Meat is commonly used in Western Thracian Turkish cooking, the most common meats being goat, lamb/mutton and beef. Feasts and special occasion meals will always include a mead dish. Especially on the spring festival of Hıdırellez and other picnics where friends and family welcome in the spring, it is very important to roast a whole lamb or goat on a spit. In the past, when freezers and refrigerators were not available, whole or ground meat was fried and stored in cloth bags in a dry place. If the portion of a slaughtered animal kept for the home was to be stored raw, it was hung in cool wells in baskets. Today the meat is stored in the freezer or deep freeze in portions appropriate for various uses, in convenient amounts. Offal is frequently used. Köfte are usually round, baked in the oven on top of potatoes cut in rounds, in water to which tomato paste has been added. Grilled köfte are preferred as they are light. The practice of eating köfte alone has not yet become common; but ready-made Tekirdağ köfte have recently made their way into our kitchens.

The sine qua non poultry in our cooking are chicken, turkey and goose. When they are boiled, their broth is made into soup and pilaf. A dish made with a village chicken and a generous amount of onions is famous. Game animals including rabbit, quail, partridge, duck and goose are made into yahni, börek, or eaten with akıtma (similar to a crepe) or cooked in yufka. A type of chicken crepe is one of the most special of the feast dishes.

Although the eating of fish is not extremely common, many families cook fish on the city’s market day. Freshwater fish used include carp and others; saltwater fish eaten include sardines, horse mackerel, hamsi, mackerel, bream, red mullet, squid etc. Fish are generally baked, grilled or fried.

Cheese and yogurt are especially vital in Western Thracian Turkish cooking. Many different foods such as meat, vegetables, pulses, dolmas, pasta, and fried eggplant and peppers are served with garlic-infused yogurt. Yogurt is especially preferred at dinner. Cheese or curd is used especially in the preparation of dishes such as börek, salads, kaşnika, and poğaça with cheese. In addition, cheese topped with olive oil and a sprinkling of thyme is served as an appetizer at nearly every meal. Milk is mostly drunk plain, but is also used in soups, desserts and children’s food, as well as for cream. Butter is preferred in cooked dishes, pilaf and sweets. The most common eggs used are chicken eggs, but gurkey, goose and duck eggs are also eaten, if infrequently. Eggs are boiled, made into omlets, fried, and served with yogurt, as well as used in soups, böreks, kaşnika (corn bread with leeks), cakes, cookies, sweets and in salads.

Beans, chickpeas and green lentils are cooked with meat, with or without the bone. They may also serve as the main dish. Beans and chickpeas are also cooked with lamb/goat feet, head, and oxtail. Boiled chickpeas are also added to buttered rice pilaf. Leftover plain beans are served in a later meal mixed with yogurt and garlic as an appetizer. Green lentils are commonly served in the same way.

Of grains and grain products, flour is without a doubt the most common, used in many different dishes from çörek to soup and halvah. Although bread is bought at the grocers or from bakeries, it is still homemade in many village homes, in ovens out in the yard. Foremost among winter foods in particular is tarhana, which is stored either dry or fresh. There is very little in the way of a breakfast tradition, but it is notable that tarhana, which is consumed at every meal, is also eaten in the morning with the addition of crumbled bread or cheese. Flour is also used in the preparation of kuskus and homemade pasta, which are less made these days. Wheat is used in the preparation of aşure as well as boiled and eaten plain with salt. Corn is undoubtedly a mainstay of Western Thracian Turkish cooking. Corn meal is used in many different dishes including kaşnika, kaçamak, soup and börek fillings. Fresh whole corn is boiled and eaten salted. Popcorn is popular on winter evenings. Bulgur is commonly used in rabbit börek, and together with rice in dolma fillings, but for pilaf, rice is the preferred grain. Another very typical dish is pilaf with chickpeas. Rice is also used in dolma/sarma, börek, rice pudding and other dishes.

Pasta is eaten with the addition of ground meat and garlic yogurt. A meat casserole is made with orzo, meat and tomatoes. The amount of bread consumed is less than that of accompanying dishes. Although yufka was once commonly made, it is less common today; with store-bought yufka used in the making of böreks and baklava. As for böreks rolled by hand, the most notable are rabbit börek and ulaşık börek. Gaziler helvası, made from semolina, is an indispensable dish at community dinners. Wheat/cornstarch halvah, known as kırıklı helva, oturtma baklavası, and lokma, known locally as gombaldak, are popular as are milk and fruit desserts.

