A REAL FIND: THE ‘TREATISE ON FOOD’
When we translate these books into modern Turkish, we can see how different they are from today’s cookbooks in terms both of style and of cooking techniques. Undoubtedly one of the most important reasons for this is the socio-economic transformation experienced between Ottoman times and our day. Unfortunately, the number of cookbooks written in past centuries is not many. But those to hand, whether printed or in manuscript, offer a welter of information. The book believed to be the first manuscript work about cookery is the ‘Ağdiye Risalesi’ or ‘Ağdiye Treatise’. Although some of the recipes in this 18th century work have been included in various cookbooks, nothing is known about the origin of the book. The Ağdiye Risalesi was transcribed by Nejat Sefercioğlu and printed under the title ‘Yemek Risalesi’ (A Treatise on Food). This seven-chapter cookbook, which is housed in the Library of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, is a treasure in the full sense of the word with a wealth of contents ranging from numerous varieties of soup and a thousand and one examples of pastry to stews, kebabs, pickles, salads and sweets. A lamb steak recipe