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Tzatziki

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"Tarator" redirects here. For tahini- or nut-based sauce, see Tarator (sauce).

Tzatziki
Alternative namesCacık, tarator
TypeDip or soup
CourseAppetiser, side dish, meze
Place of originCentral Asia
Created byTurkic people
Serving temperatureCold
Main ingredientsStrained yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, sometimes lemon juice, dill, mint, parsley, thyme
VariationsWith strained or diluted yogurt and other herbs and vegetables
  • Wikibooks logo Cookbook: Tzatziki
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Tzatziki

Tzatziki (Greek: τζατζίκι [d͡zaˈd͡zici]), also known as cacık (Turkish: [dʒaˈdʒɯk]) or tarator, is a class of dip, soup, or sauce found in the cuisines of Southeastern Europe and West Asia. It is made of salted strained yogurt or diluted yogurt[1] mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sometimes with lemon juice, and herbs such as dill, mint, parsley and thyme.[2][3] It is served as a cold appetiser (meze), a side dish, and as a sauce for souvlaki and gyros sandwiches and other foods.[4][5]

Etymology

The word tzatziki appeared in English around the mid-20th century as a loanword from Modern Greek (τζατζίκι), which in turn comes from the Turkish word cacık.[6][7] The root is likely related to several words in West Asian languages. Persian zhazh (ژاژ) refers to various herbs used for cooking, and Kurdish jaj or ژاژ refers to the caraway herb.[8][a] That word is combined with the Turkish diminutive suffix -cık to yield cacık. The Armenian word cacıg is also related to this term[12] and may itself derive from Turkish or Kurdish.[8][13]

Evliya Çelebi's 1665 travelogue, the Seyahatnâme, defined cacıχ (cacıg) as a kind of herb that is added to food.[8] The modern term cacık (جاجیك) was mentioned in print for the first time in 1844 in Hoca Kâmil Pasha's Melceü't-Tabbâhîn (The Sanctuary of Cooks), the first Ottoman cookbook, in which the basic description is given as "yogurt with cucumber and garlic" (hıyar ve sarmısaklı yoğurt).[8]

The form tarator, found in languages from the Balkans to the Levant with derivative forms now found in a range of countries.[14][15][16]

According to Sevan Nişanyan, the name tarator (sauce) comes into Turkish directly from the Venetian word "trattor". In Venetian, this word means "cook". It has acquired the meaning of a type of sauce in Turkish. It has likely been borrowed from Turkish into other languages. The first use of this word in the sense of sauce was in Seyahatnâme.[17]

History

Tzatziki and similar yogurt-based dishes trace their origins to the Central Asian yogurt culture, which spread to Anatolia, the Balkans, and the Middle East through Turkic migrations. Medieval Turks introduced yogurt-based cold soups and sauces to Anatolia.[18]

Abbasid author Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq provided 3 recipes for jājaq (Arabic: جاجق, pl. جواجيق), which were yogurt salads, in his 10th century Arabic-language cookbook, according to food historian Nawal Nasrallah, these are an ancestor of modern cucumber-salad jajik, she dates this as the earliest known recipe.[19] Later mentions of it can be found in Egyptian cookbooks from the 14th and 15th centuries.[19][20]

During the Ottoman Empire, yogurt and garlic condiments became a part of the meze tradition. One notable example was tarator, prepared with yogurt, cucumber, garlic, or sometimes walnuts. Seyahatnâme describes dishes made with yogurt and garlic, demonstrating their established place in Ottoman cuisine.[21]

In the Balkans and the Levant, variations of tarator developed with different bases: in the Levant it is usually made with tahini, while in the Balkans it may include yogurt and walnuts. In Anatolia, however, the version made with yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and sometimes walnuts became known as cacık.[22]

Today, cacık is widely consumed in Turkey as a refreshing dish, especially in summer, while related versions continue to exist in Balkan and Levantine cuisines.[23]

Variations

Turkey

Turkish cacık seasoned with Aleppo pepper and mint

Turkish cacık is made by combining water and yogurt together with garlic and different combinations of vegetables and herbs. Labne may be substituted for some of the yogurt.[24][25]

Turkish cacık also has many variations; different recipes use wheat berries, carrots, scallions, mint, radish, red pepper, parsley, dill, basil, chondrilla juncea, vinegar, walnuts, hazelnuts and unripe almonds.[26][27][28][29][25][30][31][32][24][33][34]

For cacıklı arap köftesi, kofta made from a mix of bulgur and ground meat is served over cacık. In this case the cacık is made with chard rather than the usual cucumber (spinach or parsley may be substituted for the chard. Some recipes use purslane).[35][36] Bulgurlu madımak cacığı is made with cracked wheat, cucumber and a type of knotweed called madımak.[37]

