Hittite Food Culture and Hittite Culinary Culture

Sinan TOKSOY

 

Summary

Along with the history of humanity, Anatolia has hosted many cultures and societies. As a result of both migrations and wars between tribes, Anatolia has been a place where many societies will live and feed since ancient times. A cultural fusion was formed with the trade and travels between the tribes in times of peace.

 

Places such as inns and caravanserais built on trade routes to meet the need for accommodation, food and drink were established. In these buildings on the roads, the food and beverage cultures of different peoples have begun to be exhibited. This cultural diversity has been an active factor in the formation of different food and beverage cultures in Anatolia and a rich cuisine has emerged.

 

Hunting developed in the Paleotic period, the meat of the animals caught with the discovery of fire began to be cooked and eaten, and the foundations of today's culinary structure were formed by eating some of the plants together. To give an example, in the Hittite cuisine culture, there are meat dishes, soup varieties, and beer types made from wheat and barley.

 

BC in Anatolia In the 2000s, ovens and tandoors were built, and bread, the most precious food of that time, was baked from barley and wheat flour. Maybe since then, the word "doymaz" has survived until today if bread does not enter the stomach of Anatolian people. Hittite cuisine and food culture has been the cornerstone of Anatolian cuisine and has become one of the main actors in the emergence of today's diets.

 

Keywords: Anatolia, Hittite, Nutrition, Bread

 

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One of the most necessary conditions for human survival is eating and drinking. From ancient times to today, food storage, food and beverage types have created differences according to societies. There was limited information about the eating and drinking situation in the periods before the invention of writing, and certain information about what they ate and drank could not be obtained. It is known that in the years before 600000-8000 BC agriculture, foods such as nuts, fruits, insects, reptiles, fish, small and large animals were eaten, and food was stored in the pits for future times (Akurgal, 2005: 3).

 

After the Neolithic era, humanity has made very high progress. Anatolia has taken its place in the middle of this rise and has grown in its cultures. The Hittites, one of these growing cultures, is a powerful civilization that provides knowledge and development for humanity. The first appearance of writing in Mesopotamia and the trade relations between the Assyrian trade colonies and the Hittites show the intercultural trade network established at that time (Karasu, 2006:45-46).

 

This trade network and relations will bring the Hittites to the stage of history as a powerful state. In this article, we will try to examine and introduce the food and drink cultures and cuisine dishes that the Hittites created by being influenced by the cultures and with their own creativity.

 

1. Hittites

 

B.C. In 3000 BC, the Hittites immigrated to Anatolia from the Balkans, according to one thought, and from the Balkans, according to another thought (Martino, 2014: 34). It was the Hittites who established the first empire in Anatolia (Elbaş, 2010:52). The country of Hatti, the center of the Hittites, whose state was established in the middle of Anatolia, reached the borders of Mesopotamia with its spheres of influence, and reached a great empire, BC. It was shaped by the kings who continued their power in the mountainous regions in the 2000s (Bryce, 2003:20).

 

The Hittites, who conquered the Hatti kings respectively, were the first state established in southern and central Anatolia (Sevinç,2008:25). The name Hatti is the name given to the living people that we call the Hattians, who lived here before the Hittites (Bryce, 2003:20).

 

The first information about the Hittites was found in Kültepe and Assyrian tablets (Martino, 2014:32). The current name of the Old Poodle is Kültepe, and it is called Neşa in Hittite sources and is the place where many written works were found and unearthed. The Hittites stated themselves as Neşalı and their language as Neşa language (Martino, 2014:33-35). It is possible to state that Anatolia was a multicultural and linguistically rich region in this period (Martino, 2014:34). The Hittites made Hattusha their capital, and the process of becoming a central state in Anatolia began to emerge. During this time, they were engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry to maintain their lives (Sevinç, 2008:12).

