequently make the thickly viscous soup specific to the region called ‘’çatal aşı’’ and being made of the lentils and wheat. The soup which is made of plenty of mint is served in the presence of wraps of the dry cottage cheese in the restaurants which The rice taken into the make local dishes. fabric is cooked for 12 hours in a special boiler with the vapor of the meat’s water. It is prepared by the cooks who are called dolmacı (making the In the soups with the yoghurt in the region, stuffing) in the weddings. the ‘’katık’’, namely ‘strained yoghurt” is The İskilip stuffing is used. The soups made with the strained served together with the yoghurt are cooked by continuously mixing. locally specific cacık (diced The wedding soup is one of the soups made cucumber garlic and mint with the strained yoghurt. in yoghurt) with vinegar. 8 Taste The Sırık kebabı (roasted lamb kebab) is a dish specific to the Kargı district. For obtaining a wonderful taste, the lamb or goat is required to be put on the fire without being waited as soon as it is slaughtered. In the special days, especially in the weddings, the menu presented to the In Çorum dishes, the various herbs guests is composed of the are commonly used. Of these herbs, wedding soup, haricot (et the knotweed is naturally grown in the yahni), rice pilaf, su böreği countryside areas especially in the spring (pasta with cheese parsley months and the dishes made of this filling) and Çorum baklava.