Ilgın Cuisine and Foods

Human’s principal necessity is feeding. Therefore, people have to be fed from birth to death; this led them to develop a set of rules about food since ancient times. These rules have created communities’ unique culinary culture by integrating with societies’ traditions and customs during the time. What we call kitchen is a phenomenon that changes from the first appearance of humanity to the day-to-day, developing and synthesized. In addition, eating is a product of both biological, cultural and psychological processes. Because of this three-dimensional need, culinary tradition is an important cultural network that is both constantly changing and continuously complex, but at the same time helping to separate cultures from each other in part. Food culture is an important system formed by the process of food and consumption and the material and spiritual cultural items that emerge depending on this process. Among the world cuisines, Turkish cuisine is a remarkable position. As a matter of fact, it is a long historical past from Central Asia; as well as a very wide geographical product. This study aims that to promote and to prevent loss through written records by researching Ilgın’s culinary culture and foods (meals, transition periods from birth to death, holy and entertaining days, wishing tables, foods for winters, table arrangements, cooking technics, serving patterns, drinks, foods and recipes from soups to deserts). Ilgın is located in the north-west of Konya in Turkey. This study is a qualitative research; Ilgın culinary culture and foods are collected from the 11 people who are representing the culture of the region and over the age of 50. Kitchen tools, kitchen architecture and recipes were excluded from the study. Winter and summer meals of Ilgın region; rituals related to food and drink during transition periods from birth to death; wish-request tables; food and beverages consumed on religious days and holidays; winter foods; meals and recipes are transmitted in a systematic way. Deepening knowledge by talking to more resource people in future studies; producing visuals with this knowledge; Standardization of the recipes by applying a number of recipes and the calculation of nutritional values in order to be able to serve other disciplines.