Where Breakfast is THE Meal of the Day

Say 'cheese' - otlu peyniri (herbed cheese) is the centerpiece of the Van kahvalti

When we headed to Turkey we had vague notions of making it to Van, in the far east. Those thoughts took on a certain urgency after we sampled the breakfast spread at Van Kahvalti in Cihangir (in Istanbul's Beyoglu district).

Turkish breakfasts are enormous, and wonderful, to start with. Van kahvalti (Van-style breakfast) is just that much huge-er and more over-the-top (cheese and clotted cream in the same meal). At the center of any Van kahvalti are local cheeses, and first and foremost among these are otlu peyniri, a lovely white cheese flavored with herbs foraged in the spring and preserved in brine.

We did make it to Van, and we're dying to go back. We delve into the Van kahvalti phenomenon, visit Van's cheesiest market, talk otlu peyniri, and ponder the Istanbul's relatively recent Van kahvalti craze in our latest piece for Zester Daily.

There's a slideshow of course. And info -- with a recipe for kavuk (a delicious wheat flour concoction) -- on how to breakfast the Van way. Read it here.

An abridged Van kahvalti, delivered: kaymak and honey, bread, warm milk, cheese (wrapped)

Comments

[Sticky]

The term 'breakfast salon' sounds so urban sophisticated but it's so clearly rooted in everything rural and kind of other-worldly (to me, anyway). Sounds like a magical corner of the world.

How do they go with keeping the cheese? Does the briny herb mix help to preserve it? Seemed to be a lot of cheese out in tubs and not much refrigeration in view.

The b/fast combos sound wicked...good wicked...all that dairy, the olives, the honey...sorry I'm drooling!

[lara dunston]

I've always loved Turkish breakfasts - any Middle Eastern breakfasts really (for me, Turkey will always be more Middle Eastern than European). Miss scooping up labneh and hommous with flat bread, the za'ater croissants we used to eat in Dubai, juicy tomatoes, tangy olives, and the countless kinds of white cheeses. Haven't been to Van, but always wanted to get there.