Pastirma or basturma, also called pastarma, pastourma, basdirma, or basterma, is a highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef that is found in the cuisines of Turkey, Armenia, the Levant, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Greece, Iraq and North Macedonia. Etymology and history Pastırma is mentioned in Mahmud of Kashgars Diwan Lughat al-Turk and Evliya Çelebis Seyahatname. According to Turkish scholar Biron Kiliç, the term pastirma is derived from the Turkic noun bastırma, which means "pressing". Some say basturma originated in ancient Armenian cuisine, where it was known as aboukh'''. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink writes that pastırma is the word the Ottomans used for a type of Byzantine cured beef that was called paston (παστόν). According to Johannes Koder, an expert in Byzantine studies, paston could mean either salted meat or salted fish, while akropaston (ἀκρόπαστον) means salted meat. Andrew Dalby gives the definition of paston as "salted fish" and akropaston apakin as "well-salted fillet steak". Gregory Nagy gives the definition of akropaston as "smoked", describing apakin as "a kind of salami sausage, probably similar to pastourma". The Oxford Companion for Food says that a Byzantine dried meat delicacy was "a forerunner of the pastirma of modern Turkey". Other scholars have given different accounts of the historical origins of the Ottoman pastırma. The armies of settled, agricultural peoples had cereal-based diets; some Turkish and Bulgarian scholars have written that certain medieval fighters who kept dried and salted meat under their saddles had an edge over opponents who ate mostly cereals. Ammianus Marcellinus wrote that the Huns warmed this meat by placing it between their legs or on the backs of their horses. The English word pastrami may be a Yiddish construction that combined salami with pastırma or one of the similar linguistic variations of the word (pastramă in Romanian, pastromá in Russian and basturma in Armenian). Preparation and usage Pastirma is usually made from water buffalo or beef, but other meats can also be used. In Egypt, pastirma is made not only with beef, but with lamb, water buffalo, goat and camel as well. Some pastirmas are made with horsemeat. Different cuts of meat may be used; a single cow can produce 26 different "types" of pastirma. Fillet, shank, leg and shoulder cuts are used for the best quality pastirmas. It is usually made during the months of October and November. To make pastirma, the meat is rinsed and salted