Bilgin, Arif – Uybadın, Aynülhayat – Yüzüncüyıl, Kübra Sultan. Cultural History of Muhallebicis in İstanbul. Istanbul: Istanbul University Press, 2026, 113 Pages, EISBN: 9786050718706.

This book examines Istanbul’s muhallebicis as culinary and social spaces embedded in the rhythms of everyday urban life from the Ottoman period to the present. Drawing on archival sources, literary works and ethnographic fieldwork, it traces cultural transformation through the changing relationships between milk provisioning, ingredients, craftsmanship and consumption. Following the connections from water buffalo husbandry to a spoonful of muhallebi, it explores how urbanization, ecological loss and industrial food production have reshaped supply networks, sensory experiences and the social functions of these establishments. Refik Halid Karay’s recollection of muhallebicis scented with cinnamon, rosewater and burnt milk frames its central inquiry: how and why did this sensory world change, and what has taken its place? Through these transformations, the book offers a perspective on Istanbul’s changing food culture, urban life and collective memory.