Trying to keep the Ottoman paste alive in Konya

The lesser-known Ottoman paste in Konya attracts the attention of onlookers with its colorful varieties. Talha Sorgun (24), who sells Ottoman paste at his stand in Kültürpark, explains to those who inquire about the paste. The paste contains various ingredients such as ginger, cloves, hibiscus, mint, orange, lemon, while the orange, strawberry, banana, and kiwi varieties are popular. Sorgun, who opened the stand both to educate those unfamiliar with Ottoman paste, to preserve this tradition from the Ottoman era, and to earn extra income, stated that most people do not know what Ottoman paste is. He mentioned that instead of asking how much or what varieties of Ottoman paste there are, most customers ask what it is, and he pointed out that those who try it really enjoy it.
“We are trying to keep the tradition alive in some way.” Talha Sorgun, who stated that he sells Ottoman paste by opening his stand, said, “We are here both as a small additional income for ourselves and to preserve the taste that comes from the Ottomans. People are a bit surprised when they see it for the first time because it’s different. Many children have never even met it. Unfortunately, there are not many people making it in Konya. We are trying to keep this tradition alive in some way, to continue it. The majority of our youth do not know about it. Most of the customers who come do not ask how much the paste is but what it is. It attracts people’s attention. Because we have almost completely forgotten it from generation to generation. Especially it exists in other cities. Our people in Konya do not know because it is not available here.”
“Eyes are constantly on my stand.” Sorgun, who also mentioned that the elderly are interested in his stand, said, “What they say is ‘the sugar of our childhood.’ For example, grandparents tell their grandchildren, ‘what we had in our childhood, you do not have in yours. This was there,’ they say. They are interested too, their eyes are constantly on my stand. Our elders go back to their childhood. The reactions we receive are nice. I myself did not know the taste of the paste until I had my own stand. Our goal here is to reintroduce the taste that is a tradition of the people of Konya.”