Türkiye
Photo: RosarioVanTulpe, Public domain, croppedPastırma
/pastɯɾˈma/pahs-tuhr-MAH
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- Taste
- SpicySavory
- Made with
- Beef
History
Pastırma is beef, cured with salt, pressed to squeeze out water and air-dried, then covered with a thick paste of fenugreek, garlic, red pepper and cumin called çemen, and dried again. The name comes from bastırma, pressed. Kayseri is the capital of pastırma in Türkiye, and its dry winter wind is said to be ideal for curing it; Kayseri pastırması has a registered geographical indication. Dried, pressed meat was a way to keep food in Central Anatolia for months, and similar products exist across the former Ottoman lands. It is sliced paper-thin and eaten for breakfast, fried with eggs, or baked into pastries and pide.
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