Turkish Delight

If you grew up with the Narnia Chronicles, then it’s impossible to pop a piece of Turkish Delight into your mouth without thinking about how selfish Edmund sold out his siblings to the White Witch for this exotic and beautiful perfumed gumdrop. 

And it’s also impossible to not think about how Aslan, the Lion King, sacrificed himself for Edmund’s sin of treachery at the merciless hands of the White Witch. Oh to be loved by a Lion so great! Thanks to C.S. Lewis’s book The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe, this little confection, for me, has become a beautiful little reminder to forgive and forget.

But maybe you’re asking, “WHY? Why would Edmund do that?!?!” And I don’t blame you. Until I actually tasted Turkish Delight from Turkey (which is amazing) I asked the very same question: “Why oh why, would he sell out his siblings for this yucky, gummy, bland sweet?”

Truly a whole novel could be written about C.S. Lewis’s reasons for choosing Turkish Delight as the enchanted sweet of choice. I mean why not some other triple chocolate ridiculousness? Given the historical setting of this book and also his use of Turkish symbols and names (Aslan means Lion in Turkish), I’m sure there is a deeper meaning here. England’s proximity to Turkey probably meant that Turkish Delight was a special little import and I bet it was also scarce during WWII making it even more desirable. 

Here, Stateside, I will be the first one to admit that I dislike store-bought Turkish Delight (also known as lokma or lokum). Even when I buy it from Middle Eastern Markets I’m disappointed. But when I make it at home it’s soft and pretty and I can flavor it and color it however I want.

Add nuts or don’t. It’s a personal preference. I add pistachios because I like pistachios and because it makes me feel better as a Mom that at least there’s some real nutrition buried in the flavored sugar-cornstarch paste. 

As much as kids love to help out in the kitchen, this is not a recipe to make with them. Sugar burns are dangerous and this recipe involves heating up sugar to the hardball stage and it might splatter a little along the way. If you’ve never made candy before I highly suggest getting uber organized before starting and having a second pair of (adult) hands during the pot to pot transfer is helpful to insure ingredients don’t get lumpy along the way.

I know I always say every recipe is simple. And this is simple. There’s just a minute or two of stirring frantically and mild hyperventilating mid way through the recipe and then it’s all just a happy sweet memory!

Rose essence smells so pretty and it pairs beautifully with raspberry or cherry. You could also add a little vanilla or almond extract. I use pink gel paste for coloring. There are many, many flavors of Turkish Delight so feel free to experiment! Rose, lemon, orange, pomegranate, mint, mastic (like cedar) flavors are among the most popular and nuts of all sorts: pistachio, hazelnut, or walnuts can be used if desired.

Wishing you and yours a lovely Easter, Happy belated Passover and fun Sizdeh Bidar filled with kindness, compassion and forgiveness.

Turkish Delight

Ingredients

• SUGAR SYRUP
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup honey (not raw – as clear as possible)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 pinches of cream of tartar
• CORNSTARCH PASTE
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 1/3 cups water
• 1 teaspoons cream of tartar
• ROSE FLAVOR
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
• 2 cups roasted pistachios (rub them together to loosen skins)
• 2 drops pink gel paste or food coloring
• DUSTING POWDER
• 1 cup powdered sugar sifted together with 1/3 cup cornstarch

PREP: Before getting set up, make sure you have a candy thermometer! You need one for this recipe to get it right. Also, it's a good idea to have both the Sugar Syrup and the Cornstarch Paste ingredients measured and waiting happily in their respective pots. Have the flavor ingredients ready to go too.

1. Line your rimmed baking sheet or your cake pan with tin foil. You can also just spray with coconut oil spray, but I personally need a fool proof way of unsticking. I prefer to make medium size squares so I use an 8x8-inch cake pan but small ones are nice too and you can use a half sheet baking sheet for this or a 9x13-inch rimmed sheet pan or even a 9x9-inch cake pan. Press tin foil into all the sides and try to remove any crinkles. Lightly spray tin foil with coconut cooking oil.

2. For the sugar syrup, combine all syrup ingredients in a medium size saucepan (not a small saucepan, very important). Mix to combine. Bring the sugar to a boil over high heat and then turn down to medium-high heat. Do not stir! You will be tempted, but don't! It's important for the sugar crystals to form properly. The mixture will boil up fiercely (which is why you want a medium size pot) and that's okay, it will relax a little. Insert the candy thermometer and cook until 260˚F is reached, the hard ball stage, about 10 minutes. A telling sign that you are reaching the hardball stage is that the the bubbles will start to slow their bubbling/popping speed once the temperature starts to climb.

3. THIS IS THE TRICKY PART, TAKE A DEEP BREATH: Once the sugar syrup is on its way up and it's reached around 240˚F, start the cornstarch paste. Whisk all the ingredients for the cornstarch paste in a large pot and once the sugar syrup is around 250˚F turn the heat up under the cornstarch paste to medium high heat stirring constantly with a whisk – this is going to gel fast so whisk, whisk, whisk! Turn off the heat once the cornstarch paste starts to thicken up but keep warm on the burner and if possible continue to stir or have an (adult) helper continue to stir for you because you want it not to lump up.

4. Carefully pour the hardball sugar syrup (that has reached 260˚F) into the cornstarch paste and whisk it in really good. Bring the heat back up and return the mixture to a boil. It will look like a bog with "glub, glub" bubbles. Turn heat down to low once it glub-glubs, switch from a whisk to a spatula and stir for another 30 minutes. I know, I know, it's a pain, but you can't walk away from it or it will get lumpy bumpy. When it has turned a yellow honey color and it's thick, it is done.

5. Remove the pot from the hot burner, stir in flavorings and gel paste. Pour 1/2 of the mixture immediately into the prepared pan. Sprinkle pistachios over. Pour the rest of the mixture over top and smooth to form an even layer. Press plastic wrap over top. Allow to cool and set for A WHOLE DAY out of the refrigerator in a cool but not cold place -- this helps prevent sweating later on, so I'm told.

6. After resting, gently lift the tin foil and Turn Turkish Delight out of the pan and turn out onto a large cutting board dusted with a little cornstarch. Cut the squares to your desired width and use an oiled knife in between each cut to avoid sticking. Dust each piece of Turkish Delight in the cornstarch/powdered sugar mixture! Pop in your mouth and enjoy!