Balkans

Bulgarian tarator served as soup

Tarator is found in many Balkan countries, often served as a soup or liquid salad, especially in summer.[38][39] It is typically made with yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, oil, and salt, and commonly includes dill and walnuts; water may be added to thin it, and the dish is served chilled.[39][40] In Bulgaria, tarator is a traditional cold soup and a popular summer dish.[39][40] A thicker related preparation is Snezhanka, which is made with strained yogurt mixed with cucumber, garlic, dill, and oil, with walnuts sometimes added.[41][42]

In Albania, tarator is likewise eaten as a cold summer dish made from yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and herbs, often with olive oil; the consistency may range from soup-like to dip-like depending on the yogurt used and the amount of added water.[43][44]

Greece

Tzatziki with olives and a spearmint garnish, served as meze

Greek-style tzatziki sauce is commonly served as a meze, to be eaten with pita bread, olives, fried eggplant, zucchini, or other vegetables.[45] It is also used for dishes like gyros, or souvlaki and most other greek dishes.[46]

Regular tzatziki is made of strained yogurt (usually from sheep or goat milk) mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, vinegar, dill, mint, and parsley.[2]

A variation made with purslane (glistrida in Greek) may be called glistrida me yiaourti, meaning 'purslane and yogurt salad', rather than tzatziki. One simple recipe calls for purslane, olive oil, red wine vinegar and dill.[47] There also is a version where walnut oil, crushed nuts (like walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds) and red peppers are added to the standard yoghurt base.[48]

Cyprus

In Cyprus, the dish is known as ταλαττούρι ("talattouri")[49] and is similar to the Greek recipe with a more characteristic flavour of mint and added acidity in the form of lemon juice.[50]

It is made from strained yogurt, sliced cucumbers, minced garlic cloves, lemon juice and sprinkled with dried mint, oregano or olive oil.[50]

Arab world

In Iraq, jajeek is often served as meze.[51] It may accompany alcoholic drinks, especially arak, an ouzo-like drink made from anise. In Iran, it is known as mast o khiar.[51]

In some parts of the Arab world, it is known as سَلَطَة خِيار باللَّبَن, salaṭat ḵiyār bi-l-laban, made from yogurt and cucumbers.[51][52]

Similar dishes

A similar dish in the Caucasus mountains, called ovdukh, uses kefir instead of the yogurt. This can be poured over a mixture of vegetables, eggs and ham to create a variation of okroshka, sometimes referred to as a "Caucasus okroshka".

Mizeria is a Polish dish of sliced cucumbers mixed with sour cream or another fermented milk product, often herbs (such as dill or chives) and seasonings, which is commonly served as a savoury or sweet side salad with typical dinner dishes.

In South Asia, a similar dish is made with yogurt, cucumber, salt and ground cumin (sometimes also including onions) called "raita".

In Iran, ash-e doogh is another type of yogurt soup; instead of cucumbers it contains a variety of herbs such as basil, leek, mint, black pepper and raisins. In this style, sometimes dried bread chips, chopped nuts or raisins are put in the dish just before serving.

