We're planning a tour of Turkey in October. My sister has a serious allergy to Cottonseed Oil (often used in cooking) and to Allspice. Can anyone tell me what the Turkish words are for these two items so when ordering food we can ask if they are in the food? Marilynh

I don't see Turkish listed, but maybe these folks can help you find what you need:

<b>http://www.selectwisely.com</b>

Turks use mainly Olive Oil for cooking and salad dressing etc. I have never seen Cottonseed Oil there. (there is no Turkish word for cottonseed oil) It is easier to ask if they use olive oil. (BU ZEYTINYAGI ILE MI YAPILDI) (has this been cooked with olive oil?)

Allspice again is not used in Turkey.
but is there one ingredient in it that causes the allegy?

Sinan

Cootonsead : cigit, circir yagi, pamuk tohumu yagi........in Turkish. As said above this is not used for cooking in Turkey, since we have a wide production of real good olive oil no need to have alternatives. Reataurants might use , soy oil, hazelnut oil, corn oil or sunflower oil for frying thats it. so no worries...
Bon a'petite ( afiyet olsun )

happy Travelling,

Murat

I thing allspice is a single spice (despite the name), like nutmeg, not a blend (like curry). The confusion probably arises because of the name and because you can substitute a blend of spices to get the flavour of allspice.

marilynh -

Just in case YOU missed the point, allow me to spell it out for you:

<b>In matters of life and death, it would be foolish in the extreme to rely on advice from random strangers on the internet.</b>

On the subject of food allergies, we are going to Turkey in 11 days. My husband is allergic to shellfish, wheat gluten, and pistachio nuts. Any suggestions on how to communicate this to servers in restaurants?
Thanks
Roz

There is a lovely Macdonalds in Istanbul nothing there that could hurt ( or is there !!!!????) !!!! Just kidding please don't anyone pick on me.

Marilyn, I found your email while trying to find out about cottonseed oil allergies - if such a thing even existed. I think my daughter has it. Her Dr says its very rare and now I must wait until May to get a test for it. Can we talk about this sometime? I really need any info I can get. BTW, my honeymoon was in Turkey (partly). It was fantastic. How was your trip?
Mary