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Tzatziki ( ), also known as cacık () or tarator, is a class of dip, soup, or sauce found in the cuisines of Southeastern Europe and West Asia. It is made of salted strained yogurt or diluted yogurt mixed with , garlic, salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sometimes with lemon juice, and herbs such as dill, mentha, parsley and thyme. It is served as a cold appetizer (meze), a side dish, and as a sauce for souvlaki and gyros sandwiches and other foods. (2025). 9781563058486, Workman. ISBN 9781563058486 (2025). 9781945256882, America's Test Kitchen. ISBN 9781945256882
Evliya Çelebi's 1665 travelogue, the Seyahatnâme, defined cacıχ ( cacıg) as a kind of herb that is added to food. The modern term cacık (جاجیك) was mentioned in print for the first time in 1844 in Hoca Kâmil Pasha's Melceü't-Tabbâhîn ( The Sanctuary of Cooks), the first Ottoman cookbook, in which the basic description is given as "yogurt with cucumber and garlic" ( hıyar ve sarmısaklı yoğurt).
The form ', found in languages from the Balkans to the Levant with derivative forms now found in a range of countries.Andriotis et al., Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, Λεξικό της κοινής Νεοελληνικής s.v. ταρατόριE. Saussey, Les mots turcs dans le dialect arabe de Damas, Mélanges de l'Institut français de Damas 1''' (1929), p. 84, 127
According to Sevan Nişanyan, the name tarator (sauce) comes into Turkish directly from the Venetian word "trattor". In Venetian, this word means "cook". It has acquired the meaning of a type of sauce in Turkish. It has likely been borrowed from Turkish into other languages. The first use of this word in the sense of sauce was in the book Seyehatname by the Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi.[1] Nişanyan Dictionary "tarator"
During the Ottoman Empire, yogurt and garlic condiments became a part of the meze tradition. One notable example was tarator, prepared with yogurt, cucumber, garlic, or sometimes walnuts. The 17th-century Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi, in his Seyahatname, described dishes made with yogurt and garlic, demonstrating their established place in Ottoman cuisine.
In the Balkans and the Levant, variations of tarator developed with different bases: in the Levant it is usually made with tahini, while in the Balkans it may include yogurt and walnuts. In Anatolia, however, the version made with yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and sometimes walnuts became known as cacık.
Today, cacık is widely consumed in Turkey as a refreshing dish, especially in summer, while related versions continue to exist in Balkan and Levantine cuisines.
Regular tzatziki is made of strained yogurt (usually from domestic sheep or goat milk) mixed with , garlic, salt, olive oil, vinegar, dill, mentha, and parsley.
A variation made with purslane ( in Greek) may be called , meaning 'purslane and yogurt salad', rather than tzatziki. One simple recipe calls for purslane, olive oil, red wine vinegar and dill. There also is a version where walnut oil, crushed nuts (like Walnut, Hazelnut, or Almond) and red peppers are added to the standard yoghurt base.
Turkish cacik also has many variations; different recipes use Wheat berry, , , mint, radish, red pepper, parsley, dill, basil, chondrilla juncea, vinegar, walnuts, hazelnuts and unripe almonds.
For cacıklı arap köftesi, kofta made from a mix of bulgur and ground meat is served over cacık. In this case the cacık is made with chard rather than the usual cucumber (spinach or parsley may be substituted for the chard. Some recipes use purslane). Bulgurlu madımak cacığı is made with cracked wheat, cucumber and a type of Polygonum called madımak.
A thicker variation is sometimes known as "dry tarator", or as Snezhanka salad, which means 'Snow White salad', and is served as an appetiser or side dish. During preparation, the yogurt is hung for several hours in a kerchief and loses about half of its water. The cucumbers, garlic, minced walnuts, salt and vegetable oil are then added.
In Bulgaria, tarator is a popular meze (appetiser), but is also served as a side dish along with Shopska salad with some meals. Sunflower oil and olive oil are more commonly used, and the walnuts are sometimes omitted. Tarator is seasoned with garlic and dill, both of which can be omitted. It is a popular dish in Bulgaria and a common refresher during the summer.
In Albania, tarator is a very popular dish in the summertime. It is usually served cold and is normally made from yogurt, garlic, parsley, cucumber, salt and olive oil. Fried squid is often offered with tarator. Other similar Albanian variants are Salcë Kosi and Xaxiq.
It is made from strained yogurt, sliced cucumbers, minced garlic cloves, lemon juice and sprinkled with dried mint, oregano or olive oil.
In some parts of the Arab world, it is known as سَلَطَة خِيار باللَّبَن, salaṭat ḵiyār bi-l-laban, made from yogurt and cucumbers.
Mizeria is a Polish dish of sliced cucumbers mixed with sour cream or another fermented milk product, often herbs (such as dill or chives) and seasonings, which is commonly served as a savoury or sweet side salad with typical dinner dishes.
In South Asia, a similar dish is made with yogurt, cucumber, salt and ground cumin (sometimes also including onions) called "raita".
In Iran, ash-e doogh is another type of yogurt soup; instead of cucumbers it contains a variety of herbs such as basil, leek, Mentha, black pepper and . In this style, sometimes dried bread chips, chopped nuts or raisins are put in the dish just before serving.
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