Mediterranean Diet: Myths vs. Facts

Mediterranean cuisine- Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet gets talked about constantly. Doctors recommend it. Nutrition researchers study it. Food writers praise it. And somehow, despite all that attention, a surprising number of myths have grown up around it that give people a distorted picture of what this way of eating actually involves. Some people think it is just Greek…

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Best Turkish Comfort Foods

iskender kebab in San francisco

Comfort food is a deeply personal thing. For some people it is a bowl of mac and cheese or a plate of fried chicken. For others it is whatever their grandmother made on cold evenings when the whole family gathered around a table without much reason except that food was ready and everyone was hungry.…

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What’s the Difference Between Pide and Pizza?

Pide in San Francisco

Flat dough topped with good things and baked in a hot oven. That description fits both pide and pizza, and it is also where the similarity ends. These two dishes come from different continents, different food cultures, and different centuries of culinary development. They solve the same basic human desire, something satisfying, portable, and shareable,…

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Eastern & Western Mediterranean Cuisine Comparison

Mediterranean cuisine- Mediterranean Diet

The word Mediterranean gets used a lot in food conversations, and most people have a general sense of what it means. Olive oil, fresh vegetables, grilled proteins, warm bread. But the Mediterranean region itself is enormous, stretching from the coasts of Spain and Morocco in the west all the way to Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria…

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Fresh Herbs: The Heart of Turkish Cuisine

herbs

There is a moment at a well-made Turkish meal where something bright and clean cuts through the richness of the grilled meat, the earthiness of the spices, and the creaminess of the dips. That moment is almost always herbs doing their job. Fresh parsley scattered over a kebab plate, dried mint stirred into yogurt, chopped…

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