Product Description

Turkish food is one of the world's great cuisines. Its taste and depth place it with French and Chinese; its simplicity and healthfulness rank it number one. Turkish-born Ayla Algar offers 175 recipes for this vibrant and tasty food, presented against the rich and fascinating backdrop of Turkish history and culture. Tempting recipes for kebabs, pilafs, "meze" (appetizers), dolmas (those delicious stuffed vegetables or vine leaves), soups, fish, "manti" and other pasta dishes, lamb, poultry, yogurt, bread, and traditional sweets such as baklava are introduced here to American cooks in accessible form. With its emphasis on grains, vegetables, fruits, olive oil, and other healthful foods, Turkish cooking puts a new spin on familiar ingredients and offers culinary adventure coupled with satisfying and delicious meals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37269 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
In this cookery book, author Ayla Algar does more than simply offer the recipes that make Turkey unique among its neighbours, she also weaves the historical and cultural backdrop that sets the stage for a culinary journey.

Customer Reviews

Classical Turkish Cooking
Disappointing given the previous reviews. More a history of Turkish Cooking with a few receipes, and not a picture of the finished product between them. The history is fascinating, and the recipes are interesting, but apart from some kebabs, I couldn't find any receipes for the food I'd enjoyed on a recent holiday in Turkey. Like I said - disappointing. Still looking for a good, illustrated Turkish cookbook.

A "MUST HAVE" for those who want to cook authentic Turkish
Let me just tell you how good this cookbook is.... When I met the man who would later become my husband, I wanted to impress him by preparing some food from his country. I got this book from the library (and later bought it). I had NO IDEA what Turkish food looked like, tasted like, NOTHING. Zero. I flipped through this book and asked him what he liked. He picked out some foods that he had really been missing since his move to the US. These items also happen to be about the most difficult to make--things most people in Turkey don't make at home anymore because they are easier to buy ready made...I made Baked Manti, Simit (Turkish bagels), and Asure the first night...and apparently I made them so well that the whole Turkish community in my town started showing up for our dinner parties for a taste of home. If a person who had no idea of the cuisine could make food THAT authentic on the first try, then the cookbook MUST be excellent. I have sinced moved to Turkey and after 4 years here, it is still my favorite cookbook above all the others I have.

Excellent Reference to Turkish Cusine
This is a well laid-out guide to Turkish food. MS. Algar provides historic detail, method for unfamiliar techniques, and a good mix of recipes from savory to sweet that have a distinctive Turkish touch. It is a cookbook you can actually sit down and read. While she does not give the technical detail Julia Child brings to her books, this book is not about being a chef, it is about introducing Turkish foods into your home, and is an excellent reference. It also provides recipes for those things you may not find easily available - just how do you make rose water if you can't find it? There is a recipe! I want a copy for my kitchen library, and you might too.