Delicious traditional flavours Güveç
Human beings made the discovery that clay could be shaped in the upper palaeolithic age, but it was not until around 7000 BC that they began to make pots for storage. They gradually improved their techniques and learned how to fire the finished articles to produce durable vessels. The next important step forward was the invention of the pottr’si wheel at the end of the 4th millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and this spread to Egypt, Syria and Cilicia early in the 3rd millennium BC, and to central and western Anatolia in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. In many parts of Turkey today traditional pottery production still continues, such as at Avanos in Cappadocia. In the village of Dölek in Gümüshane in northeastern Turkey women make güveç or cooking pots known locally as gudi or gudu. In the latter region it is traditional to cook güveç stews for the evening meal during the month of Ramazan, while in the district of Inebolu in Kastamonu these are eaten for the morning meal.
In the town of Beypazari the Ismet Degirmencioglu bakery, which has been run by the same family for the past 220 years, is famous for its delicious güveç. Pottery making began in the village of Kinik in the province of Bilecik southeast of Istanbul about 120 years ago, when high-quality clay deposits were discovered by the famous potter Sakir Aga, and today is the principal occupation here. The pottery and ceramics produced in Kinik are sold all over Turkey and also exported. Women in the village of Sorkun near Mihaliççik in Eskisehir still make pottery using neolithic age techniques, firing their jars or çömlek over open fires. The same method can be seen in Gökeyüp near Salihli in Manisa. The technique is as follows: straw, hay, sawdust, wood ash, sand and water are added to the clay, which is then kneaded thoroughly until no air bubbles remain. It is shaped by hand or on a wheel, and then partially dried, when the surface is scraped smooth to close the pores, so ensuring that it is impermeable.
Then it is left to dry thoroughly, covered with slip, glazed and finally fired. The colour of the finished pot depends on many factors, such as the temperature and type of the kiln, and the amount of oxygen admitted during firing. Now let us come to the delicious casserole dishes cooked in the traditional güveç and known by the same name. Slow even cooking in the closed pot brings out the full flavour of the ingredients.
Meat güveç dishes in particular have an important place in traditional Turkish cuisine. The meat is cut into chunks and placed in the greased güveç together with the other ingredients, such as vegetables, herbs and spices. The pot is then covered by a pottery lid or by a thick sheet of pastry, although today aluminium foil is a practical alternative. Vegetable dishes without meat cooked with olive oil can also be prepared in the same way. Ideally the güveç should be cooked in traditional tandýrs or pit ovens, which are still used in some rural areas, but in towns and cities people either use their own modern ovens or take them to the local bakery.
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