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Turkey raises a LOT of sunflowers (called "moonflowers:" ayçiçegi ['EYE'-chee-cheh-yee])
and uses them mostly as snacks and
for cooking oil.
The raw sunflower seeds (ayçiçegi
çekirdegi, 'EYE-chee-cheh-yee
CHEK-eer-deh-yee) are
sold in small quantities as snacks,
and Turks traditionally crack the shells
with their teeth and nibble the seeds
on bus rides, ferry cruises, sporting
events, etc.
Sunflower oil is
very popular for cooking, as it is
lighter and probably cheaper than olive
oil. You should probably assume that
some dishes you see in Turkey will
have been prepared with sunflower oil
(ayçiçegi yagi, 'EYE'-chee-cheh-yee
yah-uh).
Sunflower oil is a common ingredient
in margarine throughout
the world,
and because Turkey produces lots of
sunflower oil, it's possible that it
could be in Turkish margarine. There's
always butter (tereyagi, TEH-reh-yah-uh) and olive
oil (zeytinyagi, zey-TEEN-yah-uh) to
use at table instead.
Few dishes have
sunflower seeds hidden in them. If
the seeds are used in cooking
at all, they may be sprinkled
on top as a garnish, which might make
them easier to avoid. But I cannot
guarantee this, especially in trendy
restaurants where young chefs may depart
from traditional recipes and invent
new ones.
The good news is that lots of good
Turkish food is safe for those allergic
to sunflower seeds.
Here are some phrases:
Ayçiçegi (çekirdegi) yeyemem ('EYE-chee-cheh-yee
[CHEK-eer-deh-yee) yee-YEH-mehm, "I
can't eat sunflower (seeds)".
Ayçiçegiye ciddi alerjim
var ('EYE'-chee-cheh-yee-YEH
jeed-DEE ah-lehr-ZHEEM vahr, "I
have a serious allergy to sunflowers.")
Does it have sunflower in it?
= Icinde ayçiçegi
var mi? (EECH-een-DEH
'EYE'-chee-cheh-yee VAHR muh)
Yes = evet (eh-VEHT)
No = hayir/yok ('higher,' YOHK)
Most processed food
packages in Turkey contain lists
of ingredients, often in several languages,
but you may want to have a Turkish
speaker help to interpret
the ingredients list.
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