 

2. Lifestyles of the Hittites

 

Due to the harsh winter conditions in the middle geography of Anatolia, it creates a difficult living space for a society engaged in agriculture. The hot and dry summers, the inability of the rivers to provide sufficient irrigation for agricultural areas, and the low rainfall make agriculture difficult (Byrce, 2003:89). For these reasons, the daily life of a normal Hittite citizen depended on the cultivation of the land (Sevinç, 2008:58). Food and drink have an important place in the gifts placed on the altars of God (Ökse, 2006:65). Consumption of bread, beer and wine is very high in festive ceremonies as well as in daily life (Sevinç, 2008:60).

 

The food of this period is based on grains, fruits, vegetables, wine and olive oil (Martino, 2014: 88). There are four varieties of wheat, two or three varieties of barley. Legumes are plentiful, chickpeas, lentils, beans, kidney beans, peas, vegetables, onions, garlic, parsley and Mediterranean olives are grown. Mint, cumin, bay leaves, mustard, thyme and black cumin are grown from spice products, while some are green, some are dried and used in meals and salads. Apple, pear, fig, pomegranate, hawthorn, almond, apricot, plum are grown in orchards (Byroce, 2003:90).

 

Looking at the texts found, it is understood that the importance of animal husbandry was great in the Hittites. In addition to breeding buffalo, cow, pig, horse and donkey, they have done poultry, goose, chicken, partridge breeding, sheep and goat breeding as small cattle, deer, wild boar, roe deer and rabbit as wild animals (Byroce, 2003: 90). Apart from these, it is known that beekeeping is done for honey production, cheese, daily milk production, cream and cottage cheese are also produced (Martino, 2014: 88).

 

The Hittites knew many useful and healing herbs and used them to treat diseases. It has been revealed that the Hittites were a food-loving society and had obesity problems due to their comfortable life. Eating that many calories will come at a cost. The average age of women is 25 years, and the average of men is around 30 years. Due to the use of basalt stone in bread making, small pieces of stone were mixed into the dough and damaged the tooth enamel while eating the bread. The tooth enamel of those who reach the age of 40-50 on average is eroded and the outer crown is completely eroded up to the gums (Ertem, 1987:86).

 

3. Hittite Cuisine

 

They sacrificed food and drink by placing them on God's altars and recorded them by writing in texts. These texts enlighten us a little about the cooking and preparation methods of food and beverages at that time (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:42). According to the time and possibilities of that period, they kept their culinary cultures rich (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:43). Hittite cuisine; It is a cuisine where easy cooking methods are used, with rich food varieties, boiled and fried meat varieties, soups, dough varieties, beer making, especially bread making.

 

It has been determined that there were soup kitchens and places to eat in the palaces and temples in the ruins found in Hattusha. Cooking and baking bread in the houses were done in the ovens. During the excavations, materials belonging to furnaces and hearths were found. Looking at the information in the inscriptions found in Boğazköy, the Hittites are abundant in terms of foodstuffs.

 

Very nice looking kitchen crockery and pottery used in homes and ceramic vessels were found. Among the remains are spouted jugs, teapots, bowls, cups, animal-shaped drinking glasses, single or two-clover rimmed vases, sacred large moon vessels, flask-shaped vases and many more. The ceramic masterpieces of that period stand out in the figures on these vessels.

 

Apart from official ceremonies, stoves and ovens also have functions in daily use and rituals. Hearths are also known as holy places in Hittites. January Hittites are also a place to warm up, talk, chat and gather family members in cold climates. For this reason, the kitchen was a sacred place. To keep the stove lit, liquor was poured around it. The number of furnaces in the Hittites is very few compared to the furnaces (Şensoy, 2012:65).

 

Among the materials used in the kitchen, many materials such as knives, cauldrons, large and small pots, pitcher, bowl, glass, mug, bowl, casserole, drinking bowl, strainer, tray, basin are written on clay tablets as a result of excavations.

 

Ceramic pots used in the kitchen are pots used daily. The water needs of the houses and kitchens were probably met with transport water.

