Abstract
FROM CULINARY CULTURE TO ART: NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN CLASSICAL TURKISH POETRY-II
Abstract
In our previous study, we pointed out that literary works in general, and classical Turkish poetry in particular, have not been sufficiently utilized despite being among the most significant written sources of our culinary culture. This article, the second in a series limited to non-alcoholic beverages by its aim and scope, examines how sherbet and its varieties, as well as grape must and pickle brine, are represented in classical Turkish poetry. It focuses on the ways in which poets, through their extraordinary talent, imagination, and powers of observation, incorporated these elements into their works. The study also explores the symbolic meanings attributed to these beverages, the emotions and ideas often shaped around themes of union and separation that poets conveyed within the framework of concepts such as love, lover, beloved, and rival, and how they expressed them on an aesthetic plane. In other words, it investigates how non-alcoholic beverages, like other socio-cultural elements, functioned as artistic tools in the hands of poets.
Examples from divans reveal that references to sherbet varieties are particularly abundant. Poets, for instance, associated sour cherry sherbet with the beloved’s lips, drawing upon resemblances in color and taste. They also referred to its consumption when wine was renounced or unavailable, as well as to its storage in barrels.
An examination of examples concerning beverages in general, and non-alcoholic beverages in particular, demonstrates the significant role and place of classical Turkish poetry in reconstructing Turkish culinary culture as a whole. One of the main objectives of this article is to highlight how a bridge between the art of poetry and culinary culture was established through non-alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, it seeks to draw attention to the value of our traditional drinks, which both refresh and contribute to health, in contrast to the carbonated beverages that line today’s supermarket shelves yet pose a threat to our well-being.
Keywords
Turkish culinary culture, classical Turkish poetry, non-alcoholic beverages, sherbet, grape must, pi