What is “Telme”? A Kurdish tradition of curdling fresh milk with fig latex — and what I found researching it
What is “Telme”? A Kurdish tradition of curdling fresh milk with fig latex — and what I found researching it
I recently came across a Kurdish reference to a traditional food called Telme (تِلْمَه).
Someone described it to me this way:
“Our ancestors used to drip fig latex into milk. The milk would curdle and become like yogurt.”
That made me curious, so I tried to investigate whether this was actually a traditional Kurdish practice.
Here is what I found:
• In an oral-history archive from Afrin, Kurdish shepherds describe making Telme from fresh milk using a plant-based curdling agent. The milk reportedly curdles within only a few minutes, and Telme is eaten fresh, more like a fresh curd/soft cheese than fermented yogurt.
• In the same account, the interviewer asks whether Telme is made when figs are available, and the answer is yes.
• However, the source does not explicitly prove that the plant material mentioned there is the white latex from the fig tree.
• This is interesting because modern food-science research has shown that fresh fig latex (Ficus carica) can coagulate milk. Fig latex contains proteolytic enzymes, including ficin, which can act as a plant-based milk coagulant.
So the pieces seem to fit:
Fresh milk + plant coagulant + fig season → Telme
But I don’t want to overstate the evidence. I have not yet found a historical Kurdish source explicitly saying:
“Telme is made by adding fresh fig latex directly to milk.”
That is the part I would like to verify.
Questions for Kurdish speakers / people from Afrin
Have you heard of Telme / تِلْمَه?
If so:
What is the word for it in your Kurdish dialect?
Is it traditionally made with fig latex (the white sap from an unripe fig/stem)?
What is the Kurdish name of the plant/coagulant used?
Is Telme still made today in Afrin or elsewhere in Kurdistan?
Do you have a family recipe, old video, book, or oral tradition describing how it was made?
I’m particularly interested in first-hand Kurdish knowledge, because I don’t want to accidentally turn a plausible interpretation into a historical fact.
I’d be very interested to hear from Kurdish speakers, especially people from Afrin.