 

Cooks are respected people. It is indispensable for daily life and ceremonies in palaces and large mansions. In the kitchen, apart from the cooks, there are saki, waiter, wine maker, brewer, milkman, baker, bread maker and appetizers. They always kept their kitchens clean, and the Hittites gave great importance to cleanliness in the religious sense. The garbage left over from the kitchen was buried in pits dug outside the city and covered with earth. In the laws of the Hittites, we come across edicts about being clean. There are certain rules to be followed by the cooks serving the royal and all the servants working in the kitchen.

 

It is written on the tablets that the kitchen staff who do not work cleanly will be exiled to the high rocky mountains like sheep and goats, as they will cause the king's anger. Hygiene is extremely important in the palace kitchen and kitchen workers have to comply with it. Because the king does not like criminals, they should work cleanly in the royal kitchen and not be punished. Those who were punished, along with their families, would end up with the death penalty. Although there were women working in temples and holy places in religious tablets, they were mostly men (Şensoy, 2012:160).

 

Leaf-like plants were made in brine to preserve foodstuffs. Meat products were salted, dried and canned. There are cubes made of clay to store products such as cheese, yoghurt and cream. These cubes are still used in most villages in today's Anatolian geography.

 

Foods such as cereals, legumes, dried compotes, oil varieties, beer and wine were also preserved in these jars. They used materials such as bags, sacks and straw bales made from plants to preserve food. The fact that seals made of clay were found in excavations to close the mouths of these stored foods makes this view more evident. There is no definite information about whether the function of the found house was a restaurant or a tavern (Boder, 2014:85).

 

3.1 Types of Hittite Food

 

Hittites; They consumed meat from sheep, goats, deer, cattle as cattle, pigs, geese, ducks, rabbits and fish (Ünal, 2007:29). Information about eating fish is limited (Koç, 2006:33). In the kitchen, meat is usually grilled on a hot fire (Ünal, 2007:29). The giblets and meat of slaughtered animals are cooked by adding sheep fat to make them more delicious.

 

In order to increase the flavor of the meat that started to brown, a sauce mixed with olive oil and honey was poured (Şensoy, 2012: 61). In one of the texts found, it was determined that a partridge or a small bird was eaten together with cucumber after cooking (Ünal, 2007:30). The most detailed recipe in the texts obtained; The meat of the sacrificed goat or sheep is finely cut.

 

His lungs and heart are fried in a burning fire. The thighs of sheep or goats are opened and stuffed with pomegranate seeds and small cubed meat. When the heart, liver and whole thighs are cooked, they are brought before the gods” (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:46). Meat was eaten sometimes by putting it in bread and sometimes on top of it. Meat was boiled, broth and juicy meat dishes were obtained and eaten. It is mentioned in the texts that meat broth is made by boiling the tibias of animals with abundant marrow (Ünal, 2007:31).

 

In a meal that is frequently mentioned in the texts from the Hittites, bread called saramna is consumed by lining up a thin bottle and putting cooked animal oil between them. When the breads absorbed the oil, the remaining fat was separated, and the meat was sometimes placed in the bread and sometimes on top of it, and consumed as a meat dish with oily bread. Meat fried on charcoal fire, on skewers or in a pan, was placed between the bread and a kind of wrap was made.

 

In one text, it is mentioned that the ears of animals are cooked in the fire, made between bread and consumed. Putting the fried and cooked meat between bread and slicing onions in it is likened to the consumption of meatballs between bread.

 

The livers and hearts of the slaughtered animals were sprinkled with salt, dipped in flour and consumed as a grill. It is thought that keeping the oil and flour is used to make the crust of the fried food more delicious or to increase the amount of smoke that will rise to the sky. In the text, the name of the grain sprinkled on it is mentioned as karaburçak (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2015:48).

