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{{More citations needed|date=May 2010}}
{{short description|Dried food ingredient}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Tarhana
| image            = Tarhana 01.JPG
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = Tarhana sold at a local store in [[Kozan, Adana]]
| alternate_name   = 
| country          = 
| region           = 
| creator          = 
| course           = 
| type             = [[Soup]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Cereal|Grain]], [[yoghurt]] or [[fermented milk]]
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Tarhana''' ({{IPA|tr|taɾˈhana}}) is a dried food ingredient, based on a [[Fermentation (food)|fermented]] mixture of grain and [[yogurt]] or [[fermented milk]], found in [[Central Asian cuisine|Central Asian]], [[Balkan cuisine|Southeast European]], and [[Middle Eastern cuisine|Middle Eastern]] cuisines. Dry tarhana has a texture of coarse, uneven crumbs, and it is usually made into a thick [[soup]] with water, stock, or milk. As it is both acidic and low in moisture, the milk proteins keep for long periods. Tarhana is very similar to some kinds of [[kashk]].

Regional variations of the name include [[Armenian language|Armenian]] {{Lang|hy|թարխանա}} ({{lang|hy-Latn|tarkhana}}); [[Greek language|Greek]] {{Lang|el|τραχανάς}} ({{lang|el-Latn|trahanás}}) or {{Lang|el|ξυνόχονδρος}} ({{lang|el-Latn|xynohondros}}); [[Persian language|Persian]] {{Lang|fa|ترخینه، ترخانه، ترخوانه}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|tarkhineh, tarkhāneh, tarkhwāneh}}); [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] {{lang|ku-Latn|tarxane}}; [[Albanian language|Albanian]] {{Lang|sq|trahana}} or {{lang|sq|tërhana}}; [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] {{Lang|bg|трахана}} or {{Lang|bg|тархана}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|trahana, tarhana}}); [[Serbo-Croatian]] {{lang|sh-Latn|tarana}}, {{lang|sh-Latn|tarhana}} or {{lang|sh-Latn|trahana}}; [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] {{Lang|hu|[[tarhonya]]}}; [[Turkish language|Turkish]] {{Lang|tr|tarhana}}.

The [[Armenian cuisine|Armenian]] {{lang|hy-Latn|tarkhana}} is made up of [[matzoon]] and eggs mixed with equal amounts of wheat flour and starch. Small pieces of dough are prepared and dried and then kept in glass containers and used mostly in soups, dissolving in hot liquids.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tarkhana|url=http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_pohlebkin/2166/%D0%A2%D0%90%D0%A0%D0%A5%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%90|publisher=Great Encyclopedia of Culinary Arts|access-date=6 March 2015|language=ru}}</ref> The [[Greek cuisine|Greek]] {{lang|el-Latn|trahanas}} contains only [[cracked wheat]] or a ''[[couscous]]''-like paste and [[fermented milk]]. The [[Turkish cuisine|Turkish]] {{lang|tr|tarhana}} consists of cracked wheat (or flour), yoghurt, and vegetables, fermented and then dried. In [[Cyprus]], it is considered a national specialty, and is often served with pieces of [[halloumi]] cheese in it. In [[Albanian cuisine|Albania]] it is prepared with wheat, yoghurt and butter, and served with hot [[olive oil]] and [[feta]] cheese.

==Etymology==
[[File:Tarhana soup in Ankara.jpg|thumbnail|right|Tarhana soup]]
Hill and Bryer suggest that the term ''tarhana'' is related to [[Greek language|Greek]] τρακτόν (''trakton'', [[romanization|romanized]] as ''tractum''),<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dtrakto\s τρακτὸς, τρακτόν], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> a thickener [[Apicius]] wrote about in the 1st century CE which most other authors consider to be a sort of cracker crumb.<ref>Stephen Hill, Anthony Bryer, "Byzantine Porridge: Tracta, Trachanas, and Trahana", in ''Food in Antiquity'', eds. John Wilkins, David Harvey, Mike Dobson, F. D. Harvey. Exeter University Press, 1995. {{ISBN|0-85989-418-5}}.</ref> Dalby (1996) connects it to the Greek τραγός/τραγανός (''tragos''/''traganos''),<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dtragano%2Fs2 τραγανός], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref> described (and condemned) in [[Galen]]'s ''Geoponica'' 3.8.<ref>Andrew Dalby, ''Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece'', London, 1996. {{ISBN|0-415-11620-1}}, p. 201.</ref> Weaver (2002) also considers it of Western origin.<ref>William Woys Weaver, "The Origins of Trachanás: Evidence from Cyprus and Ancient Texts", ''Gastronomica'' '''2''':1:41–48 (Winter 2002) {{doi|10.1525/gfc.2002.2.1.41}}</ref>

Perry, on the other hand, considers that the phonetic evolution of τραγανός to ''tarhana'' is unlikely, and that it probably comes from {{langx|fa|ترخوانه|translit=tarkhwāneh}}.<ref>Charles Perry, "Trakhanas Revisited", ''Petits Propos Culinaires'' '''55''':34 (1997?)</ref> He considers the resemblance to τραγανός and to τραχύς 'coarse' coincidental, though he speculates that τραχύς may have influenced the word by [[folk etymology]].