Notes

  1. ^ Persian zhazh (ژاژ) is the earlier attested form because Dehkhoda explicitly traces it to Asadi Tusi's Loġat-e fors and Asadī was an 11th-century lexicographer, whereas Kurmanji Kurdish jaj is documented in modern dictionaries.[9][10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Türk Dıl Kurumu". tdk.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b Kochilas, Diane (24 December 2018). My Greek Table: Authentic Flavors and Modern Home Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-250-16637-1.
  3. ^ Grigson, Jane; Yvonne Skargon (2007). Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book. U of Nebraska P. pp. 239–40. ISBN 978-0-8032-5994-2. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  4. ^ Hoffman, Susanna; Wise, Victoria (2004). The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking. Workman. pp. 466–467. ISBN 1563058480.
  5. ^ Kitchen, America's Test (2019). America's Test Kitchen Twentieth Anniversary TV Show Cookbook. America's Test Kitchen. p. 301. ISBN 978-1945256882.
  6. ^ Georgios Babiniotis, Babiniotis Dictionary
  7. ^ Triantafyllidis Dictionary, University of Thessaloniki
  8. ^ a b c d Nişanyan, Sevan. "cacik". Nişanyan - Türkçe Etimolojik Sözlük (in Turkish). Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  9. ^ "معنی ژاژ | لغت‌نامه دهخدا". Vajehyab. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  10. ^ "ASADĪ ṬŪSĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  11. ^ "jaj - Kurdish Kurmanji–Turkish Dictionary". Glosbe. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  12. ^ Razuvajeva, Olga (2009). "Slang in the Turkish Language as a Social, Linguistic, and Semiotic Phenomenon". University of Gaziantep Journal of Social Sciences. 8 (1): 299–316. ISSN 1303-0094. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Definition of Tzatziki". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  14. ^ Kerestedjian, Bedros. "Terator". In Haig, Kerest (ed.). Quelques matériaux pour un dictionnaire étymologique de la langue Turque. London: Luzac. p. 138.
  15. ^ Andriotis et al., Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, Λεξικό της κοινής Νεοελληνικής s.v. ταρατόρι
  16. ^ E. Saussey, Les mots turcs dans le dialect arabe de Damas, Mélanges de l'Institut français de Damas 1 (1929), p. 84, 127
  17. ^ [1] Nişanyan Dictionary "tarator"
  18. ^ Yerasimos, Marianna (2002). 500 Years of Ottoman Cuisine. Boyut Yayınları. p. 45. ISBN 978-975-23-0161-0. Yogurt-based cold dishes such as tzatziki were integral to Ottoman cuisine, reflecting earlier Central Asian traditions.
  19. ^ a b al-Warrāq, al-Muẓaffar Ibn Naṣr Ibn Sayyār (26 November 2007). Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens: Ibn Sayy?r Al-Warr?q's Tenth-Century Baghdadi Cookbook. Translated by Nawal Nasrallah. BRILL. pp. 199, 586. ISBN 978-90-04-15867-2. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  20. ^ Nasrallah, Nawal (27 November 2017). "17". Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook: English Translation, with an Introduction and Glossary. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-34991-9. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  21. ^ Çelebi, Evliya (1660). Seyahatname (in Turkish). Vol. 1 (Modern ed.). İkdam. p. 312. Mentions of yogurt-based sauces and dishes consumed with cucumber and garlic.
  22. ^ Marks, Gil (2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 1761. ISBN 9780544186316.
  23. ^ Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. p. 150. ISBN 9780199677337. Cacık in Turkey and tarator in the Balkans illustrate the regional diversity of yogurt-based cold dishes.
  24. ^ a b Migros Türkiye. Çağlalı Cacık Tarifi. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  25. ^ a b "Buzlu Cacık". Arda'nın Mutfağı. 10 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  26. ^ "Havuçlu Cacık". Sabah. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
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  30. ^ "Sirkeli Cacık". Sabah. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  31. ^ "Cevizli ve Fındıklı Cacık". Sabah. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  32. ^ "Buğday Cacığı". Sabah. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  33. ^ Şenkardeş, İsmail; Tuzlacı, Ertan (1 October 2015). "Wild Edible Plants of Southern Part of Nevşehir in Turkey". Marmara Pharmaceutical Journal. 20 (1): 34. doi:10.12991/mpj.20163435871. hdl:11424/5322. ISSN 1309-0801. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  34. ^ Emirdağ kültür araştırmaları sempozyumu. 1995. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  35. ^ "Cacıklı Arap Köfte". Sabah. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Cacıklı Arap Köftesi Tarifi, Nasıl Yapılır? - Sahrap Soysal". Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  37. ^ Soysal, Sahrap. "Bulgurlu Madımak cacığı". Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  38. ^ "Tarator". The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  39. ^ a b c "Tarator Traditional Bulgarian Cuisine" (PDF). Visit Bulgaria. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  40. ^ a b "Authentic Tarator Recipe". TasteAtlas. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  41. ^ "Snezhanka". Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt Club. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  42. ^ "Snezhanka salata". TasteAtlas. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  43. ^ "Tarator – An Albanian Cold Cucumber and Yogurt Soup". Mediterranean Latin Love Affair. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  44. ^ "Tarator – Yogurt and Cucumber Soup". Discovering Albania. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  45. ^ Fodor's Greek Islands, 2011, s.v. Skopelos
  46. ^ Schofield, Helen (26 July 2022). "What To Eat With Tzatziki". Scrummy Lane.
  47. ^ Kochilas, Diane (15 March 1999). The Greek Vegetarian: More Than 100 Recipes Inspired by the Traditional Dishes and Flavors of Greece. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-20076-3. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  48. ^ "Celery and Walnut (or Hazelnut) Tzatziki". NYT Cooking.
  49. ^ Hoffman, Susanna (2004). The olive and the caper: adventures in Greek cooking. Workman. pp. 149. ISBN 978-1-56305-848-6.
  50. ^ a b "Talatouri recipe (Cypriot tzatziki sauce with mint)". My Greek Dish. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  51. ^ a b c Marks, Gil (17 November 2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. HMH. ISBN 9780544186316.
  52. ^ عوض, سميرة (26 April 2022). "شيف اليوم علي أبو طير.. سفرة رمضانية فاخرة بنكهة فلسطينية" [Today's chef is Ali Abu Tayr... a luxurious Ramadan meal with a Palestinian flavor.]. Al-Jazeera (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
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