 

In their eating habits, the Hittites used milk and cheese made from milk, butter, cream, cottage cheese and curd (Koç, 2006:35). Rather, they obtained oil as liquid and solid from sesame, walnut, almond, flax, hazelnut, peanut and olive. It is known that they use honey and molasses for sweetening (Akkor, 2015:42).

 

A text written for the Hittites, who knew that nutrition was important for health, was obtained. In the text, her irregular diet is cited as the reason for the queen's illness. In the text, it is learned that the queen ate only mahhuella bread and vegetables (Ünal, 2007:59).

 

3.2. Cooking Methods and Meal Preparations

 

Climate is of great importance in food types and eating habits. Cold food types are preferred more in hot regions. In a geography like Central Anatolia with a harsh and cold climate, hot and hearty dishes form the basis of nutrition and emerge at the core of Hittite dishes. The essence of Hittite dishes, such as cooking, frying, boiling, grilling, stuffing the meat, drying, grinding, adding oil are frequently mentioned in the captured texts (Ünal, 2007:131). While cooking meat dishes in culinary culture, it is of great importance to fry on fire, that is, to grill.

 

On the other hand, stews, skewers, and pita dishes are among the precursor dishes (Sevinç, 2007:51).

Some information about meal meals has been found in the texts, but it has not been fully interpreted. But we can accept that there are morning meals and evening meals. Lunch is a difficult task for those hunting in the countryside and mountains, who work in the fields throughout the day. It has not been determined whether the longest meal is in the morning or in the evening? The Hittites, who had a polytheistic religion, had many ceremonies and rites.

 

Since the Hittites thought of the gods as human beings, they offered treats from the things they ate and drank. In these religious ceremonies, bread, honey, oil, cheese, slaughtered animal meats and fruits were offered to the gods. According to the Hittites, blood was the favorite part of the gods, he also loved pieces of fat, lungs, heart and kidney. The king presided over the mass and the other parts of the meals were eaten by the people attending the ritual with the king. These dinner tables would be magnificent (Ünal, 2007:71).

 

Materials and cooking as examples of food types

 

1. Happena (Open Fever)

 

According to some expressions in Hittite texts; Untouched meats, neck and feet are put on fire with sheep fat, and drizzled with olive oil with honey as a sauce to enhance the flavor of the fried meat. (Ünal, 2007:162) According to Ünal, these grilled meats were cooked in an earthen pot and eaten by pouring olive oil and honey on the side.

 

Materials:

 

Quarter kilo of cubed, quarter kilo of shredded shank, mutton neck, a handful of ground beef and a tablespoon of salt. Half a kilo of honey for the sauce 1 liter of olive oilPreparation:

Meat is carefully strung on skewers and grilled. The meat on the skewer is placed on the bread. A sauce is obtained by mixing olive oil and honey. The sauce is poured over the grilled meats and enjoyed with pleasure (https://arkeofili.com/hitit-mutfagi-ve-yemekleri-et-yemegi-recipes/).

 

2. Esri

 

Materials:

1 kilogram of mutton crushed with stones, 1 piece of sheep's inner cap (it weighs about 2 kg), juice and seeds of 2 pomegranates, a quarter kilo of dry bread crumbs, 2 eggs, a quarter kilo of sheep tallow, a tablespoon of salt, half a kilo butter or olive oil

 

Cooking:

 

The inner cover flesh is pierced and the middle is opened. The meat pieces that come out are crushed with stones. Sheep tallow is crushed. The crushed meat is mixed with two pomegranate seeds, dry bread crumbs, crushed sheep fat, egg and salt. The inside of the inner cover meat is filled with this mixture. The open ends are closed by sewing. It is cooked for an average of 3 hours without being placed on a tree branch, by turning it over a tree branch and turning it over the fire, which has been turned into a ember, or in an oven that has been preheated and the ashes have been cleaned. It is oiled from time to time while being turned (https://arkeofili.com/hitit-mutfagi-ve-yemekleri-et-yemegi-recipes/).

