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The Sakarya Table, from Islama Köfte to Pumpkin Dessert

For anyone arriving in Sakarya from Istanbul, the first stop is usually a table. The province sits where flat, fertile plains fed by the alluvium of the Sakarya River meet forested uplands and the Black Sea coast.

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The Sakarya Table, from Islama Köfte to Pumpkin Dessert

For anyone arriving in Sakarya from Istanbul, the first stop is usually a table. The province sits where flat, fertile plains fed by the alluvium of the Sakarya River meet forested uplands and the Black Sea coast. GoTürkiye, the promotion platform of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, describes Sakarya cuisine as one built on grains, vegetables, local meat, wild greens, yoghurt and bulgur, and treats the pumpkin as its signature produce. The real richness of this table, however, lies in flavours that arrived with migration. A meatball tradition from the Balkans, chicken and cheese recipes from the Caucasus and the old wedding dishes of Anatolia all meet here at the same table.

As of October 2026, the geographical indication register of the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office lists twenty registered products under Sakarya. In this article we use that register and the food pages of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism to travel across the province's table from savoury to sweet. We name no businesses. According to the registration documents, anyone selling a product with a geographical indication must display the indication's emblem on the product or somewhere clearly visible on the premises; looking for that emblem is the easiest way to know the dish you want follows the registered recipe.

Islama köfte, bread dipped in bone broth

Sakarya's best known dish nationwide is islama köfte. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that the dish is believed to have reached the region with migrations from the Balkans in the early 20th century. What sets it apart from similar meatballs is the bread beneath it as much as the meat itself. Adapazarı Islama Köftesi is registered as an indication of source under number 167 in the name of the Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The application was filed on 26 October 2009 and the registration was completed on 8 January 2013. Some encyclopaedia entries give a different year, but the official document carries these dates.

The registration document describes the recipe in detail. Beef rib and shank bones are cracked and simmered over a low fire for about twelve hours in a cauldron with two large onions, then strained. Red pepper powder, oil and salt are stirred into this bone broth. Stale slices of leavened, wood oven bread are dipped into the sauce and lightly toasted on the grill. The mince is an equal mix of beef rib and shoulder; grated onion, cumin, black pepper, red pepper powder and stale breadcrumbs go into it, and it rests for at least an hour. Oak charcoal is the preferred fuel for the grill. Two slices of soaked bread go on the plate first, ten meatballs are laid on top, and lightly charred tomato and long green pepper come last. The document recommends bean salad or ayran on the side. The province's other registered meatball is Sakarya Kazımpaşa Köftesi, registered in 2022 under number 1282. According to the document its production began in the Kazımpaşa neighbourhood and spread across the province; it uses at least 92 percent boneless meat, no fat is added beyond the meat's own, and it is cooked on an oak charcoal grill.

Dartılı keşkek, a dish of the wedding table

Keşkek is cooked in many parts of Anatolia, but the Sakarya version stands apart because of its darti. Adapazarı Dartılı Keşkek also received an indication of source in 2013, under number 168. The registration document defines it as a dish cooked on special days such as weddings, circumcision feasts and holidays and served to guests. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism likewise stresses that keşkek demands skill, that not everyone can make it, and that it is cooked for honoured guests.

Darti is a fat obtained from the milk itself. The milk is left to stand for a few hours before boiling, the fatty layer that gathers on top is skimmed off into a pot, and it is boiled over a gentle fire until it turns red. When small pores appear on the surface it is taken off the heat and left to set, with the fat on top and the sediment below. For the keşkek, wheat whose husk has been pounded off is soaked the night before. The next day a whole chicken is boiled, the wheat is cooked in the chicken broth, the shredded chicken meat is added, and the mixture is mashed with a wooden spoon until the two blend together. Just before serving, darti warmed in butter with red and black pepper is poured over the keşkek.

A Caucasian legacy, Circassian chicken, Abaza cheese and acıka

Another face of the Sakarya table is the cuisine of communities who migrated from the Caucasus. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism lists Circassian chicken among the most important dishes these communities prepare on special days, for an honoured guest and at weddings. The chicken is boiled and pulled into threads, then covered with a thick sauce of walnuts, stale breadcrumbs, garlic and chicken broth, and finished with a drizzle of red pepper oil.

Sakarya Abhaz (Abaza) Peyniri received an indication of source in 2021 under number 746. The document describes it as a matured, fibrous cheese with qualities between kashar and string cheese, amber yellow in colour and usually braided. Thanks to its fibrous texture it stretches in hot water; GoTürkiye also notes that it is melted into local recipes resembling mıhlama. Sakarya Abaza Acıkası, meanwhile, is a sauce registered in 2024 under number 1544. Paste peppers are boiled, peeled and puréed, then rock salt, garlic, coriander seed, thyme and basil are added; ground walnuts go into the breakfast version. The document records that the peppers were traditionally crushed between two stones, the lower one called ahaka and the hand held one apıhnıga. This red spread, eaten on bread at breakfast, is the most familiar colour of the province's morning table.

