Consumption habits of local people towards edible weeds in the context 0f eco-gastronomy: Şırnak province research

Especially with the effect of the pandemic, consumers demands for natural and local products have been increasing in recent years. In this case, it is especially important to bring to light the products that were previously produced and consumed locally. From this point of view, it is essential to reveal the potential of places that are not yet known and have not been taken into account in terms of local products and gastronomy. In this respect, the aim of this study is to determine the consumption habits of the local people for edible wild herbs grown in Şırnak province and to evaluate them in the context of eco-gastronomy. For this purpose, the research was conducted using the exploratory design of the mixed method. In the qualitative part of the research, the case design was used, and the face to face interview method was used as a data collection tool. The study group snowball sampling method was used to collect qualitative data (n:42). After the qualitative research, the quantitative research method was used. In this context, an online questionnaire was used and the participants were determined by the convenience sampling method (n:276). MAXQDA 2022 was used for content analysis of the data and SPSS programs were used for descriptive statistical analysis. In the research, answers were sought to questions such as the local names of herbs, their storage conditions, which diseases they are good for, how often they are used and how they gain consumption habits, and how they are consumed. According to the research findings (qualitative and quantitative), 75 different herbs that local people use in the kitchen have been identified, and 46 of them have been scientifically classified, and the intended uses of 42 of them have been revealed. The reasons that lead to the consumption of herbs are that they are more delicious, healthy and natural. It has been determined that these herbs are also used for therapeutic, ornamental, cosmetic, chemical purposes in addition to food. It has been determined that it is most often used for breakfast, for salad- pickling and seasoning. As a result of these findings, data on the consumption habit of edible herbs in Şırnak have been revealed. In addition, these data are evaluated in the conclusion section in the context of eco-gastronomy and various suggestions are presented.