Marché Istanbul

Food Finds can happen in the most inconspicuous of places, often when they're not even being sought out. Some of the most truly memorable meals I have eaten were enjoyed on the fly in roadside stalls or food courts, and I have lucked into finding some of the most exciting culinary ingredients and foodstuffs after stumbling upon them in unassuming locales.

I first discovered Marché Istanbul during the Covid summer of 2020 while waiting in line at an adjacent store, in a strip mall across town. After glancing over at the store’s large red and white sign I knew that an unexpected Food Find was awaiting me just across the parking lot.

I’ve been cooking Turkish food at home for a number of years after discovering
one of my favourite recipe blogs, and I appreciate the recipes I’ve explored for their plant forward focus, easy preparation, and use of a variety of delicious ingredients. I have since visited the Marché at least half a dozen times despite how far away the store is from my own neighbourhood, as much for the friendly and welcoming attitude of everyone I’ve met there, as for the numerous shopping delights to be found within.

Located in the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood, Marché Istanbul opened in 1998 as the first all Turkish grocery store in Toronto, preceded by its sister store in Montreal, which opened four years earlier. Ozgur Doygun, the store’s co-owner, recounted to me that Turkish products were virtually impossible to find in Canada in the 90’s, a cultural deficit that Ozgur and his father were inspired to remedy.

With no prior experience in the food business, the Doyguns set out to open and run the store as a family affair. After working summers and part time hours, Ozgur became a partner at the store after he finished university in 2007. Later on, Ozgur’s younger brother Ozan joined the family enterprise and became responsible for the Toronto location.

More than two decades after opening and still housed in its original location,
Marché Istanbul continues to import all of their wares from Türkiye, carefully choosing specific and regional specialty products, with an intention to bring the best Turkish products to Canada, from classic ingredients to the newest trends.

Visitors to the store will be greeted at the door by a cheerful red and yellow cart filled with bags of fresh baked simit, a circular bread that visually resembles a large oval bagel, with a lighter crumb and a sesame laden crust. Baked specially for the store, the simit is joined by nearby baskets of pide; large, pillowy breads with a flavorful, chewy texture that feature an interior pocket perfect for stuffing with any number of tasty treats.

Adorned with posters, musical instruments, pottery, and brassware from Turkey, the neatly arranged shop offers up an inviting array of Turkish products sold in both bulk and packaged form. Rows of bulk spice bins offer up numerous Turkish pantry essentials,  including blue poppy seeds, nigella, sumac, mint, and a variety of other dried herbs and spices important to Turkish cuisine. One of my particular favourite spices to be found here are the regionally specific dried red pepper flakes, such as Maras or Antep, regional cousins to the popular Syrian Aleppo pepper which is no longer available due to ongoing conflict conditions within Syria. Antep red pepper is my particular favourite, featuring a flavour that is all at once salty, sour, sweet, mildly smoky, and zingy.

Wandering through the store reveals shelves filled with numerous varieties of olives, olive oils, nuts packed in honey, quince and sour cherry jams, a wide array of pickled vegetables, and the classic tomato/pepper pastes that are an important part of many Turkish dishes. Careful selections of nuts and seeds lead to baskets and rows of popular Turkish candies, specialty biscuits, nut and chocolate spreads and of course, lokoum or turkish delight, featuring a dizzying choice of flavours and ingredients.

An almost hidden stainless steel counter in the corner opens up to reveal Turkish olives sold by weight, from sun dried black olives, to red pepper stuffed green olives. Lovers of sesame products will rejoice in finding an exceptional variety of helva products (also known as halva), and a number of tahini based spreads paired with fruity accompaniments such as grape molasses, carob molasses, or hazelnut butter. Other intriguing finds include varieties of molasses made out of mulberry, carob, grape, pomegranate, or juniper.

