Our food, one of the most fundamental elements of intangible cultural heritage, constitutes an important element of Safranbolu’s history, which is rooted in a long history. Since the people of Safranbolu were not nomadic in history, the dishes are very rich in terms of content, although there is no numerical richness in terms of recipes.
In the past, since logistics services were not very developed, the products of that region, which can grow in every geography, were used. Today, we see that this is healthy. People are returning to a healthy diet in accordance with the season with the products of the region where they grow. For example, since there are no olive trees in Safranbolu, the culture of cooking with olive oil is almost non-existent. On the contrary, since there are many walnut trees, there are many walnut dishes, and in the past, because of this abundance, the term ‘minced meat for the poor’ was used for walnuts.
It is possible to understand that Safranbolu was in close relations with the Ottoman Empire and the palace from the rich content of the dishes. Especially in the region where small cattle breeding is developed, even “tarhana” soup is cooked with minced meat and the rich content mentioned above stands out. Even the fried bread dough, which is called “pişi” and different names in many regions today, is not without additives in Safranbolu. It is made with plenty of cheese or spinach and minced meat (called göbü) filling.
Having grown up in my late grandmother’s kitchen, I realized during my culinary education that Safranbolians adopted the ‘fine dining’ style in terms of product and technique years ago. Safranbolu home baklava, which is indispensable for holidays, is the best example of this. It is prepared with 45 layers of phyllo dough, with a lot of walnuts in between, with clarified butter, which is very fashionable these days.
The Bayram menu is quite rich. The feast starts with rice soup in broth, followed by whole meat (lamb arm), rice pilaf in broth with butter, followed by water pastry and crowned with baklava. Occasionally this menu is interspersed with okra, which is known to regulate the intestinal flora. On Sunday mornings, a closed pita with spinach and minced meat, called bükme, is usually baked in the bakery and consumed with kiren (cranberry) juice.
It is also an important tradition and festival to make ice cream in the snow with salep grown in the region when it snows in winter. In Safranbolulu people’s lives, which are divided into summer and winter, winter preparations are made in their summer houses consisting of large gardens in the Bağlar District, where they migrate in summer, in the large hearth on the ground floor. Every day, neighbors gather in one of the houses and prepare each house’s winter pasta (yayım), tarhana and yufka bread. The fruits from the garden were dried, pestils and molasses were prepared and I remember very well from my grandmother that not a single fruit was wasted and the gardens were not polluted with fruit waste. The surplus for the house was collected by the children and given to the neighbors. Another winter preparation was the roasting of minced meat for the winter and its storage in copper bowls, since butchers were not as numerous as they are today. This minced meat, which is mostly prepared from the meat of male goats (male goats older than three years), is also used in the entire kitchen in winter, from bending to tarhana, from juicy bow to bellyballs.
Contrary to popular belief, saffron, the most valuable geographical product that gives the city its name, is not used much in the kitchen. It is sold for use in industries with higher added value, such as chemistry and pharmacy. The most special dessert of saffron used in our cuisine is saffron zerde.
If we list the most important dishes of Safranbolu that are identified with the city: Tarhana soup, rice soup, stuffed leaves (from the leaves of Yazıköy Çavuş grape), cimitsiz simit (bagels without linseed), Sini bun (tray bun), walnut bun, water pastry, bükme (oven bending), sheet bending (flatbread), göbü, kuyruğu sulu (tail juicy), walnut and dried curd (keşli) yay (noodles), juicy yay, peruhi, whole meat, well kebab, long pakla (beans), okra with minced meat, höşmerim, zerde, water custard, baklava.
The dishes listed above can be found in many tourist restaurants today. For example, kanlıca mushrooms grown in the fall, keşkek cooked overnight in the oven in the villages, banduma (bandırma; a dish made by dipping quartered phyllo bread in boiled turkey broth and fried butter) cooked at home in Eflani.
Although I said at the beginning of my article that the number of recipes is small, Safranbolu cuisine is actually a rich cuisine that does not end with counting and explaining. Especially the buns and bagels are a proof that all the bakers who migrated to Istanbul in the past came from Safranbolu. Seasonal local products, good ingredients and the right cooking techniques make Safranbolu dishes unique and delicious and contribute to our culinary culture with a unique touch.
Text: Şebnem Urgancıoğlu Ergüder, Photos: İsmail Şahinbaş
– Şebnem Urgancıoğlu Ergüder, Tour Operator, Board Member of Safranbolu Tourism Operators Association
WORLD HERITAGE MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 (APRIL 2023)
