Turkey- Baklava: The favorite pastry for Turkish feasts

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) The cuisine of Turkey’s southeastern province of Gaziantep earned praise earlier in December as it was added to UNESCO’s list of “The Creative Cities Network” on gastronomy a network that launched in 2004 and comprises 116 cities worldwide.

Among the ancient city's - also known as Antep - premiere delicacies one finds the filo-dough treats baklavas.

Indeed around 1100 km away from Istanbul is the capital of the flaky dessert.

Characteristic of the former Ottoman Empire cuisine baklava is rich sweet with layers of filo pastry filled with nuts and syrup.

The pastry is one of the most popular sweets in Turkey as well as in the Middle East and Balkan countries and seduces locals and tourists alike.

The Karakoy Gulluoglu located a few steps away from the Bosphorus is a baklava bakery run by the Gullu family from Antep like most baklava producers in the country.

The high-end 300 square-meter baklava bakery - which opened in 1949 - sells almost three tons of baklavas during religious festivals or New Year's Eve says Hasan Akbiyik 62 a salesman for Karakoy Gulluoglu.

According to an Istanbul-based association on baklava and dessert production Baktad Turkey produces around 950 tons of baklavas daily.

The average of annual baklava consumption for per person is around 4.4 kg the Baktad said in a statement to Anadolu Agency.

The industry employs more than 60000 people at around 25000 companies across Turkey and makes an annual domestic turnover of around 8.5 billion Turkish liras ($2.9 billion).

While the industry’s exports of baklava amounted to $1 million in 2005 it increased to more than $4 million in 2014 Baktad added.

Turkey mainly exports baklava to the U.S. Germany and Saudi Arabia Baktad added.



- How to make baklava

The chairman of Karakoy Gulluoglu and also a baklava maker for more than 40 years Nadir Gullu 60 told Anadolu Agency the key steps in making baklava.

He said that ingredients for Antep baklava - which received a protected status from the European Union in 2013 - should be grown locally during the right seasons.

Pistachios "the main source of the good taste of baklava" he says should be picked in Antep in August when the protein levels are higher rather than in September when they are usually harvested.

“Walnuts should be brought from [Turkey’s northern province of] Tokat during September and October” he adds.

And the butter for a baklava should be made from the milk of sheep and goats that are fed untrodden herbs of the Harran Plain in southeastern Turkey.

“The animals should be eating those herbs during the spring months of April and May” he says.

While the flour for baklava should come from Turkey’s central Anatolian province of Konya or southeastern Urfa Gullu said that the water used for baklava should not be chlorinated.

Gullu has a very definite idea of what a good baklava should be.

“First of all it should be gold in color” he says. “Secondly when you smell it you should be able to understand if the ingredients are natural or not. Third when you put your fork into the baklava you should hear the crispy voice which shows how thin the 40 layers of rolled dough are.”

Lastly one should chew the baklava slice five times in order to understand the pistachio aroma he adds.

The Karakoy Gulluoglu bakery attracts around 3000 people on an ordinary day. This number increases to 6000 the weekends says Akbiyik one of its salesman.

Baklava is also one of the main souvenirs that Turks or foreigners bring back to their friends and family.

One of the customers in the bakery is Chloe Marie 38 a social worker from Switzerland who is in Istanbul for a five-day holiday.

Her first taste of a baklava was in her home country years ago. “I just love them” she says adding that each time she is in Istanbul she tries the filo-based sweets.

The best baklavas are the ones with pistachio she adds.

Akbiyik who has been serving baklava for more than 40 years at Karakoy Gulluoglu believes baklava makes people joyful: “I don’t know why. Maybe it is physiological; when people taste baklava everybody laughs [they are] happy.”

By Handan Kazanci