A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AEGEAN CUISINE

Izmir University of Economics (IUE), Department of Culinary Arts and Management is keeping a record of legendary tastes of Aegean Region. Centuries old recipes of Aegean cuisine, passed on to new generations by family elders, are being brought together as scientific recipes.

Gülsüm Kara, Nazan Çelebi, and Elif Oral from Bademler Village visited IUE Department of Culinary Arts and Management, and cooked regional dishes stuffed squash blossoms, eggplant dish and godolak. The cooking, which was recorded by IUE Faculty of Communication, will be turned into scientific recipes later on.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Betül Öztürk, Head of IUE Department of Culinary Arts and Management, reported that they tried to talk to residents over the age of 70 especially in order to keep a record of local tastes. Öztürk said, “We don’t want tastes unique to Aegean Region to go unrecorded. Our guests cooked the local dishes here. They have their own cooking methods like adding a dash of flour or a handful of sugar. However, when we are recording, we are using exact measures. We aim to share this legacy with new generations. Izmir is the one and only city from Turkey to have joined Délice Network of Gourmet Cities. We want to promote our tastes at international standards.” 

‘Do you know what Godolak is?’

One of the guests, Nazan Çelebi, stated that there were many dishes unique to Bademler Village, and they were happy that these recipes would be shared with next generations. Çelebi stated the following about the dish, “Godolak”:

“Our mothers spent their entire day on the farms. So, they kneaded dough in small pieces, placed an egg inside and baked it like that to keep their children busy. Since they were extremely busy harvesting the crop or hoeing, they supplied their kids with Godolak so they can eat bread, get protein, and turn it into a game. It makes us happy to see that these recipes are being recorded.”