Pastirma

 Pastirma ( a kind of Bacon ) came to Anatolia in Kayseri with  Turkish  warriors who migrated from Central Asia .  Central Asian ancestors  of Turks who constantly ride horses had to carry their foods together with them. Therefore  this situation has led them to carry dried meat as food together with them.  They were softening the meat to be cooked faster so when they give a break on the way  it was very practical for them to cook a meat. This centuries old tradition have been preserved after they  set on  permanent settlement. The effort and purpose of protecting the freshness and taste of the meat have created the “pastirma” and “Sucuk”.

Kayseri today still  is the best place where the most delicious and good quality pastirma and sucuk meats produced.

Only 40% of  an cut animal can be used for producing a pastirma. The back , neck , ridge and edges of abdomines are used to produce pastirma. The rest of the animal is not appropriate for pastirma producing therefore this unused part caused the create another delicious meat product which is called as “Sucuk”

Various operations are  applied to the meat for a month untill it becomes a “pastirma” .

“Fenugreek” is the main spice which is giving the delicious flavor to “pastirma” .

Fenugreek as much as providing a wonderfull taste has also  many important functions such as preventing the meat from drying too much , killing the microps ,enzymes and organic acids in the meat and avoiding deterioration of the meat via oxidized fats.

Pastirma is the most expensive meat product in Turkey. The increasing price of the pastirma ironically criticized by the newspapers and tv channels by announcements saying that 1 kg pastirma price is getting more expensive than the gold.

Due to The strong and intensive taste of the pastirma it is not recommended to eat more then 100 gr in  one meal. Pastirma can be used in any food to increase the  taste of it.