The popular green fruit eaten with salt in Turkey is Yeşil Erik (or just erik), which are crunchy, sour, unripe green plums. Consumed as a beloved spring snack between April and June, they are frequently dipped in coarse salt to balance their intense, tart flavor.
Yeşil Erik (Green Plums): A Crisp, Tangy Turkish Delight Yeşil Erik, or green plums, are a cherished springtime fruit in Turkey, loved for their crisp texture and refreshingly tart flavor. These small, unripe plums are often eaten fresh, sometimes dipped in a pinch of salt to balance their sourness.
Discover Janerik (جانرك) — sour green plums that are a beloved treat in Middle Eastern cuisine! These unripened green plums are delightfully crispy and have a tangy, sour flavor that pairs perfectly with a pinch of salt.
Turkey's most famous and flavorful fig is the Izmir (Smyrna) variety. There are many other varieties as well, including the sugar fig, purple fig, Sultan Selim fig, yediveren (“seven-bearer”), kavak (cottonwood), patlıcan (eggplant).
As we've already touched on, of all the typical Turkish dishes, the doner kebab is undoubtedly the best known and most popular dish. Its name translates as 'rotating grilled meat'.
In Japan, they are called "biwa," while in China, they are known as "pipa." In Spanish-speaking countries, they go by the name "níspero," and in Turkey, they are referred to as "malta eriği." This versatile fruit is celebrated for its refreshing taste and versatility in culinary creations.
Figs have a delicate sweetness with subtle hints of berry and honey. When paired with savory ingredients, figs balance out strong flavors such as salty cheeses, rich meats, and tangy dressings.
Solanum torvum, commonly known as Turkey Berry, is a bushy, spiny, perennial shrub. Its fruits, resembling green peas, grow in dense clusters. These berries are thin-fleshed and contain numerous flat, round, brown seeds.
Persian plum fruits are picked and eaten when they are perfectly green in color, the flesh is crunchy when bitten, but juicy, with a very pleasant tart flavor. The Persian Tabriz plum is delicious when eaten raw with a pinch of salt.
Salak is a good food to add to dishes for flavor, and it also has high nutritional value. The edible parts of the fruit have beneficial amounts of phenolic, flavonoid, and monoterpenoid mixtures that make it a great source of nutrients. This fruit also has high levels of: Protein.
Greengage plums have a sweet, subtly acidic flavor well suited for fresh eating. Plum enthusiasts often promote that the plums should be consumed by themselves to savor their full, honeyed taste, but the fruits can also be used in any recipe calling for common plums.
Greengages provide a significant amount of vitamin E equivalent to 10% of DRVs, i.e. 1.20 mg per 100 g. Vitamin B9 is the second most represented vitamin in greengages, with a quantity equivalent to 9.20% of DRVs, i.e. 18.40 µg per 100 g.
While many dishes are popular, Turkey's unofficial national dish is often considered to be Kuru Fasulye, a hearty stew of white beans slow-cooked in a rich tomato, pepper, and onion sauce, typically served with rice or bulgur and pickles. Some sources also mention Kebab, especially döner, as iconic, but Kuru Fasulye is frequently cited by locals and food writers as the true national favorite, sometimes with lamb but often vegan.
The Persian Plum (Sour Goje Sabz) from Tabriz is a beloved fruit in Iranian and Middle Eastern cultures. Its small, round, green fruit is crunchy, tart, and refreshing, often enjoyed with a touch of salt.
Topping the list of popular Turkish fruits are grapes. Turkey is one of the world's leading grape producers, and these succulent fruits find their way into a multitude of dishes and products.
The fruit are highly esteemed in Thai cooking and are also consumed elsewhere in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Immature fruit, however, may contain toxic glycoalkaloids that can cause gastrointestinal and neurological distress.
Susumba, also known as turkey berry, gully bean, or Solanum torvum, is a small green fruit native to tropical regions, including Jamaica, the Caribbean, and parts of Florida. It is commonly used in Jamaican cuisine for its nutritional benefits and unique flavor.
The number of figs a person can eat daily depends on whether they have particular digestion issues, have diabetes, or take blood-thinning medications. Eating too many can cause diarrhea.
Naz is a Persian word for "coy", "coquettish", "affectation", "cute." It is a popular feminine given name in Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Naz is also used as a synonym for pride.