Fridge cases offer up fresh yogurt, cheeses, cured meats, and seasonally specific imports; one of my visits yielded a container of fresh green almonds (baby almonds picked while still green outside and soft inside), newly arrived from Turkey. If you need to pick up a kilo or two of feta at truly reasonable prices, one of the friendly staff members will serve you at the counter, or answer any questions you might have about their wares. Further across the store, larger bulk bins offer up a wide range of bulgurs, turkish lentils, and other pulses, alongside packaged goods including dried mulberries and barberries, dried vegetables used for stuffing, herbal teas, and a wide selection of eponymous coffees.

Some of my favourite Food Finds

While there is an extensive array of products to choose from at Marché Istanbul, and many new-to-me Food Finds awaiting discovery, start or continue your foray into Turkish cuisine and ingredients with some of my particular favourites:

Dried Antep Red Pepper

These semi dried pepper flakes feature a flavour that is all at once salty, sour, sweet, mildly smoky, and zingy. Perfect on anything, from scrambled eggs, to lentil soup, to any dish that calls for red pepper flakes.

Tomato and Pepper Paste/Domates and Biber Karisik Salca

While both tomato only and pepper only pastes are available, I prefer this must have combination that is readily usable in any dish where tomato paste is called for, such as in my Simple Garlic Tomatoes. Available in mild, medium, and hot varieties and an absolute essential for any well stocked pantry.

Macedonian Feta

Close your eyes and imagine if feta and cream cheese created an offspring - this is that cheese, and it is as delicious and creamy as you imagine. My all time favourite variety of feta, and surprisingly inexpensive compared to standard supermarket packaged feta. Try it in my Corn, Potato, and Green Bean Salad with Feta Cream and Herbs.

Mulberry Molasses/Dut Pekmezi

One of the numerous varieties of Turkish fruit molasses available, mulberry molasses is a brighter, fruitier, sweeter and more tangy variety of molasses, delicious on bread, in salad dressings, marinades, and more. Consider using it as a molasses substitute in a variety of recipes calling for sugarcane based molasses where a fruitier and lighter flavour is desired. 

Tahini and Fruit Molasses Spread/Tahin Pekmez

These are delicious tahini based spreads, paired with one of a variety of other ingredients. I am currently infatuated with the tahini, grape molasses, and hazelnut combination which tastes almost like  a chocolate free nutella, with the tahini and carob molasses duo coming in a close second. At least one (or three) varieties of these spreads are in regular rotation in our household, often appearing at breakfastime.

Turkish yellow lentils

A goldenrod-coloured variety of the familiar small red lentil which I have not seen before in Toronto. A beautiful colour and perfect for lentil soup!

Dried Turkish black olives in olive oil

These olives are sold by weight and are perfectly salted, meaty, and packed in olive oil, perfect for snacking or adding to a wide variety of salads, appetizer spreads, and other dishes. 

Green olives stuffed with red pepper

Unlike the tasteless stuffed olives sold elsewhere, where the red pepper stuffing tastes only of brine, this bright and fresh tasting version imparts a surprisingly distinct red pepper flavour.

Attika organic olive oil

Delicious Turkish olive oil with a light, olive forward flavour and slightly spicy finish.

Shelled Turkish Pistachios

Once you’ve tasted these pistachios you will realize that you have never really tasted a pistachio before. Dusty rose coloured nuts give way to a verdantly green interior, which have an almost floral, deeply nuanced and nutty flavour. Totally unlike common supermarket pistachios in the best possible way.

Barberries/Zereshk

Tangy, tiny red berries that taste like a cross between cranberries and dried currants, and that can be used anywhere tangy dried fruits are called for, or in rice pilafs, salads, or many Ottolenghi recipes.

Fresh Cig Kofte

This plant based and locally made mixture of bulgur, tomato and pepper paste, spices, herbs and pomegranate molasses is available in the fridge case.  Conveniently saving you the hours normally required to make this tasty bulger based mixture,
cig kofte mix can be easily hand formed into kofte and served with lettuce and fresh herbs, or smeared on thin lavash or pita and rolled up into what I like to irreverently call “turkish sushi.”

Explore more Turkish Pantry Staples

If Turkish cuisine and ingredients whet your appetite, delve further into my list of essential Turkish Pantry Staples or peruse this extensive list of Turkish cookbooks.