For the roots of Turkish cuisine, it is more logical to look at proverbs, epics and dictionaries rather than cookbooks. For example, in Divanü Lugati't-Türk (1074), it is seen that many varieties of basil were known by the Turks.

Rice, a folk dish in the Far East and India, became an elite food after a long transformation, first in Tabriz and from the 15th century onwards in Istanbul.

100 - 150 years ago, in addition to salt and pepper, there was another spice that was indispensable for Ottoman-Turkish cuisine tables: Cinnamon. It added flavor not only to desserts but also to savory dishes.

Our first information about Turkish cuisine shows that meat and offal are given a lot of space, while vegetables are kept in the background.

Especially in the early Ottoman period, olive oil was not used in cooking, but for illumination with oil lamps. Over time, olive oil became an indispensable part of the Ottoman cuisine, and dishes containing olive oil became quite diverse.

If we give the origin of some foods; Pumpkin: America Okra: Ethiopia White cabbage: Mediterrenian Pea; Middle Asia Pepper: Central America Tomatoes: America Chicory: Belgium Cauliflower: Asia Red radish: Middle Asia Celery: Mediterrenian Potatoes: America

French traveler Bartrandon De La Broquiere wrote that he first encountered caviar with olive oil in Bursa in 1432. The Western world learned about caviar much later.