Turkish Culture

Turkey is famous for its yogurt and dairy industry, boasting the largest number of cows in Europe. Every little household in the outlying village has one or two cows. Any milk, which is not consumed by the household, is sold to the village collective who then sells it onto the major dairy producers. Even the Turkish Government get involved by offering a free stud service to cow owners, with the intent on breeding better milkers.
‘Danone’ a major world force in yogurt production is very prominent in Turkey. Yet, Danone produces yogurt for the mass consumer market and therefore not in line with some of the allergy protocols kept by Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) sufferers. Lactose, which is contained in milk, can cause problems for those who cannot break down this complex carbohydrate (disaccharide consistent of galactose and glucose). Yogurt has to be fermented 24 hours for it to be rendered virtually lactose free by the good bacteria. As this 24-hour fermentation period is not economical for commercial producers, yogurt has to be homemade.

On a recent trip to Turkey, I hired a guide for an exploration into Turkish yogurt culture. My dashing guide Suat from Harmony Travel in Bodrum had received instructions from me that I wished to see what normal tourists do not get to see and that it should have to do with yogurt. Obviously used to unusual requests he did not blink an eye. We set off to our first destination, an old school friend who lived in a nearby village with his family. Obviously having called ahead, we were greeted by the whole family including Sevdiye the mother. She was delighted that I was so interested in her yogurt making and had prepared a batch for us to taste. She explained that in Turkish folklore it was said that one day a shepherd had left out a batch of sheep’s milk overnight and that when he returned to it in the morning it had fermented and set into what is today know as yogurt. This story could very well be true, as scientists believe that the wild bacteria Lactobacillus bulgaricus would have been one of the first bacteria to be used in yogurt fermentation. This strain of bacteria, in conjunction with Streptococcus thermophilus and sometimes Acidophilus, is still used in yogurt production today.

Turkish people use yogurt for just about anything from fixing a sore tummy to inducing a good night’s rest. It is the first food given to infants outside of breast milk and a cup of yogurt is consumed at night for strong healthy bones and a restful night’s sleep. The mythical benefits of yogurt date back to the sixteenth century and have been substantiated through various clinical tests since. A recent study cited in the International Journal of Obesity has found that yogurt can support weight loss and another study conducted in 2006 found that probiotics such as the ones contained in yogurt have an emerging role in the treatment of gastrointestinal infections especially in infants. The study showed that infants who were given infant formula supplemented with Bifidobacterium bifidum and Streptococcus thermophilus the incident of diarrhoea was 24 per cent less than those who were given straight formula. Dr. Jimmy K Limdi of Fairfield Hospital Bury, Lancashire in the United Kingdom notes in his article ‘Do probiotics have a therapeutic role in gastroenterology?’ (2006) that in countries, such as Netherlands and Finland, where large quantities of yogurt are consumed colon cancer risk is much lower. The same goes for Turkey where the incidence of colon cancer is also low (European Journal of Epidemology).

Sevdiye was kind enough to demonstrate and explain her yogurt making procedure and I was pleased to find out it was the same way I made yogurt, bar a few minor exceptions. Like most villager she still used a fire fueled with olive tree timber in her back yard and a pot that looked like it had been around since that first shepherd’s accidental yogurt-making day. She brought out some yogurt that had been setting overnight for us to taste. It tasted wholesome and delicious. She said she also made her own butter and gave us some to taste. If only I could keep a couple of cows on my back terrace in Sydney…
Suat beckoned us to come to the village co-operative hall. Suat’s friend Osman is the chairman of the co-operative. Here all the village women present their homemade Turkish carpets, which range from $500 to $50,000. Those made from pure silk are of luminous beauty, as the surface of the silk shows an amazing colour change. These silk rugs can contain up to 500 double kpsi (knots per square inch), which is nearly 1 million per square meter. They are true works of art.

