The cooking of Istanbul, Bursa, İzmir, and the rest of the Anatolia region inherits many elements of Ottoman court cuisine, including moderate use of spices, a preference for rice over bulgur, koftes, and a wider availability of vegetable stews (türlü), eggplant, stuffed dolmas and fish.

The cuisine of the southeast (e.g. Urfa, Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Adana) is famous for its variety of kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, şöbiyet, kadayıf, katmer and künefe.

Food names directly cognate with mantı are also found in Chinese (mantou or steamed bun), and it is generally considered to have originated in Mongolia during the 13th century.

Although meat-based foods such as kebabs are common in Turkish cuisine abroad, meals in Turkey largely center around rice, vegetables, and bread.

The papers submitted at the symposia presented the history of Turkish cuisine on a "historical continuum" that dated back to Turkic origins in Central Asia and continued through the Seljuk and Ottoman periods.

), butter, olives, eggs, muhammara, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey, and kaymak, sucuk (optionally spicy Turkish sausage), pastırma, börek, simit, poğaça, açma, fried dough (known as pişi), as well as soups are eaten as a morning meal in Turkey.

In summertime many people prefer to eat a cold dish of vegetables cooked with olive oil (zeytinyağlı yemekler) instead of the soup, either before or after the main course, which can also be a chicken, meat or fish plate.

[8] Esnaf lokantası (meaning restaurants for shopkeepers and tradesmen) are widespread, serving traditional Turkish home cooking at affordable prices.

In the hot Turkish summer, a meal often consists of fried vegetables such as patlıcan (eggplant/aubergine) and peppers or potatoes served with yogurt or tomato sauce.

Frequently used ingredients in Turkish specialties include lamb, chicken, beef, fish, rice, eggplants, green peppers, onions, garlic, lentils, beans, zucchinis, chickpeas and tomatoes.

[9] Nuts, especially pistachios, chestnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts, together with spices, have a special place in Turkish cuisine, and are used extensively in desserts or eaten separately.

Plums, apricots, pomegranates, pears, apples, grapes, figs and quinces along with many kinds of citrus are the most frequently used fruit, either fresh or dried, in Turkish cuisine.

For example, komposto (compote) or hoşaf (from Persian khosh âb, literally meaning "nice water") are among the main side dishes to meat or pilav.

Etli yaprak sarma (vine leaves stuffed with meat and rice) used to be cooked with sour plums in Ottoman cuisine.

Gözleme is a food typical in rural areas, made of lavash bread or phyllo dough folded around a variety of fillings such as spinach, cheese and parsley, minced meat or potatoes and cooked on a large griddle (traditionally sač).

A large variety of vegetables are used, such as spinach, leek, cauliflower, artichoke, cabbage, celery, eggplant, green and red bell peppers, string bean and sunchokes.

Another popular dish of arabic origin (Levant region) is baba ghanoush (also called abugannush) - a puree of smoked eggplants with tahini sauce.

The dishes made with kuru fasulye (white beans), nohut (chickpeas), mercimek (lentils), börülce (black-eyed peas), etc., combined with onion, vegetables, minced meat, tomato paste and rice, have always been common due to being economical and nutritious.

Dried fruit such as blackcurrant, raisins, figs or cherries, and cinnamon and allspice used to be added into the mixture to sweeten zeytinyağlı dolma in Ottoman cuisine.

In Istanbul's Eminönü and other coastal districts, grilled fish served in bread with tomatoes, herbs and onion is a popular fast food.

Turkish cuisine has a range of baklava-like desserts which include şöbiyet, bülbül yuvası, saray sarması, sütlü nuriye, and burma.

Among milk-based desserts, the most popular ones are muhallebi, su muhallebisi, sütlaç (rice pudding), keşkül, kazandibi (meaning the bottom of "kazan" because of its burnt surface), and tavuk göğsü (a sweet, gelatinous, milk pudding dessert quite similar to kazandibi, to which very thinly peeled chicken breast is added to give a chewy texture).

Other popular desserts include: Revani (with semolina and starch), şekerpare, kalburabasma, dilber dudağı, vezir parmağı, hanım göbeği, kemalpaşa, tulumba, zerde, paluze, irmik tatlısı/peltesi, lokma.

Lokum (Turkish delight), which was eaten for digestion after meals and called "rahat hulkum" in the Ottoman era, is another well-known sweet/candy with a range of varieties.

Cezerye, cevizli sucuk (named after its sucuk/sujuk like shape, also known as Churchkhela in Circassian region) and pestil (fruit leather) are among other common sweets.

There are a few local brands of lager such as Bomonti, Marmara 34 and Efes Pilsen and a small selection of international beers that are produced in Turkey such as Skol, Beck's, Miller, Foster's, Carlsberg and Tuborg.

In Turkey, craft beers became popular in present-day; Gara Guzu, Feliz Kulpa, Pablo and Graf are some Turkish craft beer brands There are a variety of local wines produced by Turkish brands such as Sevilen, Kavaklıdere, Doluca, Corvus, Kayra, Pamukkale and Diren which are getting more popular with the change of climatic conditions that affect the production of wine.

Şalgam suyu (mild or spicy fermented black carrot juice) is another important non-alcoholic beverage that is usually combined with kebabs or served together with rakı.

Sherbet (Turkish şerbet, pronounced [ʃeɾˈbet]) is a syrup which can be made from any of a wide variety of ingredients, especially fruits, flowers, or herbs.

In classical Turkish cuisine, hoşaf (from the Persian "Khosh-ab", meaning "fresh water") alternatively accompanies meat dishes and pilav (pilaf).