Pastirma
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Pastirma is a heavily seasoned, air-dried cured meat, typically water buffalo or beef, that is found in multiple Balkan and Mediterranean cuisines under a variety of names.
Etymology and history
The dish has multiple names in a variety of cuisines. It is known as or pasterma,<ref name="RayDidier2014">Template:Cite book</ref> pastarma,<ref name="Govezhda">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> pastırma, pastrma, pastourma,<ref name="Wright2003">Template:Cite book,</ref> basdirma,<ref name="Wadi2015">Template:Cite book</ref> basterma,<ref name="Basan2007">Template:Cite book</ref> basturma,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> or aboukh.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Sister project
Basturma existed in ancient Armenian cuisine, where it was known as aboukh' (Template:Langx).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Full citation needed<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The word abookhd (Classical Armenian apukht) was already used in the Armenian translation of the Bible, in the fifth century AD, meaning “salted and dried meat”.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web
}}</ref> According to T. Durham, basturma is of Armenian origin and is still prepared in the Middle East according to old family recipes.<ref>T. R. Durham. Salt, Smoke, and History // Gastronomica , Vol. 1, No. 1 (Winter 2001), pp. 78-82.
In the Middle East, basturma - spiced and wind-dried beef - is still made according to old family recipes. Of Armenian origin, this seasoned meat was carried by Turkish horsemen who allegedly wedged it between saddle and horse for extra salt and savor.
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Pastırma is mentioned in Mahmud of KashgarTemplate:'s Diwan Lughat al-Turk and Evliya ÇelebiTemplate:'s Seyahatname.<ref name="kaban">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Better source needed According to Turkish scholar Biron Kiliç, the term is derived from the Turkic noun bastırma, which means "pressing".<ref name="birol">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Better source needed The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink writes that pastırma is the word the Ottomans used for a type of Byzantine cured beef that was called paston (παστόν).<ref name="Turkish American food">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> According to Johannes Koder, an expert in Byzantine studies, paston could mean either salted meat or salted fish, while akropaston (ἀκρόπαστον) means salted meat.<ref name=brubaker>Template:Cite book</ref> Andrew Dalby gives the definition of paston as "salted fish" and akropaston apakin as "well-salted fillet steak".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Gregory Nagy gives the definition of akropaston as "smoked", describing apakin as "a kind of salami sausage, probably similar to pastourma".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Oxford Companion for Food says that a Byzantine dried meat delicacy was "a forerunner of the pastirma of modern Turkey".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The English word pastrami came by way of Yiddish and perhaps combined with the word salami.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Preparation and usage
Pastirma is prepared by salting the meat, then washing it with water and letting it dry for ten to 15 days. After that the blood and salt is squeezed out of the meat which is then covered with a cumin paste called çemen (lit. "fenugreek") prepared with crushed cumin, fenugreek, garlic, and hot paprika, followed by thorough air-drying. Even though beef is the most common meat today, various meats are also used depending on locality, including camel, lamb, goat, and water buffalo.<ref>Maria Kaneva-Johnson: The Melting Pot. Balkan Food and Cookery. Prospect Books, 1995. Template:ISBN. p. 62</ref>
Cuisines
Pastirma is present in the cuisines of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, Egypt, the Kurds, Greece, Cyprus, Iraq, the Levant, North Macedonia, Turkey and Georgia.<ref>PASTIRMA Also known as pasterma, pastarma or pastourma. Mutton, beef or goat meat marinated with strong taste, pastirma forms part of Turkish and Greek mezze and is eaten like dried ham. For more see: New Larousse Gastronomique, Hachette UK, 2018, ISBN 0600635872, p. 562.</ref><ref>The Bulgarians and Serbs call it pastarma; the Greeks, pastourmas; the Azerbaijanis, bastirma; the Arabs, basterma; and the Romanians, pastrama. For more see: Robert Sietsema, New York in a Dozen Dishes, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015, ISBN 0544454316, p. 112.</ref><ref>The stuffing consists of what the Greeks call pastourma, known to the Turks as pastırma and to the Arabs as basturmā. For more see: Clifford Wright, Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Hors D'Oeuvre, Meze, and More, Harvard Common Press, 2003, ISBN 1558322272, p. 291.</ref><ref>The Greeks of Cappadocia have contributed in modest but distinct ways to the general food culture of modern Greece, reinforcing and adding their own nuances to the special foods of the major Christian festivals. They also claim pastirma as one of their specialities. In spite of such Byzantine precursors as apokti, it is true that the pastirma tradition has deep roots in the nomadic culture of the medieval Turks. It is highly probable that they transmitted the idea to the Cappadocians alongtime before Constantinople was conquered, and, although Constantinople knew all about pastirma from the seventeenth century onwards, it is certain that after the population exchanges of 1923 modern Greece acquired its knowledge of pastirma from the Capadocians. For more see: Gifts of the Gods: Andrew Dalby, Rachel Dalby, A History of Food in Greece, Foods and Nations, Reaktion Books, 2017, ISBN 1780238630, p. 149.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Armenia
