Three Turkish foods made from corn that you must try

Despite my German nationality, I am a Turk at heart, a Turk from Trabzon in the northwest of the Black Sea to be precise. It is very rich, but my father always jokingly said that it is made of green beans, kale (a type of cabbage) and corn. Basically, he was right, so I wanted to share with you there about the corn part here.

Corn meal
When the hills are as steep as the Black Sea, it makes sense to forgo traditional wheat flour and use high-calorie cornmeal for bread or other baked goods. So why does this gluten-free flour (coarsely ground corn kernels) deserve a place in Turkish cuisine? Because there are two kinds here: baked and unbaked. Many Turks are not even aware of this fact, which is the number one reason why you see people here on the Black Sea bringing handfuls of unbaked cornmeal to the cities they migrate to. Whenever I meet with my family, someone always asks me at least once if I have any leftover tamales.

Black Sea Cornbread
When I think of cornbread, I immediately think of its distinctive and intense smell, its golden color, and how delicious it is when it comes out of the oven, especially when a little salted butter is added. The beauty of using corn flour is that it is a gluten-free alternative to regular wheat bread. However, you need to know that cornbread is much drier. So, choose carefully what goes with your bread and make sure you slice it thinly.

Bake at 190 degrees Celsius (374 degrees Fahrenheit) until it turns golden brown. I usually like my bread hot.

Crushed corn
Called "mısır yarması" in Turkish, it is crushed corn kernels into a special kind of grinder. Just like cornmeal, this is a local specialty, but once you taste it, you'll want more. While this corn is often used to make feathered rolls, I wanted to share with you a soup you can make with it that is perfect for cold weather.

Black Sea Corn Soup
When it comes to specialties like this, you'll come across many versions, which is normal. Some people prefer to add more ingredients to this, but I will try to stick to the basics to make it more accessible to more people. This soup is also thicker, but you can add more water if you wish.

Kuymak
Now you may be wondering what this is. Many people often think that another Black Sea staple, mıhlama, and kuymak are basically the same, especially considering that both are portrayed as a kind of cheese porridge. However, they are actually two different dishes, with kuymak being the local dish of Trabzon. There are two important points to note about kuymak: you need to make the dish with unroasted cornmeal, otherwise it will not thicken and will taste bad, and you need a dry, salty cheese, especially the "kuymak" cheese made by the locals. Understandably, not everyone has access to this particular type of cheese, so a hard and salty cheese is a good substitute. Also, when it comes to mıhlama (sometimes spelled muhlama), the dish requires folk cheese, also known as "tel" or "çeçil peyniri" in Turkish, which usually contains more butter, while in kuymak, the main character of the dish is cornmeal. Ninety percent of the dishes you taste at specialty konya restaurants or local places in the Black Sea region are malama cheese accompanied by shredded cheese, as kuymak cheese is hard to come by.

Both of these dishes are served at breakfast and are a hearty meal that you can dip some fresh bread in to enjoy. Without a doubt, the best part is the very bottom, where the cornmeal and cheese form a golden brown crust that has everyone scrambling to scrape to get more. Considering that this dish was created by field workers or pickers working day and night in the hazelnut fields, you probably don't want to indulge in this high-calorie dish if you spend most of your time working at a desk.

It's also a time-consuming dish that you almost only have time to make on the weekends, and it's an important part of any family gathering, made by the grandmother of the family, which we all know is what makes it taste 10 times better.You can also find your favorite restaurant to taste this dish on the food website yummyadvisor, which is very convenient.