An Overview of Turkish Drinks with Traditional Meals

Abstract

Turkish cuisine, which is one of the world’s greatest cuisines, does not sufficiently use its variety of drinks. Drinks, which play an important role in tourist experience, need to be used effectively in gastronomic tourism. The study aims to determine what foreign tourists think about Turkish drinks and to emphasize the importance of matching the drinks of Turkish cuisine with traditional dishes. In the study, the thoughts of 1263 foreign tourists about Turkish drinks on TripAdvisor were determined. Later, a 10-person commission consisting of experts in the field was established to match the drinks determined from the literature with Turkish cuisine. Fifteen well-known traditional dishes were matched with traditional beverages. With this study, it was demonstrated that Turkish cuisine and drinks occupy an important place in Turkish cuisine, but foreigners cannot be reminded often enough about these drinks and because of bad experiences visitors have developed negative attitudes toward Turkish drinks. For foreign visitors and Turkish gastronomy experts, Ayran is often the first thing that comes to mind. However, there are many other drinks apart from Ayran in Turkish cuisine. It is important that food and beverage companies take responsibility and encourage the widespread use of Turkish beverages.