The Kurdish homeland is spread out over 200,000 miles of territory resembling an inverted V. To the north, their territory pushes into the Caucasus mountains, with expanses reaching out to the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. This territory is called Kurdistan, though it is not a formalized state by any means.
The Kurds themselves utilize their wealth of pastoral lands to care for their herds of sheep, which are their main means of food production. That said wheat and barley have been known to be grown in Kurdistan, and Kurdistan itself is some of the most agriculturally viable land in the middle east. In addition, cash crops like sugar beets and tobacco are also grown in the area, and play an important role in the economy of the Kurdistan territories.
Traditional dishes of the Kurdish people tend to be lamb or milk based, and may contain other animal products, but will never contain pork. Cultivated herbs and grains are often utilized in their dishes as well, along with local wild plants. Most gathered vegetables are eaten raw, though many are utilized in soups. A sour yoghurt is also produced using milk, which can be utilized in many dishes throughout their cultural cookbook. They are also known to pickle foods and store them, as well as cultivating cheese from their milk stores.
Works Cited:
Izady, Mehrdad R. 1992. The Kurds: A Concise Handbook. Washington, D.C.: Crane Russak, Taylor & Francis International Publishers. https://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/document?id=ma11-012.
Roman Hovsepyan, Nina Stepanyan-Gandilyan, Hamlet Melkumyan, Lili Harutyunyan,
Food as a marker for economy and part of identity: traditional vegetal food of Yezidis and Kurds in Armenia, Journal of Ethnic Foods, Volume 3, Issue 1, 2016, Pages 32-41, ISSN 2352-6181, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2016.01.003. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618116000044)
Hey Christopher! I enjoyed reading your post! It is interesting that their diet is milk based since it is rare for other cultures to drink milk. I'm not sure if I would like that bowl of sour yogurt and vegetables though.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have actually found that I find more foods that I like by keeping an open mind when approaching foods from different cultures. If you do that you may find that you end up loving it!
DeleteThank you! I have actually found that I find more foods that I like by keeping an open mind when approaching foods from different cultures. If you do that you may find that you end up loving it!
DeleteYou picked a really interesting group! You explained the culture well. Coming from a culture where we primarily get our food from a grocery store, it's impressive they are able to use what they have available and start literally from scratch--gathering and processing the food themselves and preparing a meal for themselves. Some of the dishes you mention sound really good.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the post, and honestly I found that I was interested in trying some of the foods that I talked about myself!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really great blog post. I enjoyed learning about the diets of the Kurds, and I found it very interesting thinking how societies from around the same region have similar diets.
ReplyDeleteThat Dovga looks yummy! I really hope I can try it some day. Do you know why they don't include pork in their dishes? Is it because of religious beliefs or something else?
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