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| By RosarioVanTulpe [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons |
Today, for lunch, I finally tried a basturma sandwich. Basturma is an Armenian cured meat that reminded me a lot of Spanish cured hams, except that it's intensely flavored with spices like paprika, garlic, salt, and fenugreek. Doing some research, I found out that basturma is found all over what used to be the Ottoman Empire and can also be called pastirma. Apparently pastirma has the same etymological roots as pastrami but the two meats are worlds apart, since pastirmas are not cooked. Armenians make basturmas out of beef or lamb, but it can also be made from goat or camel. I liked it, but a little goes a long way.
There's a great article about the basturma and what it means to Armenians by Nigol Bezjian. Just click here.
The only issue with Basterma is that all personal contacts over the ensuing 24 hours must also consume it, otherwise they will shun you due to the odoriferous nature or the cured meat sublimating out of your pores and offending their nostrils
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