25.02.2026 10:22
In the Ormanağzı neighborhood of the Olur district in Erzurum, the "keş dessert," known as "century-old flavor," is prepared with great effort during the scorching summer heat and enjoyed during the freezing cold of winter. One of the neighborhood residents, Yunus Sezgin, said, "The keş prepared in the summer is stored in wooden boxes in a cool cellar. In winter, it is crushed with walnuts and consumed as a dessert."
The "keş dessert," made only in the Ormanağzı neighborhood of the Olur district in Erzurum, Turkey, begins its intense preparation during the summer months. The mulberries collected from the trees are pressed in large cauldrons over a wood fire, and then mixed with flour and kneaded. The keş, spread out in the sun by women, is then pressed into wooden boxes for storage during the winter.
The keş, which is rested for months in cool environments, is taken out of the boxes when winter arrives. Pieces cut from the keş with an axe are pounded with walnuts in a mortar and consumed with tea on cold winter nights. This special dessert served to guests also becomes an important part of conversations and gatherings in village rooms.
AN ANCIENT TRADITION IS KEPT ALIVE
The keş dessert, made only in the rural Ormanağzı neighborhood, is being preserved by the residents of the neighborhood today. Yunus Sezgin and his friends, who break the keş they have stored since summer with an axe in their pantry, begin the sweet-making process that lasts for minutes in a room where they gather. After pounding the pieces of keş with walnuts for several minutes, they serve it on plates and enjoy it.
"EATEN WITH WALNUTS IN WINTER"
Yunus Sezgin, who says that the keş prepared with great effort in the summer is consumed in the cold during winter, stated, "We cook the fresh mulberries we collect from the trees in cauldrons to extract the juice. Then, the juice is mixed with flour and spread out in the sun as dough. After this process, the keş is stored in wooden boxes in a cool cellar. In winter, it is consumed as a dessert, pounded with walnuts like this," he said.
"IT PROVIDES ENERGY"
Yıldırım Çalışkan, who expressed that they come together as friends to keep the traditional dessert unique to the Ormanağzı neighborhood alive, said that they mix the keş dessert made in summer with walnuts and consume it after pounding it in the mortar during the winter months. Stating that the completely natural keş dessert provides energy in winter, Çalışkan noted that they aim to carry this century-old flavor into the future.