Dear Pelin,
Gunnar Swanson's post points to an interesting aspect of your research that seems to be unclear — what you are calling "barbecue" may refer to any one of several styles of cooking meat. This may not be evident to North Americans, though Lucy Niemeyer's note demonstrates that this is clear to her.
What you are calling "barbecue" in Turkish cuisine would probably be called "grilled" or "roasted" in some places. The divergent and parallel thinking that pops up list discussions brought the word "churrasco" into play. While the churrasco tradition may be relevant to your study, it is not barbecue as North Americans use the term. Churrasco is grilled meat. A restaurant that serves churrasco is a "churrascaria," -- in English, this is a "steakhouse."
Some etymological research in the Oxford English Dictionary will shed light on the several terms that may apply in your research.
As Gunnar notes, barbecue may refer to any or all of three things in the Southern United States. What these are depends on the region or heritage of the speaker: the meat, the method of preparation, and the sauce.
The traditional roasted meats of the Middle East are roasted on a grill over an open fire or turned on a spit over an open fire. This is the way that the Passover lamb was prepared in the Biblical Exodus account: "That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs" (Ex. 12: 8-9; see also: Ex. 12: 1-23). The roasted lamb is a centrepiece of the Last Supper (Mark 14: 12-26; Luke 22: 7-20). Whatever you believe about the Bible, these passages reflect the culinary traditions of nomadic herding and pastoral herding peoples of the Middle East and the inhabitants of Hellenistic and Roman Palestine.
Traditional roasted or grilled meats have been prepared this way for several thousand years in the Middle East. They are still prepared this way on festive occasions. I gather from press coverage that Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz served a whole roast baby camel to the Prince of Wales during a recent banquet, along with sheep and lambs roasted whole.
On the more humble side of things, this tradition of grilling or roasting is also visible in cuisines that feature such dishes as souvlaki or kebabs.
As I understand it, what you are calling barbecue among Turkish migrants refers to meat that is grilled over an open flame or else roasted on a spit.
The issue for your research involves several questions. The first is to sort out the exact English word you mean for the way that Turkish migrants prepare the food. This is probably grilling or roasting. To examine the research methods used in understanding food traditions, you might look into anthropology, applied anthropology, culinary anthropology, or sociology. Reviewing the literature or speaking with researchers from these fields will allow you to compare research methods and food practices — and it will help you to locate the literature you seek. To learn about past traditions and how they influence the present, speak with historians who specialise in Turkish and Middle Eastern food, hospitality, and entertainment.
To learn more about the food itself, I'd visit a few high-end restaurants to speak with chefs, and a few street-side restaurants to learn what the cooks know. You'll be able to do your restaurant inquiries in Delft, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. And you'll find the researchers who can help you at universities in these cities.
This is a manageable amount of work for a master's thesis. It should take less than two weeks altogether. I'd suggest allowing a day or two to set up appointments, four or five days for interviews and visits in the three cities, and a week of desk research and library research.
If you decide against a deeper inquiry into history, food preparation, or comparative contemporary traditions, it will take even less time.
The one thing you must do will be to understand the actual interactions that take place. For this, meeting with a few specialists from the social sciences will be vital — followed by some actual experience watching Turkish migrants interact. If you can get yourself invited to dinner, so much the better.
You'll need to establish one crucial limit. The group of Turkish migrants about whose rituals you learn and whose interactions you describe will share some common behaviours and attributes with Turkish migrants everywhere because they come from Turkey. Even so, there may be differences. Customs and interactions may differ based on the region of Turkey from which immigrants originally come and the nation where they now live may account for more differences. A Turkish family from Izmir living in Amsterdam may have very different customs than a Turkish family from Ankara that moves to Melbourne. For that matter, there may be differences even among different migrant groups to Amsterdam. I can't say that this is the case — it's a possibility, though, and we do research to find out what is so.
Best regards,
Ken
Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished Professor | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | University email [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> | Private email [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> | Mobile +61 404 830 462 | Academia Page http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman
Guest Professor | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| Adjunct Professor | School of Creative Arts | James Cook University | Townsville, Australia
Cansu Pelin İsbilen:
--snip--
My subject is Interactions in Eating Rituals of Turkish (Migrant) Culture: the Barbecue and the Dinner.
I would explain more detailed for whom is interested to know but, to summarize, it will be a cultural study about comparison of dinner and barbecue rituals through Turkish migrants.
I desperately need help for literature especially on Barbecue. I would appreciate if you could suggest me any related information to my research.
--snip--
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