Materia medica texts and pharmacopeias were signal genres of medical knowledge in late seventeenth century Istanbul. Indeed, Istanbul was the main producer of such texts in the entire empire by a wide margin (out of 27 such texts written between 1660 and 1700 in the Ottoman Empire, 22 came out of Istanbul) Many materia medica texts presented a knowledge landscape rich with plants, spices, metals and minerals. Yet, none of them had accompanying visuals. These meaningful absences clue us into how the physicians and amateurs managed their ingredients in Istanbul. The verbal descriptions of plants and spices were often accompanied by translations in several languages as well as cues about taste and smell, which suggests not a world of exotics and exploration, but rather connoisseurship in a stable, familiar and resourceful medical marketplace that operated in several languages.