Pumpkin, the dessert of Adapazarı

In GoTürkiye's words, the first thing that comes to mind in Sakarya when dessert is mentioned is the pumpkin. The raw material of the dessert is registered too. Adapazarı Beyaz Kestane Kabağı received a designation of origin in 2020 under number 501. According to the document this winter chestnut pumpkin grows on the farmland stretching along the Sakarya River; the plain at 30 to 60 metres above sea level, an average annual temperature of 14.4 degrees, 72 percent humidity and the morning dew shape the pumpkin's character.

Adapazarı Kabak Tatlısı received an indication of source on 3 May 2021 under number 747, and according to the document it is made only with this white chestnut pumpkin. Fully grown pumpkins weighing 13 to 15 kilograms are cut along their ribs, peeled and sliced into long pieces. One third of the sugar is sprinkled over the slices and the pumpkin rests for about a day. Water is then added and it is cooked, the remaining sugar is sprinkled at intervals, and cooking must not exceed half an hour, or the pumpkin falls apart. The document also notes that two or three cloves added during cooking improve the flavour and that the dessert may be briefly baked if desired. It is served topped with tahini, clotted cream or walnuts. GoTürkiye also mentions pumpkin kıvırma, in which grated pumpkin and walnuts are scattered between thinly rolled sheets of dough, rolled up on a rolling pin and covered with warm, thick syrup.

Üre dessert, uğut and köpük helvası

Some desserts stand in the pumpkin's shadow yet are just as particular to the region. Sakarya Üre Tatlısı was registered in 2023 under number 1472. This pudding is cooked from cow's milk, millet ground in a stone mill and sugar, then chilled, and beet molasses is poured over it just before serving. The document even explains its name: a small amount of millet swells a great deal once cooked, so the dessert is called üre, meaning the one that multiplies.

The dessert of Taraklı in the south demands a different kind of patience. Taraklı Uğut Tatlısı was registered in 2021 under number 809; sources also spell it uhut and uğud. Wheat is sprouted in a dark place and moistened every day, the sprouted wheat is pounded in a stone mortar, and its liquid is boiled with flour in cauldrons until it thickens. No sugar, additive or flavouring goes in; its sweetness comes from the sprouted grain, and it is jarred as a dark brown product with the consistency of marmalade. Sources disagree on how long the sprouting takes: the registration document gives an average of five to six days, while the recipe of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism says the whole process takes about fifteen days. The document stresses that uğut is made collectively at Hıdırellez festivities, weddings and holidays, and so stands for unity and solidarity. Another dessert from the same area is köpük helvası, whipped from soapwort root, eggs, sugar and glucose and eaten with tahini folded in.

Geyve quince and the walnut paste of Pamukova

When it comes to Sakarya's fruit, Geyve quince comes first. Geyve Ayvası received a designation of origin in 2020 under number 500. According to the document the quince grows on the plain in Geyve district that stretches east of the Sakarya River along a line of 20 kilometres as the crow flies, from Alifuatpaşa to Bayat. Alluvial soils irrigated entirely from the river and a microclimate created by winds blowing through the Geyve Gorge give the fruit its particular balance. The document writes that Geyve quince is known for not leaving a choking, astringent feeling thanks to its balance of sugar and acid, and that it is bright yellow, juicy and firm. Three varieties called Eşme, Ekmek and Limon grow locally, Eşme being the most common. The trees blossom at the end of March and the harvest runs from 1 October to 10 November.

Pamukova's sweet is built on walnuts too. Pamukova Ceviz Ezmesi was registered in 2021 under number 811. Equal amounts of semolina and coarsely chopped walnuts are added to a thick sugar syrup, cooked preferably in a copper cauldron and stirred with a wooden spoon, then pressed into a tray, cooled and cut into diamond shaped pieces. The register also includes products such as Sapanca walnuts, Pamukova melons, Taraklı artichokes, Kocaali dried hurma fruit and Karapürçek cennet hurması molasses; almost every district of the province brings something of its own to the table.

Setting the table by the season

Some of these flavours are found all year, while others wait for their season. Islama köfte and keşkek are cooked in every season, but pumpkin dessert and quince are at their best in autumn. Since the Geyve quince harvest begins in October, October and November are the best months to see the orchards between Geyve and Alifuatpaşa and to taste the fruit fresh from the branch. The cheese and acıka of the Caucasian kitchen are easiest to find at the breakfast table. Labour intensive desserts such as uğut and köpük helvası are made mostly on special days; on the way to Taraklı you can find them in jars or boxes. When buying a registered product, looking for the product name and the geographical indication emblem together is the surest sign that it was made according to the recipe. As prices and seasonal availability change often, we suggest checking the current announcements of local producer markets before you go.

Sources

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