Ancient Grains
Einkorn wheat, Tosya rice and kavılca — still cultivated after 10,000 years.
The Story of a Cuisine
Kastamonu cuisine fuses the humid Black Sea forests, the grain abundance of inner Anatolia, and traces of Seljuk–Ottoman palace cooking. Locals master drying, salting and fermentation to prepare for long harsh winters — tarhana, pickles, tomato paste, fruit leather, dried vegetables and kavurma fill every pantry.
Around Daday, Devrekani and Taşköprü — where livestock farming dominates — the variety of dairy (yoghurt, butter, cheese) is remarkable. Tosya produces Türkiye's finest rice; İhsangazi cultivates ancient einkorn wheat that is disappearing globally; Pınarbaşı–Azdavay bring forest mushrooms and chestnuts to the table. This richness has positioned Kastamonu as a candidate for UNESCO's Creative Cities Network in gastronomy.
Four Defining Features
Organic & Local
Around Küre Mountains National Park, chemical-free production prevails.
Traditional Techniques
Iron griddle, stone oven, earth pit and copper cauldron are still in daily use.
13 GI Products
One of Türkiye's top provinces by number of registered GI food products.
Geographical Indication Products
Officially registered by the Turkish Patent Office — produced only in Kastamonu with traditional methods.
Taşköprü Garlic
Reg. 2002Tosya Rice
Reg. 2007İhsangazi Einkorn Bulgur
Reg. 2017Kastamonu Pulled Halva
Reg. 2018Kastamonu Pastırma
Reg. 2019Daday Banduma
Reg. 2020Devrekani Banduma
Reg. 2021Local Dishes
Dishes that have graced Kastamonu tables for centuries, each with its own story.
Main Course
Banduma — Layered Bread with Chicken
A wedding-table classic. Thin yufka sheets are dipped in chicken broth, layered with shredded chicken, and finished with sizzling butter. Served with ayran and pickles.
Ingredients
Yufka (thin bread)
Chicken
Butter
Chicken broth
Salt
Main Course
Tirit
A Central-Asian-rooted dish where stale flatbread is softened in meat broth, topped with cubed meat, garlic yoghurt and sizzling butter. A staple at Kastamonu weddings and memorials.
Ingredients
Stale flatbread
Cubed beef
Yoghurt
Garlic
Butter
Main Course
Ekşili Pilav — Sour Rice with Lamb
A Kastamonu-specific lamb pilaf finished with a tangy sumac-infused broth poured over the rice at serving. The sour note sets it apart from other Anatolian pilafs.
Ingredients
Baldo rice
Lamb
Sumac
Chickpeas
Butter
Bread & Dough
Cırık — Cornmeal Pan Bread
A traditional cornmeal bread cooked on a flat iron griddle (sac). Eaten at breakfast with butter, honey or fresh white cheese. Common in Tosya, Daday and Azdavay villages.
Ingredients
Cornmeal
Water
Salt
Butter
Dessert
Simit Tatlısı — Bread-Ring Dessert
A Kastamonu-style dessert made by breaking sesame simit rings into chunks and simmering them in milk, sugar and butter. Served with walnuts — a tasty way to use up day-old bread.
Ingredients
Sesame simit
Milk
Sugar
Butter
Walnuts
Dessert
Çekme Helva — Pulled Halva
A Geographical Indication product of Kastamonu. Sugar and glucose syrup are repeatedly pulled by hand into fine threads, producing a snow-white, fibrous halva that melts on the tongue. Variants include walnut, hazelnut and tahini. The city is home to century-old halva shops.
Ingredients
Sugar
Glucose
Lemon
Walnut / Tahini (optional)
Charcuterie
Pastırma — Air-Dried Cured Beef
Kastamonu pastırma is a Geographical Indication product. Beef is air-dried in cool mountain air and coated with çemen paste (garlic, fenugreek, red pepper, water). Distinguished from Kayseri pastırma by its thinner slices and lighter çemen layer.
Ingredients
Beef
Fenugreek
Garlic
Red pepper
Salt
Main Course
Siyez Pilaf — Einkorn Wheat
Siyez (einkorn) is one of the world's oldest wheat species, cultivated for 10,000 years and still grown in İhsangazi. Its bulgur has a deeper flavour than regular bulgur, is gluten-low and low-GI. Cooked as a pilaf with butter and tomato; celebrated each September at the Siyez Festival.
Ingredients
Einkorn bulgur
Butter
Tomato
Onion
Meat broth
Main Course
Kuyu Kebabı — Pit-Roast Lamb
A whole or half lamb is slow-roasted for 4–6 hours over oak embers in a stone-lined pit, becoming fork-tender. Traditionally prepared for celebrations around Tosya and Taşköprü.
Ingredients
Lamb
Salt
Black pepper
Oak embers
Local Product
Taşköprü Garlic Specialties
Taşköprü white garlic holds an EU Protected Geographical Indication. Known for its high allicin content and long shelf life. Used locally in garlic pickles, garlic paste, garlic butter and yoghurt-garlic mezes.
Ingredients
Taşköprü garlic
Dessert / Main
Chestnut Sweets & Dishes
Chestnuts gathered from the Küre Mountains forests become candied chestnuts (marron glacé), chestnut syrup, chestnut pilaf and chestnut-stuffed chicken. The star of Kastamonu's autumn cuisine.
Ingredients
Chestnuts
Sugar
Vanilla
Pasta
Kastamonu Mantı
Larger than Kayseri mantı, sometimes filled with spinach or cheese instead of mince. Served with garlic yoghurt, sizzling butter and dried mint.
Ingredients
Flour
Egg
Mince / Cheese / Spinach
Yoghurt
Butter
Mint
Food Festivals
Annual celebrations where you can meet the producers behind these flavours.
Einkorn (Siyez) Festival
İhsangazi · September
Harvest of 10,000-year-old einkorn wheat, farm-to-table workshops and bread-baking contests.
Taşköprü Garlic Festival
Taşköprü · August / September
Harvest of the EU-registered white garlic; garlic dishes, music and best-producer contests.
Tosya Rice Festival
Tosya · October
Harvest celebration of Tosya rice — widely regarded as Türkiye's finest.
Küre Chestnut Festival
Küre · November
Chestnut harvest in the Küre Mountains forests — street-roasted chestnuts and chestnut desserts.
Where to Taste
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Münire Sultan Madrasa & Historic Bazaar
Century-old halva shops, coppersmiths and local-product cooperatives in the historic city-centre bazaar.
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Village Guesthouses
Eco-tourism guesthouses in Pınarbaşı, Azdavay and Daday — homemade breakfast, tarhana soup, fresh butter and griddle bread.
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Women's Cooperatives
Cooperatives in Bozkurt, Çatalzeytin and Devrekani — hand-cut noodles, tarhana, jams, pickles, fruit leather and einkorn bulgur.
Discover cooperatives -
Traditional Restaurants
Restaurants signposted "etli ekmek evi" in the city centre serve the most authentic banduma and ekşili pilav.
"Kastamonu cuisine is a story slow-ripened by nature. Every bite carries a mountain, a forest, a plain."