June 14, 2022
After I read Darya’s (@summertomato) recent blog post about what she eats for breakfast (healthy of course), I thought it would be nice to get to know what people from different cultures eat for breakfast, healthy or not 😉
So, I want to share with you a typical Turkish breakfast, because that is the one I am exposed to the most. Here is what a typical Turkish breakfast would contain nowadays (photo by @bergerx):
- black tea
- cheese (soft white cheese and hard cheese)
- olives
- tomato, cucumber, paprika ( note that all these fruits/vegetables taste delicious eaten with cheese )
- honey and home made marmelade ( again, delicious with cheese )
- white bread, simit, or different types of pastry
- menemen (see my recipe) or eggs with sucuk (or pastırma)
- a more traditional breakfast, as from Ottoman times, also included soup. In fact that is how people start their day at more rural areas of Turkey.
It is a wonderful thing to wake up to the delicious smells of such a table, every food blogger will understand that it is equally wonderful to prepare them for loved ones and watch their happy faces.
However, times are changing. Everyone tries to rush out of the house in these days of ever faster running clocks. And breakfast is often times reduced to a quick tea, a simit and some cheese at a cafe/tea house or ‘simit palace‘ on the way to work (photo by @ilmiraggio). Not the healthiest and most nutritious of choices .. but delicious nevertheless 🙂
It will take some time to convince my extended family members (especially my grandma) that a breakfast without the bread, pastry and jam is more fulfilling and the better choice. But I guess to enjoy a breakfast like this once in a while is totally acceptable .. especially if there are lots of people to gather around the table 🙂