# Pastirma

Pastirma or Pasterma, also called pastarma, pastırma, pastrma, pastourma, basdirma, basterma, basturma, or aboukh is a highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef that is found in the cuisines of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, Egypt, Kurdish region, Greece, Cyprus, Iraq, the Levant, North Macedonia, Turkey and Georgia.

## Etymology and history

Basturma existed in ancient Armenian cuisine, where it was known as aboukh' (Armenian: աբուխ). The word abookhd (Classical Armenian apukht) was already used in the Armenian translation of the Bible, in the fifth century AD, meaning “salted and dried meat”. According to T. Durham, basturma is of Armenian origin and is still prepared in the Middle East according to old family recipes.
Pastırma is mentioned in Mahmud of Kashgar's Diwan Lughat al-Turk and Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname. According to Turkish scholar Biron Kiliç, the term is derived from the Turkic noun bastırma, which means "pressing". The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink writes that pastırma is the word the Ottomans used for a type of Byzantine cured beef that was called paston (παστόν). According to Johannes Koder, an expert in Byzantine studies, paston could mean either salted meat or salted fish, while akropaston (ἀκρόπαστον) means salted meat. Andrew Dalby gives the definition of paston as "salted fish" and akropaston apakin as "well-salted fillet steak". Gregory Nagy gives the definition of akropaston as "smoked", describing apakin as "a kind of salami sausage, probably similar to pastourma". The Oxford Companion for Food says that a Byzantine dried meat delicacy was "a forerunner of the pastirma of modern Turkey".
The English word pastrami came by way of Yiddish and perhaps combined with the word salami.

## Preparation and usage

Pastirma is usually made from water buffalo or beef, but other meats can also be used. In Egypt, it is known as Basterma and is made not only with beef, but with the meat of water buffaloes as well. Some pastirmas are made with horsemeat. Different cuts of meat may be used; a single cow can produce 26 different "types" of pastirma. Fillet, shank, leg and shoulder cuts are used for the best quality pastirmas. It is usually made during the months of October and November.
To make pastirma, the meat is rinsed and salted before being dried and pressed. After the first drying period, the meat is cold pressed for up to 16 hours. This aids the process of removing moisture from the meat. After the first pressing, the meat is dried for several days, during which the fats melt and form a white layer. The second press is a "hot press". Finally, the dried and pressed meat is covered with a spice paste called cemen. Cemen is made from a paste consisting of caraway, paprika, blue fenugreek, fenugreek, black pepper, allspice, cumin, cayenne, salt and mashed garlic. The dried product is covered with the wet paste and left to dry again. The entire process takes approximately one full month. Pastirma is classified as an "intermediate moisture food". Lowering the moisture level is a form of food preservation that hinders the growth of microorganisms, and the cemen paste "is used to control surface mold growth during storage". Other functions of the cemen include improved flavor, characteristic red coloring, prevention of further drying, and antimicrobial effects.

## Cuisines

Today, pastirma is present in the cuisines of Armenia, Egypt, Turkey, Bulgaria and the Levant.

### Armenia

The cured meat, which resembles Italian bresaola, is called basturma (բաստուրմա) or aboukht (ապուխտ) by Armenians. Some Armenian pizzerias in cities like Yerevan, Boston and Los Angeles serve basturma topped pizza. Armenian restaurants also serve basturma topped burgers, basturma can be added to salads, and basturma with omelette is also a common breakfast item in Armenia. Basturma, or a basturma omelette can also be wrapped inside a lavash, alongside other ingredients like coriander, chechil cheese, and garlic matzoon.
According to Nigol Bezjian, Armenians who survived the 1915 genocide brought basturma with them to the Middle East. Bezjian recalls that his grandmother used to prepare "basturma omelets fried in olive oil with pieces of lavash bread". He notes that Armenians from Kayseri were particularly renowned basturma producers.
Arabs mocked Armenians with phrases like "It smells like there is basturma here", referring to the strong smell of basturma that is produced by the garlic and fenugreek mixture that the meat is coated in during preservation. Shoushou, a well-known Lebanese comedian of the 1960s–1970s, portrayed a caricature of an Armenian basturma seller; he retired the character after local Lebanese Armenians complained.
In Palestine, Armenian families gather on New Year's Eve and eat traditional foods including basturma, çiğ köfte and a traditional Anatolian confection called kaghtsr sujukh (քաղցր սուջուխ).

### Bulgaria

Pastarma (as it is called in Bulgaria) arrived in Bulgaria in the 7th century. Specific products include Пастърма говежда / Pastarma Govezhda, which was registered as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed in the EU in 2017.

### Egypt

In Egypt bastirma (بسطرمة) is customarily made from lean cuts of beef or water buffalo, such as the eye of round or tenderloin. These cuts are first cured with salt to extract excess moisture. Following the curing process, the meat is enveloped in a wet paste made with a blend of spices, including fenugreek, paprika, cumin, black pepper, and garlic, which creates a flavorful crust. The meat is then left to air-dry until it reaches a firm texture, a duration that varies with its size, and is ultimately served in thin slices. It is often eaten with eggs for breakfast or as a topping in other dishes, like savory versions of feteer meshaltet.

### Turkey

In Turkish cuisine pastırma can be eaten as a breakfast dish, and it is a common ingredient in omelettes, menemen (Turkish-style shakshouka) or a variation of eggs benedict.
Pastırma can be used as a topping for hummus, pide bread, hamburgers, and toasted sandwiches with either cheddar cheese or kasar cheese. It can be as a filling for a börek that is made with kadayıf instead of the traditional filo dough. It may be combined with potato to make a filling for traditional böreks as well.
It is also a common addition to many of the traditional vegetable dishes, especially the tomato and white bean stew called kuru fasulye, but also cabbage (pastırmalı lahana), chickpeas (pastırmalı nohut), asparagus (pastırmalı kuşkonmaz) and spinach (pastırmalı ıspanak). It can also be used to make cheesy pull-apart bread.

## Production

Turkey produces around 2041 tons of pastirma each year. The pastirma from Kayseri is particularly well known. In their 1893 report the British Foreign Office note that Kayseri, which they call Cesarea, "is specially renowned for the preparation of basturma (pemmican)".