 

3.Kistanzia

 

Materials:

Half a kilo of fatty mutton, 1 liter of wine,

 

Cooking:

 

The meat is kept in the wine for 1-2 hours. It is cooked and eaten by grilling method or by turning it on skewers. Kistanziya can also be prepared and eaten as follows: Meats seasoned with wine are cooked in an earthen pot and flavored using wine instead of vinegar (https://arkeofili.com/hitit-mutfagi-ve-yemekleri-et-yemegi-recipes/).

 

4. Zalpa

 

Materials:

 

Quarter kilo mutton liver, quarter kilo mutton heart, quarter kilo mutton (medium fat), 1 piece of half a thigh, half a kilo of pomegranate seeds slightly over half a kilo, two tablespoons of salt

Cooking:

 

The liver and heart are salted. It is cooked separately with the grill method. With the help of a knife or skewer, the half of the thigh is carved and pierced thoroughly. The cut pieces and medium fat mutton are grilled or fried on an open fire. Cooked liver and heart are cut into cubes or slices. Extracted pomegranate seeds, liver, heart and diced meat pieces are put into the split thigh. The place is sewn with kitchen rope.

 

The leg halves, which are put into a thick stick, are turned over the fire or cooked in the oven without being placed on a pole (https://arkeofili.com/hitit-mutfagi-ve-yemekleri-et-yemegi-recipes/).

 

3.3 Hittite Bread Making

 

The dough, which is made by adding yeast, water and salt to the flours of grains such as wheat, barley and rye, is expected to leaven properly by kneading. Bread made by baking the fermented dough is the crown jewel of the Hittite cuisine (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:50). Bread was a sacred food that was the most needed food in the Hittites. Without bread, no sacrifice would be made, no ritual would be performed (Sevinç, 2007:55).

 

The Hittites made the breads prepared to be presented to the holy gods into special shapes (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:53). Breads with god and human figures were made to represent the goddess Nitatta. Animal-shaped ones are sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle. The parts of the human body are in the form of heart, finger, ear, tooth, nipple, tongue. Geometric shaped ones are ball, disc, round, grape bunch, pomegranate shaped ones.

 

As celestial objects, there are crescent-shaped buns or bread types that show the moon, sun, and star rising (Ünal, 2007:143-144).

 

There are more than one hundred and eighty varieties of bread in Hittite cuisine. The region where it was made was named according to the type of construction in terms of shape, size, weight and the substances in it (Ünal, 2007:142-143). Bread, which is the main food source, is sweetened by adding food items such as seed types, legumes, dairy products, fruit purees and honey. Breads made according to material types; leavened bread, sweet bread, legume bread, legume honey bread, butter bread, sesame bread, burnt bread, sour bread. Breads are wheat flour, broad bean flour, coarse barley flour bread, white, red and brown loaf of bread (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:62).

 

Rather than breads used for therapeutic purposes, breads made during sad days have been identified. Bread sharing is the most common food. It is known that breads such as tumati- and piiantallai were baked and eaten for distribution in times of famine (Karauğuz, 2006:160). It is known by the name of the city where the bread is produced for some and the name of that city. Alatra bread, Allina bread, Ampuriya bread, Hiwassassa bread, Karkısa bread, Nahita bread are some of them. According to these, there are also breads for runners and army bread for soldiers participating in wars (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:66).

 

3.4 Drink Consumption in Hittites

 

There are drinks that are mentioned in the texts but whose content is not yet known. Fruit growing and vineyard production was very advanced in Anatolia during the Hittites period (Şensoy, 2012:92). Wine made from grape squeezing is one of the oldest and rooted drinks in Anatolia. However, there is also the production of beer from barley. Hittites called beer Kas, this name was taken from Sumerian. It is estimated that there were beer mixed with marnuwan wine, beer mixed with honey, yogurt and vegetables as cocktails at the time when the Hittites advanced in beer production (Ünal, 2007:158-159).

