Maraş Tarhanası

Appearance & taste

Maraş Tarhanası consists of thin, crisp and dry sheets 1 to 3 mm thick; the variety for soups may also be thicker. There are no fixed lengths: the dried sheets are broken, leaving irregular edges, and are sold in large and small pieces like crisps. The colour ranges from light to dark cream.

Because of the fermentation of the yoghurt, the taste is more sour than average, more or less so depending on the production temperature. The aroma comes from dried, fermented yoghurt and thyme; thyme and black sesame add a herbal note. Maraş Tarhanası is eaten on its own, in soup, fried in oil, baked or soaked in broth. In a dry, cool place it keeps for a year. The label states, among other things, the drying method.

Production

The main ingredients are cracked wheat and yoghurt. The cracked wheat is cooked in boiled water and stirred constantly so that nothing burns; this stirring is called “kürekleme” and is traditionally done with a carved wooden paddle 120 to 150 cm long, the “tarhana küreği”. In factories, chrome kettle mixers do this work under the supervision of a master. According to the specification there is no fixed cooking time; it depends on the yoghurt and the cracked wheat.

Only once the cooked mixture has cooled is the yoghurt added, at a ratio of at least one to two. The specification sees this as the most important difference from other tarhanas, in which the yoghurt is cooked along with the rest. At the same time thyme (0.1 to 0.3 %), salt (up to 3 %) and, if desired, black sesame (5 to 20 %) as well as pepper, spices, walnuts and almonds (20 to 30 %) are added. The mixture ferments for about 10 to 12 hours in baskets lined with cloths; yeasts from the wheat and lactic acid bacteria from the yoghurt give it its pronounced fermented character.

It is then spread wafer-thin and evenly on mats (“çiğ”), which takes a lot of experience, and dried in the sun. When the weather is unsuitable, drying in an oven is allowed, a tunnel system with a conveyor belt and air circulation at no more than 60 °C; according to the specification, sun drying remains the preferred method. All steps take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area covers the entire province of Kahramanmaraş. According to the specification, a constant breeze blows there in July and August, and the air is drier and the solar radiation higher than the Turkish average; wind, dryness and sun are important for drying. The knowledge of mixing and spreading is passed on from generation to generation. According to the specification, Maraş Tarhanası is everywhere in Turkey associated with Kahramanmaraş, where it has a firm place in the city’s everyday life.

According to legend, Sultan Selim I (Yavuz Sultan Selim) had the people of the region prepare Maraş Tarhanası for his army on his campaign to Egypt; he is said to have known it from his mother, who came from Kahramanmaraş. In 1919 the American officer Stanley Kerr photographed the spreading of tarhana in Kahramanmaraş. The specification also cites a television report from 2012, specialist books and scientific studies on the product; in July 2010 it was granted geographical indication status in Turkey.