Baklava in Gaziantep gastronomy culture

Baklava is a dumpling that has an important place in Middle Eastern, Balkan and South Asian cuisines, especially in Turkish cuisine. Antep baklava is the most well-known among baklava. Traditional Antep baklava contains hard wheat flour, Boz İç pistachio which is a type of Antep pistachio, clarified butter, sugar produced from sugar beet, starch, semolina and cream made from milk. Despite all these ingredients, the most important factor that creates the unique structure and flavour of Antep baklava is the hand skills and experience of the masters. The masters, who grew up with the master-apprentice relationship, perfected themselves over time and achieved a standard in Antep baklava. In time, this situation has made Antep baklava famous worldwide and enabled it to exceed its current position. Turkish Patent Institute has registered the phrase 'Antep Baklava' as a geographical indication effective from 28.03.2005. On 8 August 2013, the announcement of 'Antep Baklava' in the EU Official Journal caused the baklava to be internationally documented as a Turkish dessert. In this context, the study provides information about the history and etymology of baklava, which is a representative of culture and identity in Gaziantep; focuses on the stages of its production and the materials and equipment used; examines the types of baklava in the world and in Turkey; examines the roles of Gaziantep in becoming a gastronomy city and addresses baklava as a destination image. In the following sections of the study, the visibility of baklava in the media is examined and its becoming a city image in Gaziantep is emphasised. Finally, how baklava is passed in Turkish folk literature genres and forms; its place in transition periods, how it is learnt through master-apprentice relationship; its traces in Ahilik; its role in festivals and events; how it lives in museums and oral memory have been extensively examined. As a result, it was determined in the study that baklava is a living culture and identity in Antep, but it has moved away from its traditional structure due to change-transformation. Therefore, Antep baklava should be included in the SOKÜM National Inventory in order to protect the traditional production stage. Keywords: Baklava, Gaziantep, Gastronomy, Intangible Cultural Heritage.