What to Bring Back from Turkey?
Turkey is one of the most gastronomically interesting countries in the world for me - and that goes for edible souvenirs too. Turkish cuisine is a superpower in sweets, pistachios and tea, and that's exactly what I filled my backpack with. You can find everything on this list in a regular supermarket.
So what are my picks for the best food souvenirs from Turkey?
Turkish Halva
Halva is my favorite Turkish sweet. It's made from ground sesame seeds thickened with sugar or honey, and on your tongue it crumbles and melts at the same time. You'll run into it from the Balkans to the Middle East - Greece and Israel have their own versions - and alongside the sesame kind, Turks also make semolina irmik helvası, though you're more likely to get that one warm in a restaurant. Small 40 g bars travel best, and for me they're the perfect portion.
Price for a 40 g bar of halva: 7 TRY (0.40 EUR)
Halva with Dried Figs and Walnuts
I'm a big fan of nuts and dried figs together, so I couldn't resist flavored halva either. Turkey is the natural home of that pairing: the country is the world's largest producer of dried figs and ranks among the biggest growers of walnuts. A bigger box lasts you longer - this halva is cut into cubes and served with coffee or tea.
Price for a 350 g package of halva with figs and walnuts: 17 TRY (1 EUR)
Chocolate Bar with Turkish Pistachios
Turkish pistachios from around Gaziantep, known as Antep fıstığı, are among the best things the country grows. You know them from sweets like baklava, and they work beautifully in chocolate too. A small 40 g bar makes an ideal snack for the road - it takes up almost no space in a backpack.
Price for a 40 g chocolate bar with pistachios: 12 TRY (0.60 EUR)
Nestlé Milk Chocolate with Turkish Pistachios
A bar of milk chocolate studded with whole pistachios makes a great gift. Everybody in Turkey makes pistachio chocolate, global brands included, and no wonder: Turkey's main rival for the title of pistachio superpower is Iran (I've made up my mind - Iran 🙂). The green nuts give the chocolate crunch and a pronounced nutty flavor.
Price for a 60 g package of chocolate with pistachios: 18 TRY (1 EUR)
Turkish Earl Grey Tea
The Turks drink more tea than anyone else in the world - per head they get through more of it than the British. It grows on the slopes above the Black Sea around the town of Rize, and people drink it from breakfast until late evening out of small tulip-shaped glasses. At home I drink classic black tea as well, but I prefer Earl Grey, the bergamot-scented blend made famous by the United Kingdom. So I bought the Turkish version in a pretty metal tin.
Price for a 125 g tin of loose Earl Grey tea: approximately 2 EUR
Green Tea with Sakura Flavor
A little green tea is grown on the Turkish Black Sea coast too. This box caught my eye because of its sakura flavor - Japanese cherry blossom on a Turkish shelf is an unexpected pairing, and finds like that are exactly what I like to bring home from my travels.
Price for a package of ten green tea bags: 28 TRY (1.60 EUR)
Turkish Black Mulberry Jam
Back home we know the mulberry mainly as an ornamental tree, but its fruit is edible and excellent. In Turkey, black mulberries (karadut) go into juices, thick syrups and jams. The taste is sweet, with a slightly winey note that brings blackberries to mind. And no traditional Turkish breakfast table is complete without jam.
Price for a 300 ml jar of mulberry jam: 25 TRY (1.30 EUR)
Turkish Lentil Soup
I like to bring back food I wouldn't normally eat, just to give it a try - which is exactly how instant lentil soup from Knorr ended up in my basket. Red lentils are a staple of the Turkish diet: you'll get mercimek çorbası in just about every eatery, and its relative ezogelin çorbası adds bulgur and mint. A sachet is no match for the homemade version, but as a reminder of a Turkish soup joint it just about does the job.
Price for a sachet of instant lentil soup: 9 TRY (0.50 EUR)
If there's room left in your suitcase, throw in a box of Turkish delight or pişmaniye - neither of them breaks or melts in your luggage.
And what food souvenirs do you bring back from Turkey?
