Spices to purchase in Turkey

[dreamers50]

I am headed to Turkey and looking for suggestions of what spices/ cooking essentials to purchase while over there!

[JoanN]

Be very wary of everyone trying to sell you cheap saffron. Cheap is cheap. Even in Turkey. They can be very slick showing you the red part and hiding the yellow. There is good saffron to be found, and for less than you'd pay in the States. But it's not cheap.

On nearly every table there was a spice blend. You'd dip your bread in olive oil and then into the spice blend. I LOVED that stuff. I must have tasted nearly a dozen different spice blends in the spice market before I found it. I have no idea what it's called. Still don't. Haven't been able to find anything close to it Stateside. I've even walked into Turkish restaurants and markets with tiny samples begging for information. If you find a spice blend you like, buy it in quantity. (And if you find it, could I ask you please to send me some?)

[ferret]

A lot of what is sold as saffron is really safflower (very different).

[chefathome]

Is the seasoning za'atar perchance? It is served in the same way you had it, dipped in olive oil and za'atar. I always make my own...
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middl...

Turkey is known for its lovely wild thyme, mint and sumac as well, especially from western Anatolia.

Though it is obvioulsy not a spice Turkey is also famous for its pomegranate molasses which features prominently in many of their recipes, so that may be worthwhile if you cannot get it where you live.

Baharat and kofte spice mixes are known in Turkey but again, you can easily make your own.

[JoanN]

No, not za'atar. Za'atar has an emphasis on sumac and thyme. The mix I had was strong in cumin, black pepper, and garlic--and definitely no mint. Any ideas?

You reminded me that I bought some wonderful pomegranate molasses there. So much better than anything I'd ever bought here. And pine honey. I made a honey-ginger gelato with it. My lord, that was good.

[chefathome]

Hmmmm...that's interesting the mix contained cumin. Not sure but I do have a few Turkey cookbooks I'll look into.

Pine honey sounds fabulous - I have never had it! The gelato would be sublime.

[emilief]

This may be dukkah, an egyptian spice wix which contains nuts(usually hazelnuts) and cumin, usually eaten by dipping bread in oil and then in the dukkah.

[JoanN]

Hadn't heard of dukkah before so looked up recipes online. Jeez! They're all over the map! About the only consistent ingredients seem to be nuts and cumin. I don't think that's it, but it sure does sound good. I'm going to try it. Although which one of the dozens of different recipes that are out there I'm going to try will need a lot more research.

[emilief]

I once saaw a recipe in the newspaper from Oleana, a highly acclaimed restaurant in Cambridge MA owned by chef Anna Sortum. If you can find that recipe it is probably very authentic and good.

[JoanN]

I took her book out from the library hoping up find something like what I was looking for. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything like what I had hoped to find. Maybe a search for the newspaper recipe will turn up something that wasn't in the book.

[emilief]

It was in the Boston Globe.

[chefathome]

It IS good - I make a big batch and keep some in the freezer.

[JoanN]

Do you have a specific recipe you could recommend? The ones I found online were as different from one another as bananas and beans.

[JungMann]

Real sahlab, a flour made from orchids, is pretty much impossible to find outside of Turkey. It'd be a real treat if you could make your own chewy sahlab milk or ice cream upon returning to the States. Turkey also has wonderful peppers. You should definitely pick up some urfa, marash or kirmizi biber while you're over there.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Three ground/flake peppers from Turkey and Syria sold there. Aleppo-Syria mildly hot, urfa-roasted red pepper, tastes smokey not hot, and marash-hottest of three and far superior IMHO to Italian dry peppers.

[Nyleve]

REAL saffron can be found at the Spice Bazaar but you have to ask for it. They usually keep it inside the stalls, not in the bins outside. Most comes from Iran and it is wonderful and much cheaper than anything you can find in North America. I bought lots.

Also the dark red flaked peppers - urfa? something biber? I can't remember. You can find that in the bins outside the stalls. Ask for the freshest stuff - they sell various qualities so it's worth looking for the best. They have spice blends for kebabs etc. and, although I didn't buy any, I'm sorry I didn't. It would have been worth having. And YES - pomegranate molasses. It's a totally different animal than what you can get here and absolutely delicious. Oh also there's this grape molasses - I can't remember the name for it - but it's delicious on yogurt.

Other things: double roasted pistachios (heavenly), gigantic raisins, dried figs of all sorts.

If you go to the Spice Bazaar (I think it's called the Egyptian Bazaar) check out the outdoor stalls that line one wall of the building. There are a lot of cheese and yogurt vendors along that area. Anyway I found some of the best prices on saffron and other things along there because most of the tourists stay inside the building and the outdoor vendors seem to get a largely local crowd. Such a great place - I'd love to go back, if only to shop.

[antman]

The deep red pepper paste from Urfa is called "isot". This is a key ingredient in cig kofte. Very good edible souvenir.
Pomegranate molasses or extract rather is called "nar eksisi" and it is widely used in Turkish salad dressings. It is a wonderful treat.
The grape molasses is called "pekmez" and it is sold in sealed jars. Should be good for traveling.
You can also pick up sahlep powder (orchid root) to make the wintertime drink of the same name or Turkish icecream. But don't buy it anywhere. Most is bogus. I know of one wholesaler in Eminonu. I will try to find his contact info. You might find it by a google search.
good luck and enjoy Istanbul, the city that will never go hungry.

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www.istanbuleats.com

[luckyfatima]

As far as things that can go in your suitcase, in the region Turkey is famous for pistachios and pine nuts, as well as excellent honey. You can also pick up packages of the dessert Turkish delight. Try out their olive oil and see if that is something you would like to bring home. If you can get good ones in a sealed jar (so you can get them past customs in the US) Turkey has very delicious vegetable pickles as well. I think they are sold open in buckets and not in a jar, but you may get lucky. Most everything else I can think of is too fresh and wouldn't travel well and may not be legal to bring into the US, like fresh herbs, cheeses, and sausages or what have you. Have a great trip.