Western Thracian cuisine makes heavy use of seasonal vegetables the year round, such as okra, green beans, cabbage, leeks, eggplant, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, parsley, mint, scallions, onions, green garlic and head garlic, zucchini, spinach, lettuce, potatoes etc. Some vegetables are generally cooked with meat or with rice. Dishes including rice are generally eaten along with garlic infused yogurt. The vegetables most often fried are eggplant, pepper, potatoes and zucchini, generally eaten with tomato sauce or garlic yogurt. There is a whole group of foods, yoğurtlu, which are based on vegetables and yogurt with garlic. Vegetables such as beets and cauliflower are boiled, then mixed with vinegar or lemon, salt and olive oil and eaten as a boiled salad. Radishes, turnips and carrots are grated and served as a salad with lemon juice. Tomatoes show up at most meals; tomato paste is not used except when necessary. Leeks are very much used, and are cooked as a dish in their own tight and also in dishes like kaşnika, kapama and börek. They are also eaten raw with bread and other foods. Eggplants are used in musakka, cooked whole on hot coals, fried, and stuffed with a meat sauce for karnıyarık. Bell peppers are used for various types of dolma. During the summer, almost any type of vegetable may be used in güveç. Potatoes may be fried, boiled, cooked with olive oil and other vegetables, or in meat dishes. Vegetable dishes may serve as a main course, and for this reason are served hot or lukewarm. Garlic, well known for its health-giving qualities, is much used in Western Thracian cooking, both in head form as well as green, in the scallion stage. It is eaten raw with bread, grated into yogurt as a sauce, in pickles, and in many other dishes as a seasoning. Fresh broad beans, peas and green beans, as well as other vegetables are frequently cooked with olive oil. One famous vegetable dish is chicken with okra. Broccoli, a relative newcomer to our cuisine, is very nutritious and is generally steamed and served with olive oil, lemon and salt as a boiled salad. Though salads are eaten less in the winter, with pickles taking their place, there are still various salads served throughout the year; they are both beautiful and appetizing at the table. The use of vegetables shows the typical characteristics of the Aegean and Mediterranean. Like these areas, there is frequent use of wild herbs, including wild chicory, thistle, dock and poppy greens, which are served as salads, in böreks and as ingredients in other dishes.

Of the various fruits that are grown in fields and orchards, the most loved is a variety of plum called piravuşta. These are small, yellow and oval, and a bit tart. Another popular plum is the cangıl plum, which is generally eaten when it has attained full size but still green, with salt. Other common fruits are grapes, figs, morello (black sour) cherries, apples, pears, melons, cherries, quinces, pomegranates, peaches and apricots, along with walnuts and almonds, and olives. Mostly consumed fresh, fruits are also made into preserves and jams. It is a tradition to serve a guest a few pieces of fruit preserves on a small plate with a spoon, accompanied by a glass of water. Some fruits are also used for compote, and though not as common, others are dried. Pekmez (molasses) is made from grapes especially, and grape leaves are packed in brine for later use. During recent years, some tropical fruits such as pineapples and avocados have come into use.

The most commonly-used spices and herbs in our cuisine are ground red pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, thyme, dry and fresh mint, parsley, dill, garlic, onions, cress, arugula (rocket) and celeriac greens.

As for drinks, ayran (yogurt thinned with water) comes at the top of the list, followed by compotes, fruit juices, lemonade, prepared fruit concentrates, cola, soft drinks and soda. Notably, ayran is served with no salt. Although infrequently, loğusa sherbet (a red-colored sweet drink flavored with cinnamon and clove served to women who have just given birth and to their visitors), and various fruit syrups are made. The syrups of preserves are also thinned with water and served as a cooling drink.

Various herb teas such as linden, chamomile, sage, mint, thyme and others are generally known as “Balkan teas.” Generally several different herbs are mixed to make tea, with the addition of cloves for aroma. Chocolate, Nescafe, cappuccino, hot cocoa and frappes (made of Nescafe whipped with cold water and sugar and optional milk) are popular other drinks. As elsewhere in the world, carbonated drinks have, despite their less-than-healthy properties, become an ever-present item on the dinner table.

Very little black tea is drunk. When tea is made, it is generally added to boiling water, then served in large glasses with sugar and lemon. When one orders black tea at a coffeehouse, it is served with sugar added.

Without a doubt, our people’s most beloved drink is coffee, and it may be drunk at any time of day. It is so popular that it is practically unavoidable, and there are several sayings associated with it. “Coffee is strength to the heart,” for example. Coffee is drunk early in the morning to “wet the intestines,” in between meals “to scatter one’s worries,” with friends, neighbors and guests “to spur conversation,” and to express one’s enjoyment of coffee, one says “ferah kahveniz olsun”, which loosely translated, means “may you drink your coffee in contentment.” In the old days, when coffee was expensive and often unavailable, it was mixed with roasted ground chickpeas. In Komotini, when coffee is served to a guest, it is handed with the right hand, and the left hand is put over the breast to say “I give it to you from my heart.” Coffee pots and cups and the things served along with it are always kept on hand.

Today, with all types of food readily available, and more disposable income, the old traditions of preparing winter stocks are no longer practiced. Still, we can mention certain winter foods which continue to be made out of habit. Homemade noodles, kuskus, tarhana, pickles, pekmez, canned vegetables, dried fruit and vegetables, preserves and jams, brined olives, strung walnuts in grape must, brined vine leaves etc. are now mostly made in the villages. There are two types of pickles made in Western Thrace, those made with vinegar and those made with salt. During the winter, pickles are consumed more than salads.

When we examine the eating habits of the Turks of Western Thrace, we notice certain differences [from those in Turkey proper]. Breakfast is made for sick people and the elderly, and for school-age children. Breakfast includes butter, preserves, honey, cheese, eggs, olives, herbal teas, fruit juices, milk (cocoa, chocolate or plain), etc.

The traditional breakfast, in homes where it is eaten, is tarhana soup with the addition of small pieces of stale bread which are fried in butter with red pepper, sometimes with cheese crumbled over the top.

In homes where breakfast is not a habit, children get börek with cheese, spinach or ground m eat, grilled sandwiches, bougatsa (a börek with a sweet semolina filling), pizza, cola, fruit juices, coffee, chocolate milk, or frappes on their way to school from börek shops or at the school cafeterias, or during breaks.

Men who go to work without having breakfast generally get something from the börek shops, accompanied with hot coffee or frappe, as sort of a morning snack.