Every culture has its own unique elements that make it different from others. Speaking about the Crimean Tatar culture, it is important to note the dishes that the Crimean Tatar housewives used in everyday life.
Each nation has its own characteristics and traditions, connection with food, many perceive eating as a special ritual, for which, of course, appliances should be selected very carefully.
Crimean Tatars used utensils in everyday life, which were made from wood, clay, pumpkin – the fashion depended on the region, but copper was the most popular. If the hostesses could boast of embroidery, then the owners of how they coped with this material.
The Crimean Tatars preferred mainly copper utensils in everyday life, since during cooking they improve the taste of dishes due to saturation with copper particles. In addition, copper utensils also have bactericidal properties that can kill certain types of pathogenic bacteria. This cookware is durable in use, provided it is properly cared for.
As a rule, only a skilled craftsman is able to forge good dishes from copper that could serve more than one generation of housewives for a long time, a skilled creator also decorated it with a unique, beautiful Crimean Tatar ornament. It is often said that by the shape, quality of the material and decorations, you can find out how people live in a particular house.
Each kitchen utensil made of copper had names close to its own function: a pot for making shorba soup was called shorba-tas, a bowl for pilaf was called pilava-tava, and for chebureks – saan. You can not even mention the cezve, which is used for making coffee or even for collecting – not a single Crimean Tatar house can do without them. After all, coffee brewed in a copper cezve has a special aroma.
Also made of copper were kirgach – a scraper for cleaning the trough, cheyun – a pan for milk, and large trays, which were called sini, on which coffee and various sweets were served (fruits, nuts, raisins and everything else) .
Working with metal is hard work, which is very much connected with the history of the Crimean Tatars and is a real art. Many technologies for making such dishes were lost due to deportation and the modern continuation of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar culture, but in spite of everything, the Crimean Tatar masters and craftswomen continue to restore the unique craft.
Photo: Ali Umerov, Mamut Churlu, Refat Kurtveliiev and Rustem Dervish.