 

Hittites used to call wine as a name (Sandıkçıoğlu, 2009:98). It is understood from the texts that wine is a luxury drink, those in the higher strata drink wine, and the common people consume milk, water and beer (Şensoy, 2012: 96). Hittites, who used wine as a cleansing and nourishing element, liked wine more because of its intoxication. It is mentioned in the texts that the house and hand should be washed with wine (Şensoy, 2012:97).

 

It is understood from the cuneiform and Hittite texts that wines, like breads, take names according to the place where they are produced, taste and purpose of consumption (Atakuman, 2006:51). In some Hittite dishes, wine was used as a flavor additive. It is thought that the meat is seasoned with wine before cooking (Albayrak, 2008: 183).

 

Alcohol plays an important role in religious ceremonies. In feasts or sacrificial ceremonies offered to the gods, as a continuation of the ceremony, a liquid dedicated to the god, usually wine or beer, is poured into a certain container, and it is defined as a drink sacrifice offered to the god. This action is defined as libation in the international literature. In this respect, it is estimated that the drinking culture differs (Sevinç, 2007:76).

 

3.4.1 Brewing:

 

According to Ahmet Ünal's recipe, the following method was generally used to ferment beer:

 

“At first, barley, emmer wheat or millet was pressed into water to make it swell and malted. Sprouting of grain, drying or roasting of malt is prevented. Then, the malt that came out of the husks was crushed, ground, kneaded with sour dough and baked in ovens as beer bread. According to the needs or possibilities, spices and other additives were thrown into the yeast cubes, and the pulp was left to ferment. Hops were not yet known in beer production in ancient Anatolia, as it was throughout the Antiquity” (Ünal, 2006:169).

 

3.5. Vegetable and Fruit Cultivation in Hittites:

 

The Hittites, who cultivated fruits and vegetables using arable land, cultivated plants such as beans, lentils, peas, and wild beans. They grew garlic, cabbage, leek, onion, cucumber, sesame as vegetables, apples, plums, hawthorn, pears, apricots, walnuts, hazelnuts, cherries, pomegranates, medlars, olives and apples as fruits. Most of the fruits were preserved by drying method and used in winter months (Belwood, 2008:98).

 

There is a lot of mention of food in the recovered texts. They made all kinds of soups, heated or fermented wheat, barley grains, bulgur, semolina, onion and vegetable soup varieties, pea, chickpea, gangali, lentil soup types, meat bean dishes and mixed dishes. In one text, it is mentioned that a meal is made from nine mixed vegetables. Various dishes made from flour with honey and sweet cheese by mixing wheat flour with fruit flour and honey, are generally eaten by spreading on flatbread and phyllo dough (Uhri, 2011:62).

 

3.6. Cleaning in the Hittites

 

According to their understanding of cleanliness, the Hittites gave importance to wearing clean clothes and applying pleasant scents. It is stated by the law that they wash their hands before and after meals, that oven kitchen workers take care of their shaving, that they do not grow their nails, that they should cut their body hair (Tayar, 2014: 63). The Hittites used the gypsy plant for personal and general cleaning. The gypsum root obtained by crushing the gypsum roots is still used in cleaning. Soap water foam is like soap, it removes dirt and stains (Tayar, 2014:64).

 

3.7. The Use of Salt in the Hittites

In the cuneiform tablets, salt is mentioned, which gives flavor to the food. However, it is not specified how much will be put in which dish. It is thought that the Hittites met their salt needs from rock salt. Rock salt was used for salting, drying, preservation of pickled plant leaves, salting of cattle, sheep and rabbit meats, and also salting and drying these animals to prevent their skin from smelling. They poured salt on the liver and heart, mixed it with flour and cooked it on the grill (Ünal, 2007: 85).

