In early December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan kindled an old culinary rivalry between two Turkish cities — Kastamonu and Kayseri — by praising Kastamonu’s pastirma, a spicy cured beef that is part of the national cuisine and a ready accompaniment to raki, the anise-based national drink.

Erdogan’s words on “the best” pastirma had immediate ripple effects in other cities such as Afyon and Sivas, which also lauded their versions to be the best. The sales of pastirma soared all around the country.

Pastirma, also known as basturma or bastirma, can be found in the Levant, as well as in Anatolia. Different cultures claim its origins, but some versions — albeit with different spices — can be found in Armenia, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece and other countries in the Balkans. Febe Armanios, a professor of history at Middlebury College, who researches culinary and food history of the Eastern Mediterranean, told Al-Monitor that she had been introduced to "basterma" in Egypt, where it is a delicacy that few can afford.

Robyn Eckhart, a food journalist and the author of “Istanbul and Beyond: Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey,” says pastirma resembles Italian bresaola with the addition of all the bold flavors, including garlic. Indeed, at the turn of the century, Armenians who arrived in Beirut have been ridiculed due to the spicy scent of pastirma that others claimed oozed from their bodies.