Muğla Saraylısı

Muğla saraylısı is a traditional dessert produced by rolling out dough into thin sheets, filling it with walnuts from the Menteşe region, shaping it into a distinctive round form, baking it, and soaking it in syrup.

Muğla saraylısı falls under the product group of bakery and confectionery items, dough-based products, and sweets. It has been registered by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office as a "geographical indication." The registration of Muğla saraylısı demonstrates its unique association with the Muğla region, owing to its approximately two-century-old tradition, the use of local walnuts, its original rolling and tray-layering technique, and its symbolic meaning in local engagement customs—representing wealth, nobility, and sincerity.

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Muğla saraylısı is a syrup-soaked dessert characterized by its unique round shape, achieved by placing walnut kernels from the Menteşe region between layers of dough, rolling them into a log, and then coiling the log spirally from the center of a circular tray outward. This dessert, with an approximately two-century-old history, holds an important place in the social life of the city and continues to be an integral part of traditional engagement customs, symbolizing wealth, nobility, and sincerity.

The ingredients and production method for making 1 kg of Muğla saraylısı are outlined below.

• 180 g dough sheet (rolled from dough)
• 170 g walnut kernels (local Muğla walnuts, coarsely ground in a mortar)
• 150 g clarified butter (the residual part of melted and strained butter)
• 400 g syrup
• 100 g starch (used for rolling out the dough)

• Syrup is prepared by boiling 60% sugar, 40% water, and a trace amount of lemon salt.

1. Dough Sheet Preparation: A dough portion the size of an egg is separated, rested for 15 minutes, and then rolled out with the aid of starch to a thickness greater than that of a baklava sheet.
2. Filling and Rolling: The rolled-out dough sheet is laid on a clean cloth and sprinkled with walnut kernels. One edge of the cloth is grasped and the dough is rolled into a log, fully enclosing the filling.
3. Arrangement on Tray: The rolled log is coiled around its own axis and placed at the center of a circular tray. The same process is repeated with other dough logs, arranging them spirally around the central piece.
4. Basting and Baking: A generous amount of clarified butter is brushed over the surface. After allowing the butter to be absorbed, the dessert is baked in an oven at 215°C.
5. Syrup Soaking: The prepared syrup is warmed. The baked saraylısı is also warmed (it is essential that the saraylısı and syrup be at the same temperature). The warm syrup is poured over the warm saraylısı and left to rest for several hours.

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An application for the geographical indication registration of Muğla saraylısı was submitted by the Muğla Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The application, numbered C2017/143, was filed on 21 September 2017. Following the evaluation process, the product was officially registered on 17 April 2018 under registration number 346 as a "geographical indication." The registrant’s address is recorded as Muslihittin Mahallesi, Şehit Yarbay Alim Yılmaz Caddesi No:3, Muğla.

The monitoring of all stages of Muğla saraylısı production—including its preparation, baking, syrup soaking, storage, packaging, and the cultivation, harvesting, and drying of the Muğla walnuts used—is carried out by a designated authority established jointly by the Muğla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Muğla Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the Muğla Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, and the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Republic of Türkiye.