Try the world’s oldest dessert, called “Noah’s pudding”

Since the family landed on Mount Ararat, in what is now Eastern Turkey, they were restricted in what they could use for this dessert. They apparently gathered grains, legumes, fruits and nuts that remained on the ark and came up with a delicious dish called ashure.

According to the BBC, the rich dessert can be served hot or cold. It is not overly-sweet and has undertones of a porridge when warm. When it is left to chill it congeals and has a texture similar to custard.

Today the dessert still holds a lot of meaning and symbolism among the Turks and neighboring cultures, as food editor of Vogue and GQ Turkey, Cemre Torun, wrote in an article that was shared by the BBC:

Torun also shared in more detail the different religious belief systems in Turkey over the years, which is fascinating to read. But importantly for the food editor, the dessert is indicative of the types of cooking in the Anatolian region.

The rather nutritious and filling dessert can be adapted to include various fruits and nuts. And as there is so much history surrounding the dish, lots of families will have their own special versions that their ancestors would have perfected and shared with their neighbors, and continue doing so today.

Yet, Suna Cagaptay, a professor of architectural history and archaeology, goes into further detail about the Abrahamic and Islamic traditions and timings of when this ashure was made, as shared in New Lines Magazine:

Interestingly, the name of the dessert is similar to Ashura, a period when in Jewish tradition the rescue of Moses from the Pharoah was celebrated. Shia Muslims celebrate Ashura a few days before Ramadan, when the martyrdom of al-Husayn, the son of Ali and Fatima and the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, is commemorated.

With the dessert holding so much meaning for thousands of years, in various religious belief systems, it's difficult to discern one particular recipe, as so many are adapted to family tastes and available ingredients. So if you're not able to hop on a plane and try one in a Turkish dessert shop, you could try out this one from Spruce Eats.