First Experience in a Turkish Grocery Store

I walked in slowly, hesitantly. This was all very different to me, and I wasn’t sure what to do first. What to look for. Where to go. My eyes searched around, hoping that I didn’t look too lost, but knowing at the same time that I was indeed just that.

I spied an aisle full of packaged cookies and cakes and crackers. I couldn’t seem to locate the aisle of cereal boxes and granola bars. There was a fruit and vegetable section, with a man ringing up and labelling everyone’s bags as they chose their products. And there were all of these stacks of some tomato stuff, in jars and cans, everywhere. And pickles. But not the kinds of pickles I was used to, in their long dill spears, but other vegetables and peppers in jars. Along the back of the store was a bread section, with a clear-front cabinet full of large, fresh loaves. As I walked down the aisles, mesmerized, I saw a shelf stacked with Nutella. And then I had to ask myself - but where is the peanut butter?

This was one of the first days that I was in Turkey as an exchange student. I had been left alone for the day, my Turkish roommate and friends off at work. Orientation for my university classes hadn't happened yet, and I still had a day or two to kill before I started my exchange semester. I was wandering around the neighborhood, trying to make sure that I didn't get lost (there were so many buildings, how was I to remember which one I lived in? ). And my pantry was empty. I needed to find food.

But what to buy? All of the items in this market were so foreign to me. Not just the names, but also the kinds of food that were available. In the States, even if I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, I knew to grab a box of pasta and a jar of spaghetti sauce. A jar of peanut butter and one of jelly, and a loaf of sliced bread. A box of granola bars, another box of cereal. And a plastic, white carton of milk. But where was the milk anyway?

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It took me a few weeks to get comfortable walking into a Turkish market. After a while, I realized that the milk came in paper cartons that weren’t even refrigerated (they are UHT). And I learned that the cereal came in few flavors and was sold in plastic bags, but I could find muesli or buy oats to make my own if I wanted. And that tomato stuff? It was salça, which I would soon learn to put in my bulgur (another new ingredient for me). And I did finally find peanut butter, although it was expensive and I learned to save it for special occasions (or random bouts of home-sickness).

Learning to eat and cook in a foreign country is an adventure in itself. Often, the foods are very different, and it can be hard to know where to start when you are shopping. Luckily, I was able to survive on the cafeteria food at the university until I became better acquainted with Turkish cooking. And my Turkish friends helped me to figure out what the different common ingredients could be used for. Soon, I was buying sour kefir, granola, and fruit for my breakfasts and experimenting on random vegetable + scrambled egg concoctions during my free evenings. And I learned how to make Turkish bulgur, served with yogurt, fresh bread and those funny pickles (turşu).

Now, I shop like a pro at Turkish markets. And I've learned how to cook new things with the ingredients here, including my own vegetable broth and vegan banana bread. But I still go to some of the more international markets, like Migros and Carrefour, sometimes so that I can prepare more familiar foods. And because, you know, peanut butter.

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