After we viewed these fine pieces of art, I am tempted to sell the family home for one of these wonders, but am convinced by my partner not to do so. Osman’s wife has arranged for a true Turkish village feast, and as with all meals, yogurt is one of the main dishes. We are served Cacik, Kebak yemegi, Zeytinyagli taze fasulye, Meneme, Tavuk kavurma and a salad. Somehow, this food tastes better than any I have tasted yet in Turkey and I beg Osman’s wife Emine for the recipes (see below).

Reluctantly we began our journey back home and I arranged to meet Suat the next day, when he will take me to a local market. He tells me that this is where villagers come from all over to sell their home grown and homemade wares and he says I will find lots of yogurt there.

True enough, the next day we arrive at Milas. Mylasa, as it was known used to be the capital of the Kingdom of Caria and today it is a quiet agricultural town and quite close to Bodrum airport. Once per week the local market operates in Milas and to my surprise, it spans several blocks, selling everything from clothing, carpets and kitchen utensils to fresh produce. There are growers who produce mountains of beans, strawberries and cherries and various other fruits and vegetables. And there are simple village folk who come to sell homemade soaps and yogurt of course. I become excited and start to pull my wallet out, as I want to buy some cherries. Suat pushes my hand back indicating that I should wait. He leads me around the market stalls and then approaches a cherry vendor. He begins to haggle. The market stall owner looks indignant. I am guessing he is telling Suat that he has ten children and wonders how he is going to feed them if he Suat is offering him such a low price for the very best cherries in the market. Finally, they come to an arrangement and I end up paying $2.50 per kilo of cherries. I buy three kilos. As we go through the market I realize I am about to buy much more than we can carry, so we purchase a little trolley for $5 and Suat happily wheels it along for me. I am excited to see so many little stalls with containers of yogurt resting in watery whey that it is hard to decide who to buy from. The yogurt is thick and has been dripped, but still tastes sweet and strong. We also buy some yogurt that has most of the moister dripped out of it and is crumbly like feta. Most of the yogurts are made from cows milk, but sheep and water buffalo is also available.

Finally, we have seen all there is to see and we decide to have lunch at a little restaurant owned by a friend of Suat’s. Ali’s restaurant is called Oren and is just a little hole in the wall, right beside the entrance to the market. He serves us with some Aryan, which is Turkey’s national beverage made from yogurt, water and a pinch of salt. Again, we are served with some delicious Turkish cuisine and our four-course lunch cost all of $20 for the both of us.

Everything about Turkey has been wondrous. It is a down-to-earth culture perhaps in its cultural context what life was like about 40 years ago and in some areas perhaps even more than 100 years ago. The food is simple and delicious; the people are friendly and forthcoming. There is a richness to life in Turkey that is expressed by its history and its very fine art in fabric design and ceramics. Yogurt is, as it seems, the least of all of these wonders, yet it permeates throughout every household and is an integral part of the daily ritual of meal taking. These people do not need to be told by scientists that yogurt is full of good bacteria that will keep them healthy; they have much better authority than that, centuries of anecdotal evidence!

Love Me Healthy

Recently I went to Bali to do some yoga (new years resolution No. 1) and was inspired to view my lifestyle and way of taking care of myself with different eyes.

Ubud is an artists village and resort in the hills of Bali. The residents there have lived in the area since the beginning of time and spiritual practices come before rice growing, eating, working and anything else. Everyone walks at half the pace of a New Yorker, not slow – just aware. Everybody smiles, except perhaps the odd foreigner who is struggling with the humidity, but even they will forget the discomfort after a few days and smile along with all the others.

