Pastirma

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Pastirma, basturma, pastourma, bastirma, basterma (from Armenian: ???????) or past?rma (from Turkish: past?rma) is a highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef that is part of the cuisines of countries from the Balkans to the Levant.

Video Pastirma

History and etymology

During the Byzantine period, there was a salted meat product called apokt. In Caesarea (modern Kayseri), there was a Byzantine cured meat dish called pastón. These were eaten both raw and cooked in stews.

The Ottoman basturma may be a continuation of these traditions.

Armenians were known throughout the Levant as the most skilled makers of basturma. In Caesarea (Kayseri), the production of basturma was entirely run by Armenians. The Armenian family name of Basturmajian was held by families that processed the meat.

Accordingly it has been claimed that the word past?rma is also related to the earlier Byzantine Greek ?????? (pastón), but standard Greek dictionaries do not assert this connection and gloss pastón simply as "salted (meat)". The word has thereupon been borrowed into other languages of the region: Albanian: pastërma, Arabic: ??????? (bas?irma), Armenian: ????????? (basturma), Azerbaijani: bast?rma, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian pastrma, Bulgarian: ???????? (past?rma), Greek: ?????????? (pastourmás), Hebrew: ??????? (pastrama) and Romanian: pastrám?. The American cured meat product pastrami has its origins in pastirma via Yiddish: ????????? pastrama.

Maps Pastirma

Preparation and usage

Pastirma is prepared by salting the meat, then washing it with water and letting it dry for ten to 15 days. After that the blood and salt is squeezed out of the meat which is then covered with a cumin paste called çemen (lit. "fenugreek") prepared with crushed cumin, fenugreek, garlic, and hot paprika, followed by thorough air-drying. Even though beef is the most common meat today, various meats are also used depending on locality, including camel, lamb, goat, and water buffalo.

In Turkey, where it is eaten as a breakfast with eggs and as a meze with rak?, there are more than 22 kinds of pastirma. The version from Central Anatolia, often called Kayseri past?rmas?, is the one most common. The less-common Rumeli past?rmas? "Balkan past?rma", is simply salted and dried. Also popular in Turkey is bast?rmal? kurufasulye--a tomato based stew made with white beans and pastirma.

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See also

• Biltong
• Bresaola
• Cecina
• Jerky
• List of dried foods
• Pastrami
• Armenian cuisine
• Turkish cuisine

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References

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Bibliography

• Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1999. ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
• Maria Kaneva-Johnson, The Melting Pot. Balkan Food and Cookery, Prospect Books, 1995. ISBN 0-907325-57-2.

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External links

• Media related to Pastirma at Wikimedia Commons

Source of article : Wikipedia