Meze
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A plate of Turkish meze.
A plate of Turkish meze.

Meze or mezze (Arabic, مَزة, Greek mezé (μεζέ), Turkish meze, ultimately from Persian maze (مزه) "taste, snack" [1][2]) in eastern Mediterranean is a selection of appetizers or small dishes taken with alcohol, arak or wine, similar to tapas of Spain or finger food. In other Levantine cuisines and in the Caucasus region (especially in Armenia and Georgia), these dishes form part of any large-scale meal.[3] When not accompanied by alcohol, meze are known in the Middle East as muqabbilat (Arabic: starters).

In Turkey and Northern Cyprus meze are served along with rakı in establishments called meyhane. Turkish meze often consist of beyaz peynir (literally "white cheese"), kavun (sliced ripe melon), acili ezme (hot pepper paste often with walnuts), haydari (thick strained yoghurt like the Middle Eastern labne), patlıcan salatası (cold aubergine salad), kalamar (calamari or squid), enginar (artichokes), cacık (yoghurt with cucumber and garlic), pilaki (various foods cooked in a special sauce), dolma or sarma (rice-stuffed vine leaves or other stuffed vegetables, such as sweet peppers), and köfte (meatballs).

In Greece, meze (also mezes or mezethes) are little dishes, hot or cold, spicy or savory, often salty, and often seafood dishes such as "little fish" or grilled octopus and small salads, and/or a small portion of a main dish, kalamata olives, fava, fried vegetables, melitzanosalata, taramosalata, various Greek cheeses such as Feta, kasseri, kefalotyri, graviera, anthotyros, manouri, metsovone and mizithra, saganaki, and small dishes of bekri meze, keftedes, soutzoukakia smyrneika, nuts and dried fruit in a restaurant called mezedopoulion and designed to complement a beverage in similar establishments known as tsipouradiko or ouzeri (café-like establishments that serve tsipouro or ouzo, respectively). Likewise a Taverna or Estiatorio can offer a meze as an orektiko (appetiser). Hosts commonly serve mezethes to entertain their guests at small get-togethers. Krasomezethes (literally "winemeze") are meze that pair well with wine. Ouzomezethes are meze that pair well with ouzo.

In Lebanon and Cyprus, meze is often a meal in its own right. The only choice is whether they are vegetarian, meat or fish meze. Groups of dishes arrive at the table about 4 or 5 at a time and usually between five and ten different groups. There is a set pattern to the dishes, typically olives, tahini, salad and yoghurt will be followed by dishes with vegetables and eggs, then small meat or fish dishes alongside special accompaniments, and finally more substantial dishes such as whole fish or meat stews and grills. Different establishments will offer different dishes, their own specialities, but the pattern remains the same. Naturally the dishes offered reflect the seasons, for example in late autumn, snails will feature in a meat meze. As so much food is offered, it is not expected that every dish should be licked clean. People eat it communally, serve each other etc, eating a cypriot meze is a social event.

Simple Greek meze: Cheese and olives. (Feta drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with oregano, served with kalamata olives and bread)
Simple Greek meze: Cheese and olives. (Feta drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with oregano, served with kalamata olives and bread)

In Serbia, meze can include cheese, kajmak, salami, (smoked) ham, kulen, various brad types and similar food, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina, meze normally includes hard and creamy cheeses, smetana (locally known as kajmak or pavlaka), suho meso (similar to bresaola, but smoked), pickles, sudžuk and other similar food.

Albanian-style meze platters typically include prosciutto, salami and brined cheese, accompanied with roasted capsicums and/or green olives marinated in olive oil with garlic.

Popular meze dishes in Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria include:

Popular mezes in Bulgaria:

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

References

  1. ^ Merriam-Webster Online - definition of meze
  2. ^ Encarta Dictionary Online - definition of meze
  3. ^ Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food, Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 500-501.
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Meze in Turkish cuisine
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