In Persian language sources, [[al-Zamakhshari]] mentioned the name of this food in the 11th century in the form ''tarkhana'' in his dictionary; it is attested in the 17th century in the form ''tarkhina'' in the [[Farhang-i Jahangiri]], a Persian dictionary created under the reign of [[Jahangir]]. ''Tar'' {{Lang|fa|تر}} in Persian means 'wet, soaked', and ''khwān'' {{Lang|fa|خوان}} (pronounced ''khān'') means 'dining place/table, food, large wooden bowl'. Thus in Persian it would mean 'watered or soaked food', which matches the way the soup is made: tarhana must be soaked in water, and other possible ingredients are then added and cooked for some time.

==Manufacture==
[[File:Tarkhineh.JPG|thumbnail|right|Solid tarhana (left), prepared tarhana (right)]]
Tarhana is made by mixing flour, yoghurt or sour milk, and optionally cooked vegetables, salt, [[Groat (grain)|groats]], and spices (notably [[tarhana herb]]), letting the mixture ferment, then drying, and usually grinding and sieving the result.  The fermentation produces [[lactic acid]] and other compounds giving tarhana its characteristic sour taste and good keeping properties: the pH is lowered to 3.4–4.2, and the drying step reduces the moisture content to 6–10%, resulting in a medium inhospitable to [[pathogen]]s and [[Food spoilage|spoilage]] organisms, while preserving the milk [[protein]]s.<ref>O. Daglioğlu, "Tarhana as a traditional Turkish fermented cereal food: its recipe, production and composition", ''Nahrung/Food'' '''44''':2:85–88, 1999</ref>

==Preparation==
Tarhana is cooked as a thick soup by adding it to stock, water, or milk, and simmering. Alternatively, it may be fried and then cooked in only as much liquid as it will absorb.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Harlan|last1=Walker|title=Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, 1989: Staplefoods : Proceedings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I15eJt6U3gMC&pg=PA116|publisher=Oxford Symposium|date= n.d. |isbn=9780907325444|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In [[Albania]], it is made with wheat flour and yoghurt into small pasta-like chunks which are dried and crushed; the powder is used to cook a soup which is served with bread cubes. In Cyprus it is common to add cubes of Halloumi cheese towards the end of cooking.<ref>Gastronomy in Cyprus, publ. Dept of Agriculture, Cyprus, 2002. ISBN 978-9963-50-561-6.  p.11. publications.gov.cy/en/assets/user/publications/2022/2022_041/HTML/11/ retrieved March 2025</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of soups]]
* [[Tarhonya]], a Hungarian noodle whose name comes from tarhana
* [[Frumenty]], a Western European equivalent
* [[Kashk]] ([[qurut]])
* [[Tsampa]], a similar product in Tibet and Nepal
*{{portal-inline|food}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{commons category|Tarhana}}
* Françoise Aubaile-Sallenave, "''Al-Kishk'': the past and present of a complex culinary practice", in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, ''A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East'', London and New York, 1994 and 2000, {{ISBN|1-86064-603-4}}.
* Elisabeth Luard, ''The Old World Kitchen'', {{ISBN|0-553-05219-5}}

==External links==
*[http://www.corumkargi.com/corum-english/kargi-english/tourism/regional-foods/tarhana_2.html Kargı, Çorum: Regional foods: Tarhana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220161639/http://www.corumkargi.com/corum-english/kargi-english/tourism/regional-foods/tarhana_2.html |date=2018-02-20 }}
*[https://foodmuseum.cs.ucy.ac.cy/web/guest/parsintages/civitem/2025 Cyprus Food Virtual Museum: Τραχανάς] (Greek)
{{Armenian cuisine}}
{{Cuisine of Greece}}
{{Cuisine of Turkey}}
{{Soups}}
[[Category:Byzantine cuisine]]
[[Category:Armenian cuisine]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek cuisine]]
[[Category:Greek soups]]
[[Category:Cypriot cuisine]]
[[Category:Kurdish cuisine]]
[[Category:Turkish soups]]
[[Category:Iranian soups]]
[[Category:Azerbaijani soups]]
[[Category:Fermented foods]]
[[Category:Armenian soups]]
[[Category:Dried foods]]