Van Kavut Product Description and Distinctive Features: In the city of Van, which has hosted travelers throughout history due to its location on the Silk Road, a rich breakfast culture has emerged, featuring various products such as herb cheese, clotted cream, honey, Murtuğa, Kavut, butter, cacık (yogurt with cucumber), rose jam, ilitme, and çörek (a type of pastry). Kavut, in particular, is considered an essential part of the Van breakfast culture, where the predominant occupation is animal husbandry. Van Kavut has its roots in the Urartu civilization period when long-lasting wars took place in the Van region. Historical records indicate that it was used as a part of the soldiers' diet during the Urartian civilization and has survived to the present day. Significant findings related to Urartian cuisine were obtained through 42 years of excavation in Van. The excavations revealed evidence that wheat, lentils, and chickpeas were cultivated in Van during the Urartu period, and remnants of kavut, a 3,000-year-old dish, were found in the lower parts of the fortresses. Kavut, a dish made from wheat, milk, and butter, is considered one of the oldest dishes in the region. In the late 16th century, Şeref Han and in the late 17th century, Evliya Çelebi, who visited Van and Bitlis, mentioned eating gavut (kavut) made from millet in the mountainous regions. Evliya Çelebi noted that he was consistently offered "Poksin (kavut)" in every house he visited during his travels to the region. Describing the dish, he mentioned, "... This dish, cooked with milk, millet, and butter, is quite delicious and is offered to almost every guest." Kavut, consumed not only in the Van Lake Basin but also in the Middle East, used to be made with apple (elmalı kavut), a variety of the dish that is no longer prepared due to the unavailability of the specific apple used in its preparation. Kavut is traditionally served with molasses, rose jam, or honey, accompanied by flatbread. Produced by roasting wheat flour soaked in milk and ground with the peel, and mixed with butter, Kavut has high nutritional value. It has been known as the food of early risers in history and has found a place on the tables of both breakfast and pre-dawn meals in the local culture. Van Kavut contains 94.2-94.8% dry matter, 3.32-3.55% fat, 4.14-4.32% ash, and 13.2-13.9% protein. Production Method: The flour used in Kavut must be obtained from a local variety called Tir wheat (T. aestivum Var. aestivum L. ssp. Leucospermum Körn.), which is grown in Van. The distinctive feature of Tir wheat, which thrives in Van's soil poor in organic matter and harsh climatic conditions, is its ability to be planted 10-15 cm deep thanks to the length of its coleoptile (the sheath protecting the unopened leaf of the shoot), having a deep root structure, being tall, and being resistant to diseases. This wheat is soaked in milk for 12 hours without removing its husk, and then it is dried in a shaded environment with warm air before being ground in a hand mill. Hand mill: It consists of two cylindrical stones with a hole in the middle (Figure-1). The holes pass through a wooden axle, and the upper stone is rotated by hand by turning the attached handle. Hand mills made of hard basalt stone in the region ensure that the product remains coarse and does not come into contact with any chemical substances or materials.