 

3.8. Kitchen Pots of the Hittites

 

Brazier

The vessel used by the Hittites to contain fires when it was difficult to find fire (it could be separated (https://www.dha.com.tr/istanbul/anadolu-mutfaginda-hititlerin-etkisi-panelde-konusuldu/haber-1567126).

Earthen Pots

 

The Hittites used special cooking and keeping warm pots in their kitchens. The footed part at the bottom was made to keep the distance with the fire, and it can be separated (https://www.dha.com.tr/istanbul/anadolu-mutfaginda-hititlerin-etkisi-panelde-konusuldu/haber-1567126).

Strainer Made of Earthenware

 

Pots that can be placed on fire and embers can be separated from their water thanks to the strainer on their lids (https://www.dha.com.tr/istanbul/anadolu-mutfaginda-hititlerin-etkisi-panelde-konusuldu/haber-1567126).

 

4. Gastronomy and the Hittites

 

As Anatolia's geographical location and cultural richness, both the Hittite culinary culture and the Anatolian cuisine culture are of utmost importance in terms of the dissemination of gastronomic tourism in the present time. The type of tourism that contributes to travel to a different country to taste food and drink is called gastronomic tourism. Today, there are states that export their culture only by promoting their culinary richness (Avcıkurt, 2013:71).

 

Many of those who go on tours for touristic purposes want to taste the culinary culture and food of the place and the foods integrated with the region.

 

Nutrition has increased its importance in terms of health, and it has become an activity where people act more meticulously because it is a situation that is done with pleasure. Individuals prefer food that suits their palate wherever they go. The cuisine of that region has an important place in determining the place to go, Hittite Food Culture in terms of gastronomy tourism is of great importance for the Turkish economy and promotion in terms of tourism.

 

Conclusion:

 

Nutrition is the main requirement of living things to survive. A living thing can live in environments where the nutrients it needs are available. This is necessary for human survival. It is not a healthy diet to fill one's stomach with the foods that come in front of him. Nutrition is the regular and balanced consumption of the foods that the human body needs.

At present, there are societies that can eat a regular and balanced diet and live in favorable environmental conditions.

 

For example, the average human lifespan in Japan has extended to eighty-five years. As nutrition was the biggest problem of human in past lives, it will be the most important problem today and in the future.

 

In the Hittites, like other ancient societies, poor, poor people were exposed to inadequate and irregular nutrition. Although the king, queen, nobles and the upper class live in better conditions with adequate and satisfying food, it is understood that the rulers and the upper class do not have a regular and balanced diet, since the cooks and those working in the kitchen do not have enough information about the importance of nutrition.

 

Like Hittite cuisine, Ancient Greek and Roman cuisines, there are hundreds of different dishes, sauces, breads, seasonings and special mixtures. Meat dishes and soups, which are based on easy-to-make recipes but do not lose their taste, predominate. There are many types of bread and pastries used in daily life.

 

In meat and stew dishes; It is thought that there are recipes that are not far from our present taste and cooking. Grills, pita types, boiled types, shish kebabs are not foreign to us. However, there are still no detailed recipes remaining from that period. It is interesting to see that the techniques of frying, boiling, powdering and turning that we eat today existed thousands of years ago.

 

The richness of so many types of bread, food, beer and wine in the Hittite period will surprise us more and more as new tablets are found. This richness in food in Anatolia is thought to be inherited from generations before it, and it should be viewed from a historical perspective as a part of our cultural life.

 

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Unal, A. (2007). The Oldest Dishes of Anatolia - Culinary Culture in Hittites and Contemporary Societies. Istanbul: Homer Bookstore.

Internet Resources:

https://arkeofili.com/hitit-mutfagi-ve-yemekleri-et-yemegi-recipes/ Accessed on 05.04.2021

https://www.dha.com.tr/istanbul/anadolu-mutfaginda-hititlerin-etkisi-panelde-konusuldu/haber-1567126 Access Date: 05.04.2021

 

 

Note:

The original text, which is accepted as a source, is as follows. Google translation was used for the necessary language change.