How many of you remember the song
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
from 1929 and the line, “Now it’s Turkish Delight on a moonlit night”? Probably not very many, but you still may
have heard of Turkish Delight. (Not the
Erotica kind.)
SWEETS TO THE SWEET. WHAT IS LOKUM?
Actually,
Turkish Delight, or Lokum, is a family of absolutely yummy
confections concocted of a gel made from starch and sugar and dusted with
icing, sugar, copra, or powdered cream of Tartar, to prevent clinging.
Oh, I’m gaining weight just
writing this.
Last month when I visited the
Spice Market (Misir Carsisi) in
Istanbul, Turkey, I learned there are many varieties, with fillings of chopped
dates, pistachios and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel and most frequently
flavored with rose water, mastic, lemon, orange, cinnamon or mint.
Originally, honey and molasses
were used for the sweeteners, and water and flour as the binding agents, and
rosewater, lemon peel, and bitter orange as the most common flavors. They are usually made in bars or logs and cut
into approximately 1” square pieces. But
I saw many other shapes labeled as Turkish Delight.
ORIGINS
The Turkish words lokma
and lokum are derived from the Turkic luqma(t), meaning morsel
and mouthful. Egypt, Bulgaria,
Syria, Greece, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina all have their versions of the
delight and their own names. In English,
it was formerly called Lumps of Delight.
It’s precise origins are
unknown. Like most foods, it no doubt
existed in some form for centuries, made from locally available
ingredients. Turkish legend has it that
a Turkish sultan, tired of rumbling of discontent within his harem, summoned
all confectioners in the land and ordered them to come up with a new dessert to
quell the unrest. As a result, lokum was
born.
The sweet as we know it today is
credited to Bekir Effendi, who moved from his hometown Kastamonu, Turkey
(although some references say Anatolia – maybe that’s the region) to Istanbul
and opened a confectionery shop in 1776.
He was a hit. Soon, fashionable
ladies began giving Turkish Delight to their friends in special lace
handkerchiefs. These were also used as
acts of courting between couples, as documented by traditional Turkish love
songs of that era.
The confection was
introduced to the western world in the 19th century. Unconfirmed stories tell of an unknown Briton
become fond of the delicacy, purchased cases of lokum, and shipped them to
Britain under the name Turkish Delight.
The term Turkish Delight can be a
euphemism for hashish candy, as hashish is sometimes thought to have been an
ingredient in the original recipe. The
candy’s other claim to fame is its mention in C.S. Lewis’ "The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe" where the White Witch tempts Edmund with Turkish
Delight.
RECIPES
And speaking of recipes, here are
a few. I’ve never made Turkish Delight,
or seen it made, but the ones I had in Turkey all had pistachios or other nuts
in them.
Recipe 1, without nuts, is from http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dessertssweetspastries/r/turkishdelight.htm by Saad Fayed, About.com.Guide
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Ingredients:
4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cup confectioners sugarVegetable oil or shortening
1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cup confectioners sugarVegetable oil or shortening
Preparation:
In a 9 inch baking pan, grease
the sides and bottom with vegetable oil or shortening.
Line with wax paper and grease
the wax paper.
In a saucepan, combine lemon
juice, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water on medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar
dissolves. Allow mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, until
the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Remove from heat and set aside.Combine
cream of tartar, 1 cup corn starch and remaining water in saucepan over medium
heat. Stir until all lumps are gone and
the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring when the mixture has a glue like
consistency.
Stir in the lemon juice, water
and sugar mixture. Stir constantly for
about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring
frequently.
Once the mixture has become a
golden color, stir in rosewater.Pour mixture into wax paper lined pan. Spread
evenly and allow to cool overnight.
Once it has cooled overnight,
sift together confectioners sugar and remaining cornstarch.
Turn over baking pan containing
Turkish delight onto clean counter or table and cut with oiled knife into one
inch pieces.
Coat with confectioners sugar
mixture.Serve or store in airtight container in layers separated with wax or
parchment paper.
Recipe 2 is
from April 1997 Gourmet at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pistachio-Rosewater-Turkish-Delight-14057
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Dietary considerations: Low sodium
Yield: Makes about 36
Dietary considerations: Low sodium
Yield: Makes about 36
This little sweetmeat
is very popular throughout the Middle East. The Turkish term for the
confection, rahat lokum, literally means "throat's ease."
Ingredients:
1/2 cup shelled natural
pistachios
Four 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin (about 3 tablespoons)
2 3/4 cups cold water
1 cup cornstarch
3 cups granulated sugar
5 teaspoons rosewater1 drop red food coloring if desired
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar plus additional if necessary
Four 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin (about 3 tablespoons)
2 3/4 cups cold water
1 cup cornstarch
3 cups granulated sugar
5 teaspoons rosewater1 drop red food coloring if desired
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar plus additional if necessary
Preparation:
Oil an 8-inch square baking pan
and line with plastic wrap. Oil plastic wrap.
In a small saucepan of boiling
water blanch pistachios 3 minutes and drain in a sieve.
Rinse pistachios under cold
running water and pat dry. Rub skins off pistachios.
In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin
over 1/2 cup cold water and let soften.
In another small bowl stir
together 1/8 cup cold water and cornstarch.
In a 4-quart heavy kettle stir
together remaining 1 1/2 cups cold water, granulated sugar, and rosewater and
bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in
gelatin and cornstarch mixtures and boil over moderate heat, stirring
constantly with a wooden spatula, 10 minutes (mixture will be very thick). Stir
in pistachios and food coloring and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Pour mixture into baking pan,
smoothing top with spatula, and cool.
Chill confection, loosely
covered, until set, about 4 hours.
Sift 1 tablespoon confectioners'
sugar onto a work surface. Invert confection onto sugar and peel off plastic
wrap. Cut confection into 1/8-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners' sugar
over cubes and toss to coat.
Wrap cubes in parchment paper (do
not use wax paper, plastic wrap, or airtight containers because confections
will weep) and chill.
Turkish delight may be made 2
weeks ahead and kept chilled, wrapped in parchment paper.
Just before serving,
recoat Turkish delight in additional confectioners' sugar.
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9 comments:
Sounds great. I'm getting a cavity just thinking about eating it.
I've always wanted to go to Istanbul, Turkey. The Turkish Delight sounds delicious.
LOL:) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (cartoon version and book) was the first time I'd ever heard of TD:) Always thought it was some sort of cake.
Thanks for the recipe:)
This sounds wonderful! I could probably eat an entire batch by myself which is why I'd only make it if I was having company, lol!
Wow - you're making me hungry. :)
Wow, those sound amazing, and not very diet friendly. :} But thats not going to stop me from trying them Ill have to have will power and only have a few...Yah right. I'll make a small batch.
Thanks for sharing
Lynda
Yum, yum, yum. They sound wonderful and decadent. I'd love to visit Istanbul. Sweets to the Sweet is the title of one of my short stories.
been there, done that. still NOT my favorite food after living there 3 years. but a fun post. thanks!
I need to keep checking this blog--Hi Ann--I do remember It's Istanbul not Constantinople so well--of course I grew up out of the U.S. so more dependent on my parents' music (missed a lot of rock n roll). Lokum with pistachios--that's the good stuff!I miss Istanbul! M. S. Spencer
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