Tavuk gögsü
Encyclopedia
Tavuk göğsü is a Turkish
dessert
pudding
made with chicken
and milk
. It became one of the most famous delicacies served to the sultan
s in the Ottoman
Topkapı Palace
. It is today considered a 'signature' dish of Turkey.
In the traditional version white chicken breast meat, preferably freshly slaughtered capon
,The flavour of meat becomes stronger with keeping due to enzymatic and bacterial changes. This is considered undesirable in a dessert. is softened by boiling and separated the meat fibers into very fine threads or rillettes
. Modern recipes often pound the meat into a fine powder instead. The meat is mixed with milk, sugar
, cracked rice
and/or other thickeners, and often some sort flavoring such as cinnamon
. The result is a thick pudding often shaped for presentation.
The dish is more or less identical to the medieval
"white dish", blanc manger that was common in the upper-class cuisine of Europe. This was the ancestor of the modern blancmange
, though the modern dish is quite different. Some have suggested that blanc manger and tavuk göğsü are, in fact, variants of the same dish.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
pudding
Pudding
Pudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.In the United States, pudding characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.In the United Kingdom and...
made with chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
and milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
. It became one of the most famous delicacies served to the sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
s in the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Topkapı Palace
Topkapi Palace
The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
. It is today considered a 'signature' dish of Turkey.
In the traditional version white chicken breast meat, preferably freshly slaughtered capon
Capon
A capon is a rooster that has been castrated to improve the quality of its flesh for food.-History:The Romans are credited with inventing the capon. The Lex Faunia of 162 BC forbade fattening hens in order to conserve grain rations. In order to get around this the Romans castrated roosters, which...
,The flavour of meat becomes stronger with keeping due to enzymatic and bacterial changes. This is considered undesirable in a dessert. is softened by boiling and separated the meat fibers into very fine threads or rillettes
Rillettes
Rillettes is a preparation of meat similar to pâté. Originally made with pork, the meat is cubed or chopped, salted heavily and cooked slowly in fat until it is tender enough to be easily shredded, and then cooled with enough of the fat to form a paste...
. Modern recipes often pound the meat into a fine powder instead. The meat is mixed with milk, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, cracked rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and/or other thickeners, and often some sort flavoring such as cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
. The result is a thick pudding often shaped for presentation.
The dish is more or less identical to the medieval
Medieval cuisine
Medieval cuisine includes the foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages, a period roughly dating from the 5th to the 16th century...
"white dish", blanc manger that was common in the upper-class cuisine of Europe. This was the ancestor of the modern blancmange
Blancmange
Blancmange is a sweet dessert commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with gelatin, cornstarch or Irish moss, and often flavored with almonds. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white, blancmanges are frequently given a pink color as well...
, though the modern dish is quite different. Some have suggested that blanc manger and tavuk göğsü are, in fact, variants of the same dish.