Turkish Food Week, featuring the rich gastronomic culture of Anatolia, will be celebrated around the world from May 21 to May 27, 2024. During the Week, delicious, healthy traditional and waste-free recipes from world-famous cuisine will be presented at various events that will be held in foreign missions of the Republic of Turkey.

The Aegean coast of Turkey, a fantastic emerald and azure landscape, attracts attention with its magnificent nature, deep history and healthy food culture. In 2010, UNESCO recognized the Mediterranean diet as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. These coastal regions are famous for vegetables such as artichokes, zucchini flowers, native herbs, and an abundance of seafood. The Aegean region is also known for its centuries-old olive trees and healthy olive oil.

The Aegean region of Turkey is a special place where you can enjoy the good life, taste delicious olive oil and grapes from nearby vineyards. In recent years, restaurants have opened in the region with innovative chefs who create culinary wonders from products grown in nearby fields and delivered directly to the table using environmentally friendly production methods.

The Aegean menu consists of recipes that symbolize the abundance of the region and highlight the traditionally healthy, wholesome Mediterranean diet. These include a variety of delicacies, including Aegean olives and cheeses, tarhana soup, fava, fritters, green beans with olive oil, stuffed peppers with olive oil, gozleme (herb pancakes), other herbed baked goods, shrimp casserole, meatballs -Izmirski, Inchir Uyutmasi (made from dried figs, milk and sugar), Somata (sorbet made from bitter almonds) and Syubay (sorbet made from melon seeds). Participants will get acquainted with Turkish coffee and Turkish tea, which are also included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

There are a total of 2,218 products registered with the Turkish Patent Institute in Turkey, of which 1,637 products have a designation of origin, 565 products have a designation of geographical places, and 16 products are traditional products with guaranteed specialization. The country also has 21 European Union (EU) registered products, including Gaziantep baklava, Aydın kestanesi (chestnut) and Aydın inciri (fig), Bayramić beyazi (a type of nectarine), Malatya kayğısı (apricot), Milas zeytinyağı (olive oil), Taşköprü sarımsağı (garlic), Giresun tombul fındığı (fat hazelnut), Antakya künefesi, Suruc narı (pomegranate), Çağlayancerit cevizi (walnut), Gemlik zeytini (olives), Edremit zeytinyağı (olive oil) and Edremit Körfezi yeşil çizik zeytini (Edremit Gulf green olives), Milas zeytinyağı (olive oil), Ayaş domatesi (tomato), Maraş tarhanası (tarhana), Ezine peyniri (cheese), Safranbolu safran (saffron), Aydın Mecik zeytinyagi (olive oil) and Araban sarymsagi (garlic).

Turkish cuisine is a wonderful gastronomic tradition that includes high-quality natural ingredients with various storage and preparation technologies, and also offers numerous vegetarian and vegan diet options.

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