AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Vişne: Sweet, sour & sharp AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Vişne: Sweet, sour & sharp

When it comes to sour cherries, I’m never satisfied with translation. It is “vişne” for me, no other word, whether it is Morello, Montmorency, griotte or amarelle, does not evoke the same sensation. They all seem to be pointing to a specific variety but not embracing the fruit in its whole entity. I suggest having the word accepted by world cuisines as vişne, as it is the only way to understand this much-overlooked cherry.

July 29 2018
Cucurbits are a summer lifesaver AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Cucurbits are a summer lifesaver

Even if you do not make stuffed squash for lunch, you can still have your mücver for happy hour. Grate 2 medium sized squashes, toss with a good pinch of salt and leave for a couple of minutes for the salt to extract its juices. Squeeze the squash in between your palms firmly to extract as much juice as possible.

July 23 2018
Potato: Onion parity AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Potato: Onion parity

The Mining Engineering Department of the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) in Ankara has discovered two valuable subterranean sources of economic value in Turkey: The potato and the onion.

July 08 2018
Happy Maritime Day AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Happy Maritime Day!

July 1 must be the best day to enjoy the Bosphorus when Maritime and Cabotage Day is celebrated. The tradition is by sunset all ships, sail boats, motor boats, ferries, practically anything sailing or floating line along the Bosphorus Strait, celebrate the day by whistling their sirens.

July 02 2018
‘Let them eat cake’ AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

‘Let them eat cake!’

The queen of France supposedly said “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” which translates into English as “Let them eat cake!” Though there is no historical evidence that Marie-Antoinette ever said such a thing, but history liked it, it must be one of the most often repeated phrases, perhaps because it remains as a good example of a reign oblivious to the poor, suggesting the people should eat fancy food, disregarding their despair. Since the elections are now over, hopefully it will not be regarded as a political act to write about cake and its unfortunate relationship with power.

June 25 2018
Sugar power AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Sugar power

Fondness for sweetness is surely the weakness of mankind. Once hooked to the seductive sweet taste, it is hard to wean oneself from the comforting cradle of sweetness. However, sugar was a rarity in Europe for centuries. In history, sugar was long obtained from sugar cane, originally produced in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. During the Indian Campaign of Alexander the Great, his officer Nearchus wrote of sugar cane as “reed giving honey without bees.” Crusaders described it as “sweet salt” and brought the stuff to Europe while the Arabs had already introduced sugar to Sicily by the 10th century, establishing sugar mills on the island.

June 10 2018
Free in Dublin and Venice AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Free in Dublin and Venice

Free spirit will be on air in two cities this week: Dublin and Venice. My heart lies with Venice, but I’m flying to Dublin.

May 27 2018
Victory of the Victorian sponge AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Victory of the Victorian sponge

So it is a sponge! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding cake was a good old Victorian sponge cake. Though it is one of the classics in British baking, having a sponge cake for a royal wedding is a huge shift from the tradition of British wedding cakes. According to custom, it had to be a fruitcake with royal icing. Interestingly, both cakes have roots from the Victorian era and the legacy of the sweet-toothed queen who surely loved her cake.

May 20 2018
Food is heritage AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Food is heritage

Food is the shared heritage of mankind.

May 13 2018