Template:Further The cured meat, which resembles Italian bresaola, is called basturma (բաստուրմա) or aboukht (ապուխտ) by Armenians.<ref name=bezjian>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some Armenian pizzerias in cities like Yerevan, Boston and Los Angeles serve basturma topped pizza.<ref name=bezjian /> Armenian restaurants also serve basturma topped burgers,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> basturma can be added to salads,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and basturma with omelette is also a common breakfast item in Armenia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Basturma, or a basturma omelette can also be wrapped inside a lavash, alongside other ingredients like coriander, chechil cheese, and garlic matzoon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
According to Nigol Bezjian, Armenians who survived the 1915 genocide brought basturma with them to the Middle East. Bezjian recalls that his grandmother used to prepare "basturma omelets fried in olive oil with pieces of lavash bread". He notes that Armenians from Kayseri were particularly renowned basturma producers.<ref name=bezjian />
Arabs mocked Armenians with phrases like "It smells like there is basturma here", referring to the strong smell of basturma that is produced by the garlic and fenugreek mixture that the meat is coated in during preservation. Shoushou, a well-known Lebanese comedian of the 1960s–1970s, portrayed a caricature of an Armenian basturma seller; he retired the character after local Lebanese Armenians complained.<ref name=bezjian />
In Palestine, Armenian families gather on New Year's Eve and eat traditional foods including basturma, çiğ köfte and a traditional Anatolian confection called kaghtsr sujukh (Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2025, Armenia applied for geographical indication (GI) registration for Armenian basturma.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Bulgaria
Pastarma (as it is called in Bulgaria) arrived in Bulgaria in the 7th century. Specific products include Пастърма говежда / Pastarma Govezhda, which was registered as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed in the EU in 2017.<ref name="Govezhda" />
Egypt
Template:Further In Egypt bastirma (Template:Lang) is customarily made from lean cuts of beef or water buffalo,<ref name=gagaoua>Template:Cite journal</ref> such as the eye of round or tenderloin. These cuts are first cured with salt to extract excess moisture. Following the curing process, the meat is enveloped in a wet paste made with a blend of spices, including fenugreek, paprika, cumin, black pepper, and garlic, which creates a flavorful crust. The meat is then left to air-dry until it reaches a firm texture, a duration that varies with its size, and is ultimately served in thin slices.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is often eaten with eggs for breakfast or as a topping in other dishes, like savory versions of feteer.
Turkey
Template:Further In Turkish cuisine pastırma can be eaten as a breakfast dish, and it is a common ingredient in omelettes, menemen (Turkish-style shakshouka) or a variation of eggs benedict.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Pastırma can be used as a topping for hummus,<ref>Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Cbignore</ref> pide bread,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> hamburgers,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> and toasted sandwiches with either cheddar cheese or kasar cheese. It can be as a filling for a börek that is made with kadayıf instead of the traditional filo dough.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> It may be combined with potato to make a filling for traditional böreks as well.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
It is also a common addition to many of the traditional vegetable dishes, especially the tomato and white bean stew called Template:Lang, but also cabbage (Template:Lang), chickpeas (Template:Lang), asparagus (Template:Lang)<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> and spinach (Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It can also be used to make cheesy pull-apart bread.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Production
Turkey produces around 2041 tons of pastirma each year.<ref name=birol /> The pastirma from Kayseri is particularly well known. In their 1893 report the British Foreign Office note that Kayseri, which they call Cesarea, "is specially renowned for the preparation of basturma (pemmican)".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
See also
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References
Bibliography
- Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1999. Template:ISBN.
- Maria Kaneva-Johnson, The Melting Pot. Balkan Food and Cookery, Prospect Books, 1995. Template:ISBN.
External links
Template:Armenian cuisine Template:Bulgarian cuisine Template:Turkish cuisine