Global Ecovillage Network/Solution Library/Kashkek

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Nutrition in the winter season. Ceremonial cooking uniting the community.

Kashkek is a ceremonial mutton/chicken and wheat/barley stew found in Turkish, Iranian, and Greek cuisines. It is documented in Iran and Greater Syria as early as the 15th century, and it is still consumed by many people around these regions. In both Turkey and Iran, it is a common dish and is frequently consumed during religious festivals, weddings, or funerals.

As a collaborative social practice, preparing and cooking kashkek requires a team effort. Before the cooking process, wheat is threshed jointly with a common rhythm in a special large stone mortar called 'dibek'. It is soaked overnight in water, then boiled in large vessels. Together with the boiled mutton or chicken, it is smashed with thick sticks until it reaches a specific stiffness that determines its degree of taste. Then it is served with fried butter and tomato paste.

Kashkek, whether a product of milk (Iran), cereals (mainly barley), or both (Middle East, Turkey, Egypt), is, in most cases, a popular preserved food for winter use among many agropastoral societies in these regions. It is also much valued by city dwellers, who regard it as a strong condiment that “is hot, good in winter” for use as a thickening agent. The 'ceremonial keşkek tradition' was listed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2011.

• Health & Healing.

• Seeds, Food & Soil.

• http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kask