Generally,
I will eat just about anything before I turn my nose up at it.
That
excludes Turkish puddings. I hate to say it, but I’m not a big fan. It’s a
texture thing.
I
find most of the Turkish puddings to be chalky or starchy. They simply don't taste silky smooth compared to a bowl of freshly made French custard.
(Note: I also don’t like shrimp because of the texture thing, but I will eat
raw oysters. Odd. I know.) I’ve tried them and just don't like them.
So
I have avoided the infamous Turkish puddings.
In
Istanbul, there are dozens of shops called Muhallebici
(translated directly as a dairy bar) that sell a variety of puddings. On a
recent outing with Claudia of A Seasonal Cook in Turkey in Istanbul, I tried an extra special type of pudding called tavuk gögsü kazandibi (chicken breast
pudding).
 |
| Grab a spoon and dive right into this special Ottoman-era pudding in Istanbul! |
Yes,
this special pudding, dating back to the Ottoman period and served to Sultans
at Topkapı
Palace, is made from shredded chicken breast. It’s a milky, sweet pudding that
is enriched with cinnamon. The chicken is boiled, shredded and ground into a
sort of paste. Then the pudding is slowly cooked in a pot until the natural
sugars caramelize on the bottom, hence the Turkish phrase kazandibi, which means “bottom of a
pot.” You’ll notice the brown “burnt” coloring in my photo.
In my opinion, I think you’ll
find the best tavuk
gögsü kazandibi at Kısmet Muhallebicisi in Eminönü where Claudia took us. This
tiny mom and pop shop also is part of the Istanbul Eats
Culinary Walks. I swear you would never even know the pudding contains chicken! And
this pudding is smooth and NOT chalky like most!
And if you’re too
chicken to try this delicious chicken pudding, you can opt for a dessert
without. (Pardon the pun!)
I may be a Turkish
pudding convert.
Afiyet olsun!
Location:
Address:
Kazancılar Cad., Eminönü
Tel:
+90-212-513-6773
6 comments:
I'm with you on the Turkish pudding front. I'm fine with the texture; anyone who had 13 years of UK school dinners is used to that. It's the sugar content. Far too sweet for me.
ooooohhh and I love the turkish puddings because I love their texture! :))) I am more of a fan of the dairy puddings rather than the sherbet ones.
@Annie, I guess I'm just used to really creamy American puddings. Too many packages of Jello pudding while I was a kid I guess. ;-)
@Edibe, How funny! I guess you either like Turkish puddings or you don't.
I am not a huge pudding fan either, but this Tavuk gogsu is quite a special one :) - you reminded me to have some before I go :) hope you are well, x Ozlem
i eat just about anything too. but puddings push my texture (mouth feel) button!
@Ozlem, grab some Turkish pudding while you can!
@Joyce, we all have our foodie limits! ;-)
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