🍇 Pepeçura: A Naturally Vegan Grape Pudding From Türkiye's Black Sea Coast

Not every Turkish dessert requires dairy products.

Pepeçura, a purple grape pudding from Türkiye's eastern Black Sea region, is a good example.

Particularly associated with Rize province and its surroundings, this traditional dessert is made from dark, aromatic grapes that ripen toward the end of summer and in autumn.

Its striking purple colour comes naturally from the fruit.

You can find this dessert in some of Black Sea restaurants in Istanbul.

🍇 Meet Isabella, the fragrant Black Sea grape

The essential ingredient is Isabella, a dark grape variety associated with Vitis labrusca, the American fox grape species.

Locally known as kokulu üzüm, meaning fragrant grape, Isabella has a distinctive fruity aroma and a sweet-tart flavour.

These characteristics give traditional pepeçura its recognisable taste.

Although the dessert resembles a fruit pudding, it requires no milk, cream, butter or gelatin.

🥣 Ingredients

Makes 5-6 small servings

• 1 kg Isabella grapes, preferably Black Sea-grown
• 600 ml water
• 2 tablespoons finely ground corn flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar, adjusted to taste
• Optional: Crushed hazelnuts or walnuts for serving

👩‍🍳 Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Prepare the grapes

Wash the grapes thoroughly and remove them from their stems.

Step 2: Crush them

Place the grapes in a large saucepan. Gently crush them with a wooden spoon or potato masher to release their juices.

Step 3: Simmer

Add 600 ml water and simmer over medium heat for approximately 10-15 minutes, until the grapes soften and release their colour.

Step 4: Strain

Pass the cooked grapes through a fine sieve, pressing gently to extract the juice. Discard the skins and seeds.

Step 5: Prepare the thickener

Set aside approximately 240 ml of the grape juice and allow it to cool.

Whisk the corn flour and cornstarch into the cooled juice until smooth.

Step 6: Cook the pudding

Return the remaining grape juice to the saucepan.

Gradually add the starch mixture and sugar, stirring continuously.

Cook over medium-low heat for approximately 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens and becomes glossy.

Step 7: Pour into bowls

Transfer the hot pudding into small serving bowls.

Step 8: Refrigerate

Allow the pudding to cool slightly before refrigerating for at least 2-3 hours.

Step 9: Serve

Enjoy chilled, either plain or topped with crushed hazelnuts or walnuts.

🌿 What vegan travellers should know

✅ This version contains no animal-derived ingredients.

✅ No dairy substitutes are necessary because the traditional pudding can be prepared without dairy.

✅ Our recipe contains no wheat flour. However, anyone with celiac disease should verify ingredient labels and avoid gluten cross-contact.

🍇 Isabella grapes are important to the dessert's traditional flavour. Ordinary dark grapes may produce a similar pudding but not necessarily the same aroma.

💡 Adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of your grapes.

A dessert worth discovering

Visitors to Istanbul often associate Turkish desserts with baklava, künefe or milk-based puddings.

Pepeçura offers a different side of Turkish culinary heritage.

It comes from the Black Sea coast, celebrates a locally grown grape and demonstrates how naturally plant-based recipes have long been part of regional Turkish cooking.

Sometimes, discovering vegan Turkish cuisine means looking beyond the familiar desserts.