Simit

If you are in Istanbul and happen to need a snack, all you need to do is walk down the street and buy a simit to enjoy. Simit is a bread ring covered in sesame seeds, which are sold on just about every street corner and in every bakery. Often you will see street vendors with red carts selling them. Other times you can hear a man yelling taze simit, fresh simit, as he walks down the street with a huge stack of them piled high above his head. These bread rings are great for a meal on the run or a simple snack. Children, mothers and businessmen alike can be seen enjoying simit as they rush from one place to the next or leisurely stroll along the seaside. While often eaten plain, sometimes they will be stuffed with cheese or spread with jam. If ever you watch a ferry crossing the Bosporus, you will see a whole flock of seagulls following behind because passengers like to break off bits of their simit to throw to the birds.

Simit is known as the bagel of Turkey and dates back to the Ottoman Empire when flour depots were called simithane (house of simit). Even back then, as mentioned above, a wide and varied genre enjoyed eating these tasty bread rings. Sultans thought simit a valuable and luxurious food item and as such would often give one as a token of appreciation to each of the soldiers on duty around the palace each evening during Ramadan to break the fast. Unlike bagels, there is no boiling step in the cooking process for simit. Instead these bread rings are immersed into water, sweetened with grape molasses and coated with sesame seeds before baking. This ensures a moist interior and crunchy golden-brown exterior.  Since simit are commonly found everywhere in Turkey there is no need for them to be baked at home. However, click here for a recipe that is easy enough to make at home if you are living outside Turkey and craving these tasty bread rings.

While the Turks’ love of simit supersedes the word “snack”, these bread rings are definitely the most popular item street vendors offer. There are, however, other easy and affordable snack options, especially in crowded areas of large cities. Particularly on cold winter months it’s pleasant to walk by a street vendor selling hot, freshly roasted chestnuts. These are sold by the gram, so it’s easy to purchase just a few to snack on as you walk along. But be careful to do so slowly as they are likely to burn your fingers as you pick the meat out of the shell. The warm smell of the roasting chestnuts often lures people right to the red carts selling them. However, if there is a lull of customers, the men working will often shout out “kestane”, chestnut, or take the long tongs used to pick up the hot nuts and drum out a quick rhythm to entice those passing by to stop and purchase some roasted chestnuts.