1 Jul 1996 05:30
New book on Turkish food
I've recently acquired an unusual new book on one of my favorite subjects: Turkish food. The book is entitled: Eat smart in Turkey : How to decipher the menu, know the market foods & embark on a tasting adventure / by Joan and David Peterson; illustrated by S.V. Medaris. -- Madison, WI : Gingko Press, 1996. 140 pp. : col. ill. ISBN 0-9641168-2-0 It reminds me of another old favorite, unfortunately out of print now (... and I've lent my copy to someone who has failed to return it): _An Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters_, published about a decade ago by the University of Chicago Press. The aim in each case is to help the adventurous novice discover the joys of a foreign cuisine by guiding him/her through the mysteries of foreign-language menus, ingredients, and modes of preparation. In other words, this is a book that doesn't fit neatly into the usual categories: it is not a cookbook (although it does have about two dozen excellent recipes); it's not a guide to restaurants (although it provides indispensable advice on how and what to order in a Turkish restaurant); it's not a treatise on the origins and varieties of Turkish cuisine (even though it has good introductory chapters on the history of Turkish cooking and on regional specialties). At the core of the book is an extensive, 30-page glossary of menu items, ranging from <Acem k"oftesi> breaded and fried meatballs stuffed with a mixture of currants and pine nuts, Persian style. to <zIrbaC> sheep's trotters stewed with saffron and garlic.(Continue reading)
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