Use of Olive Oil in Turkish Cuisine Culture: The Case of Muğla

Abstract

Olive oil is one of the main oils used by cultures that have lived in Anatolia since ancient times. Olive oil forms the basis of Turkish culinary culture in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions. Scientific researches made in recent years show that especially olive oil has positive effects on health. The number of studies conducted for the use of olive oil in culinary culture in our country is
rather limited. The aim of this research is to investigate the factors affecting the use of olive oil in the kitchens by determining how olive oil is used in today's culinary culture. The research is an area study with 416 people in the province of Muğla in 2014. Survey data were collected using a questionnaire. Chi-square test, t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in the evaluation of data; Scheffe test was used to determine the difference. Monthly total household consumption of olive oil is 4.70 (± 2.91) liters. Only olive oil usage is high in summer and cold edible vegetable dishes (95.4%, 92.5%). Olive oil is also used extensively in hot edible vegetables, fish and meat dishes. The dishes where olive oil is mixed with other oils are pilafs, pastas and soups. Sweets, cookies and cakes are only made with other oils. There was a significant relationship between the use of olive oil and education status (p<0.001). It is thought that those with low educational level apply traditional cooking methods. According to the findings, consumption of olive oil increased as educational status and total monthly household income decreased (p<0.001). With the progress of age, consumption of olive oil has increased. It will be useful to conduct training studies on the effects of olive oil on health.