Cultures of Tarhana: A Tale of Humans and Microbes

In “Cultures of Tarhana,” Sevgi Mutlu Sirakova explores the long-practiced culinary traditions of tarhana in the Middle East and the Balkans. Although it is often dubbed “poor man’s soup,” tarhana is much more than just a soup. It is a fermented staple that has preserved and transmitted distinct flavors, culinary skills, and cultural heritages across generations. The fermentation practices required to make it weave invisible threads of microbial, traditional, and imaginative cultures together. The “cultures” of tarhana therefore encompass not only the live fermentation starters in which microbes play a special role, but also the rich traditions and practices surrounding this staple.