Where to buy pastırma and sucuk in Kayseri?

Kayseri pastırma

Pastırma (cured, spiced beef) is a unique delicacy of Kayseri cuisine, made by drying raw meat with various spices and salt so that it keeps for a long time. It takes its name from the way the meat is pressed under weights. Featured in Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname (Book of Travels), it has been passed down from generation to generation to the present day.

It takes about a month for pastırma to reach the table. After slaughter, the meat is rested, shaped and strung on cords. It is salted, left to stand for a while and pressed under weights. Once the blood and brine have been drained from it, it is coated in çemen (a spicy fenugreek paste) and dried in the open air.

Pastırma is made all over Türkiye, but the best pastırma is made in Kayseri. The air is an important factor in developing pastırma’s flavour, and the taste that the natural breeze from Erciyes gives it makes Kayseri number one.

You can find this unique delicacy at all the places mentioned above that serve local Kayseri dishes.

Kayseri sucuk

In the old days, when meat was hard to preserve, workers in the fields realised that salting the meat and stuffing it into intestines was a good way to keep it, and that, we can say, is how sucuk’s journey began. It is a fermented meat product made by blending minced red meat with various spices and garlic and stuffing it into dried casings.

When you come to Kayseri, be sure to try it, especially at breakfast…

Where to buy pastırma, sucuk and mantı in Kayseri?

The first things that come to mind when you think of Kayseri are pastırma, sucuk and mantı. When you enter the Kazancılar Bazaar (Kazancılar Çarşısı) on Kayseri’s main square, you’ll be greeted by many shops selling pastırma and sucuk. Most people, however, shop from the Şahin Sucukları and Başyazıcı brands. You may be familiar with Şahin Sucukları, as it often appears on television. Başyazıcı, on the other hand, is a local brand favoured by the people of Kayseri.

Once inside the Kazancılar Bazaar, you’ll see these two brands on the sign of every shop, because both brands work through a dealership system and supply the shops. Whichever shop you go into, you’ll find answers to anything you want to know about pastırma and sucuk.

In general, pastırma starts at 125 TL per kilo. If you can’t carry it with you or would like to order it to your home, it can be vacuum-packed and sent to your address by courier.

If you can’t get enough of Kayseri mantı and want to take some as a gift for your loved ones, you can buy it vacuum-packed from any shop selling pastırma and sucuk in the Kazancılar Bazaar. There are many handmade brands, but the most popular are Kaşık-la, Elmacıoğlu, Çemen’s Mutfak and Çağlar. Half a kilo starts at 20 TL.

Nevzine

Nevzine is an energy-packed Kayseri dessert born from the combination of semolina and grape molasses (pekmez). It contains walnuts, tahini and yoghurt. Flour is added to turn it into a dough, which is pressed by hand to spread it across a tray. Once spread, it is decorated with lines drawn with the tip of a fork.

It is sweetened with a grape molasses syrup and served topped with walnuts. You can easily find it on the menu of almost every restaurant in Kayseri.

Gilaburu

Gilaburu is the name of a drink made from the red berries of an endemic plant found only in Kayseri and the surrounding provinces. Its taste resembles şıra (fresh grape juice) and, a little, cornelian cherry juice. This Kayseri speciality isn’t available everywhere. If you’d like to try it, you can find it at Kaşık-la and Elmacıoğlu İskender.