I was in Ubud to give a kick start to practising yoga on a regular basis, again. For the past twenty years, I have intermittently practices various forms of yoga, but never regularly. At forty-four I figure I might have another forty years to go, and I want these to be the best ever. You know when someone asks you what you would do if you could be twenty-five again and knew everything you know now, how much difference it would make? Well, I gather being around forty or so is the ideal opportunity to be twenty-five again (even if it is only a mental projection) and ‘do’ life with the knowledge of a forty year old. My aim is to feel better at fifty than I felt at twenty-five. (Whether 40 or 50 or 60 the same can apply)

So, let’s say I have gone to sleep and wake up in the morning and I’m twenty-five and I remember everything; my brain is forty-four. I know that at around thirty I am going to get severe Ulcerative Colitis, and I will be spending the following ten years wondering whether my life is worth living. I realise I can’t control everything in my life, but here I have been given a chance to make a big difference to my health in the future. What would you do?

This is what I would do (keeping in mind, I know what I know)

Stop drinking alcohol
Stop smoking
Party not as hardy
Eat healthier (moderating my diet with the SCD)
Practice yoga
See a therapist
Meditate

Now, let’s get back to the present and apply the above projection to the future we have left. The mirror might not allow us to pretend that we are twenty-five, but the principle can still be applied. Most of us have at least twenty years left, to do the best we can and feel better than ever. Thankfully, I gave up smoking sixteen years ago, and I don’t drink anymore, I eat much healthier (SCD) and do not party hardy. I am fulfilling new years resolution No. 1 and am practising yoga regularly which includes meditation; and my therapist is working on the emotional healing I still have to do. This is keeping me in remission. And yet there is more to add to the process of healing and something we rarely think of either at twenty-five or in our later life – loving ourselves! I have always cringed when I have heard this term. It sounded self-possessed and just far too touchy-feely. Which brings me back to Bali….

The Balinese have an obvious love for themselves. Matter of fact they love themselves so much that it spills over on to everyone around them. I finally got it: “You have to love yourself before you can love others” meant that you had to love yourself so much that you always had more than enough love to give to others. And how does this relate to health? Well, scientists have proven many times over that a happy organism is a healthy organism. Our body will tell us if we are doing the right thing by ourselves. That bottle of wine might have made us happy for a few hours one night, but the next day we are feeling miserable. Loving ourselves is taking care of ourselves, the way you would take care of a vulnerable child. Those of us suffering from severe digestive disorders need to understand that food is the first step, lifestyle the second, physical health the third and emotional health the fourth. No matter which one of these comes first, all of them add up to loving oneself and when it starts to spill over pass some on to the next person.

This is my favourite (loving-myself) recipe

The recipes is for ten of these delectable tarts, giving you the ability to treat (love) yourself for the next ten days. Make sure you are alone in your favourite spot in the house; a cup of tea and only the thought that you thoroughly deserve this.

Lemon Tarts

Lemon Tart

Makes 10 Tart Shells

200 g (2 cups) almond flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
30 g butter – cold, diced small
2 Tbs honey

Lemon Filling
6 egg yolks
225 g (¾ cup) honey
120 ml (½ cup) fresh lemon juice
110 g (½ cup) butter – diced
1 Tbs grated lemon rind

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/390˚F
Lightly oil 10 aluminum tart moulds

Combine the almond flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the butter and honey and knead to combine. Do not worry if some of the butter still shows in the dough. Form the dough into a flat disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then take the dough from the refrigerator and place between two sheets of baking paper. Roll the dough out thin, about 3 mm/⅛ inch thick. Cut out rounds, slightly larger than the tart moulds and mould the dough into the shells. Place onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until they are baked through and slightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Meanwhile prepare the filling by placing a heatproof bowl over the top of a pot filled a quarter of the way up with water. Bring to boil then turn down the heat to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks and honey in the bowl until well combined. Then add one chunk of butter at a time, whisking constantly. Add the next chunk when the first has melted. Add lemon juice and rind and keep mixing. This will take about 15 minutes and it helps to use an electric mixer on slow to keep mixing constantly. Keep mixing once all the butter has been used until the filling has thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool down to room temperature. Then fill the cooled down tart shells and place in the refrigerator to set. Refrigerate in a covered container.