Poets who are able to be choosy in what they eat do not deal with the subject merely in terms of “filling the stomach; they choose what appeals to their tastes. The presence of one dish reminds them of other dishes that would go well alongside it. Here, if we look at the most preferred foods and dishes, we see that these too have taken the form of a cultural behavior pattern. Poets express the culture in which they were born and raised. Pilaf and compote, beans and pickles, noodles and yogurt are a few examples of foods which people prefer to eat together.

Some foods and dishes have become famous in association with certain places, peoples or tribes. There are many such examples in the epic poems. One can also find examples in the poems of Âşık Veysel. Apples from Amasya, kaymak from Erzurum, oranges from Dörtyol, currants from Izmir, wheat from Konya, hazelnuts from Trabzon and many others have become inextricably associated with their places of origin. Modern folk poet Halil Karabulut’s narrative poem mentions the sucuk and pastırma of Kayseri, the apricots of Malatya, the hazelnuts of Ordu and Giresun, the apples of Amasya, the tea of Rize and the pekmez of Antep/Maraş. (Âşık Halil Karabulut, Halıcı 1990:73-74). Âşık Yener in his own work mentions Erzurm çiçil cheese, Andir honey, Tortum şiş kebab and other foods. In the same work, in addition to mentioning foods famous in Turkey or in his region, he also gives examples from outside Turkey: the fruit from Ravan, the apples of Ahıska, pomegranates from Gence, dates from Medina, coffee from Yemen (Âşık Yener, Halıcı 1990:31-33). The work “Ramazanname” also includes similar names of foods and dishes, in particular, honey from Crete and Kuşadası, Antep pekmez, lemons and Seville oranges from Chios, rice from Dimyat, apricots from Damascus, plums from Amasya, çörek from Ayasofya and kaşkaval cheese from Çorlu (Çelebioğlu, Ramazanname:51-52). Another poet who mentions foods in conjunctions with place names is the Konya poet Muzaffer Hamit (Evren 1953:671-672). In this poem, which he wrote in 1927, he mentions famous sweet and börek shops of Istanbul by location. Other poets connect places with foods for which they are famous:

It is clear from the poems that grains are the dietary mainstay; bread and similar baked goods as well as pasta etc. account for a large proportion of the foods. The agriculturally-based economy plays a large part in this. Foods such as açma, bazlama, bişi, börek (fincan böreği,  puf  böreği,  su böreği,  tatar böreği), çörek, ekmek (buğday ekmeği,  dürüm,  fetir,  francala ekmeği,  kıtırık ekmek,  küt/künt ekmek,  lavaş ekmeği,  mısır/darı ekmeği,  patates ekmeği, yufka ekmek, somun ekmeği),  gevrek,  kaçamak,  kete,  kirde, lahmacun, pide, pişi/bişi, poğaça, sıkma,  yağlama and other grain products show that bread is the main staple in the Turkish diet. A meal without bread is unthinkable to the poets.

The frequent mention “dough-based” (pasta) dishes such as babuko, düğürcük, erişte, haşıl, hıngel/hengel, keşkek, makarna, mantı, tutmaç, and herise in poetry shows the Turks’ preference for such dishes. But though they are popular, certain characteristics are sought in them:

Tens of varieties of pilaf are mentioned in the epics. Among them are: Acem pilavı, baca pilavı, Buhara pilavı, bulgur pilavı, erişte pilavı, etli pilav, firik pilavı, makarna pilavı, meyhane pilavı, Özbek pilavı, and pirinç pilavı (Persian, trotter, Buhara, bulgur, noodle, meat, green wheat, noodle, tavern, Uzbek and rice pilafs). The most popular of them is plain rice pilaf. Rice was considered a symbol of wealth, while bulgur symbolized poverty. Mentions of rice pilaf often included exaggerated expressions, generally comparing it to a mountain. The preferred accompaniment to pilaf was generally meat or compote:

Other popular foods include ziron (siron, silor, sireron – a dish with meat wrapped in thin bread topped with yogurt), kaygana (crepes), kuymak (corn mush), beans and chick peas. Bean and potato dishes may be seen both positively or negatively. Those not preferred include harşo, kelecoş, bulamaç and papara (pap). The expression “papara yemek” (pap, bland food) clearly has its origins in this unpopular dish.

 In epics, meat and meat dishes appear even more frequently than pasta dishes. Meat and meat-based dishes are clearly the mainstay in the diet of the poets. The most popular meats are lamb, goat, pigeon, chicken and goose. Still made today by the Turks, the kebabs, fried dishes and dolmas made with these meats bear the traces of their past cultures as well. The extreme popularity of kebabs, meat and meat dishes is much the result of cultural heritage as of economic conditions.