Dishes you should try in Düzce: Düzce Köftesi (grilled meatballs), Akçakoca Ekşilisi (sour stew), Akçakoca Mancarlı Pidesi (pide with mancar greens) and Yufkalı Konuralp Pilavı (Konuralp pilaf with yufka). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Düzce is famous for.
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Grilled meatballs with a registered geographical indication.
A local dish with a registered geographical indication.
A registered pide made with greens (mancar).
A registered pilaf made with Konuralp rice.
A halva with a registered geographical indication.
Düzce pide is prepared with a thin dough and filled with minced meat or kaşar cheese, then baked in a stone oven over a wood fire. Brushed with butter for a glossy finish, it is one of the city's best-known dishes.
Small pieces of dough filled with minced meat, boiled and served with yoghurt and garlic sauce. Melted butter with red pepper is drizzled over the top.
Anchovies fried or steamed in cornmeal, the winter staple of Düzce. Hamsi pilaf and fried hamsi are the most popular varieties.
Making use of Düzce's abundant hazelnut production, hazelnut baklava is made with roasted hazelnut filling between thin layers of pastry, then soaked in syrup. It is the traditional sweet of festive tables.
Akçakoca Melengücceği Tatlısı was registered as a protected geographical indication on 18 December 2017 (TÜRKPATENT registration no. 279). Product group: bakery and pastry products, dough products, sweets. Registered by: Akçakoca Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Baklava made with hazelnuts from the region, with roasted hazelnut filling sprinkled between thin layers of pastry. A treat that carries Düzce's identity as the land of hazelnuts onto the dessert table.
Made by mixing cornmeal and stringy cheese into butter, mıhlama is one of the signature dishes of Black Sea cuisine. In Cumayeri it is served hot and is an indispensable part of breakfast tables.
Thinly rolled dough topped with a filling of minced meat, onion and spices, then baked in a stone oven. In Cumayeri it is prepared the traditional way in local bakeries.
Traditional halva made from roasted hazelnuts, flour and sugar, prepared at festivals and special occasions. Thanks to Çilimli's abundance of hazelnuts, it stands out for its intense hazelnut aroma.
Thin-dough pide filled with mince or cheese, baked in a wood-fired oven. Served with fresh butter at Çilimli's local bakeries, it is one of the region's most loved dishes.
A soup made with kale, cornmeal and dried beans, one of the winter classics of Black Sea cuisine. In Çilimli it is served with butter and red pepper according to the traditional recipe.
Freshwater fish caught around Efteni Lake, fried in cornmeal. The flavour of the fresh fish is completed with the greens and lemon served alongside.
A traditional soup made from the maize grown abundantly in the region, flavoured with butter and red pepper. It is an indispensable hot dish of the winter months.
Pide with a thin dough, filled with minced meat or cheese, baked over a wood fire in Gölyaka's local bakeries. Served with fresh butter.
Hazelnuts from the region are prepared with the walnut sucuk technique: dipped in grape molasses and dried. A traditional winter snack, fındıklı sucuk is sold at local markets.
Prepared by boiling cracked wheat and meat for a long time and pounding them together, keşkek is the traditional dish of wedding and holiday tables. Served with butter and red pepper.
Bread made from cornmeal, cooked on a griddle or in an oven. The staple bread of Black Sea cuisine, it is especially eaten with hamsi and black cabbage dishes.
Plateau soup made from yoghurt, flour and rice, flavoured with mint and butter. It is a traditional soup drunk in cool weather on Kaynaşlı's plateaux.
Kuymak, made by kneading cornmeal and stringy cheese in butter, is one of the best-known flavours of Black Sea cuisine. In Kaynaşlı it is served hot at breakfast tables.
Made by drying grape or mulberry molasses in a thin layer and sprinkling it with hazelnuts. It is sold in local markets as the traditional winter snack.
Small pieces of dough filled with minced meat, boiled and served with garlic yoghurt and butter. In Yığılca it is a hot winter dish that never misses the table.
A soup made from fresh or dried maize, flavoured with butter and red pepper. One of the classic winter dishes of Black Sea cuisine, it is prepared in Yığılca using a traditional recipe.
Collard green leaves are wrapped around a filling of rice, minced meat and spices, then cooked. One of the best-known dishes of the Black Sea region, the sarma is an indispensable part of winter tables in Yığılca.
The raider (akıncı) lords who brought the region into Ottoman territory and gave their names to the districts.
After the 1999 earthquake, Düzce became the 81st province of Türkiye.
Düzce is known for 5 local dishes, above all Düzce Köftesi (grilled meatballs), Akçakoca Ekşilisi (sour stew), Akçakoca Mancarlı Pidesi (pide with mancar greens) and Yufkalı Konuralp Pilavı (Konuralp pilaf with yufka). Grilled meatballs with a registered geographical indication.
Düzce is known for Düzce Köftesi (grilled meatballs), Akçakoca Sarı Fındığı (Akçakoca yellow hazelnut) and Konuralp Bey and Akçakoca Bey. Its best-known sights include Konuralp (Prusias ad Hypium) Ancient City and Konuralp Museum.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Düzce include Akçakoca Sarı Fındığı (Akçakoca yellow hazelnut), Düzce Kestanesi (Düzce chestnut), Düzce Kestane Balı (Düzce chestnut honey) and Düzce Bıçağı (Düzce knife).