The following is a direct quote from the website Turkeytravelplanner.com:
The story of the creation of Turkish Delight (lokum) begins in the late 1700s, when Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir, confectioner to the imperial court in Istanbul, listens to the sultan rant:
"Hard candy! I'm tired of hard candy!" the sultan growled as he cracked a tooth on yet another sourball. "I demand soft candy!"
Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir had come to the imperial capital of Istanbul from the Anatolian mountain town of Kastamonu in the late 1700s to hear his emperor's plea.
His mountain-man blood rose! His face turned grim with conviction! He set his jaw with determination! He was going to take bold and decisive action!
He marched into his confectioner's kitchen and thought up a recipe: he mixed water, sugar, corn starch, cream of tartar and rosewater, cooked it up, poured the mixture into a flat pan slicked with almond oil, and let it cool. Then he sprinkled it with powdered sugar, cut it into bite-sized chunks and...his hand trembling, his eyes bright with anticipation, his mind fraught with trepidation, his lips quivering to receive the morsel...he bit!
What? No crack of candy crunched by his mighty alpine jaws? No shower of sugary splinters scattering through his oral cavity? Why, this new confection was soft and easy to chew, a pleasure, a treat for both palate and teeth! It was... it was...a comfortable morsel!
Rahat lokum ("comfortable morsel"), nowadays called simply lokum, or Turkish Delight, was an instant hit, especially at the palace. Ali Muhiddin became a celebrity overnight as palace bigwhigs (or, more usually, their lackeys and gofers) traipsed down the hill from Topkapi Palace to Eminönü on the Golden Horn to buy boxes of Comfortable Morsels to thrill the jaded palates of Ottoman potentates.
This is for Clive's friend Tony in England who has a special place in his heart for authentic turkish delight. Tony, we promise to send you a box of what I deem to be the best Lokum in Turkey, after much strenuous taste-testing to ensure quality! My personal search is for kaymakli lokum which is made with clotted cream. Yum...We are in Oludinez now and Clive had his first flight. He will write a proper blog on flying tomorrow!
2 comments:
Now I'm really jelous :-)
OOOh! AAAAAAAH! True confectionery porn! it looks quite delicious. Keep your eye out for the 'double boiled' variety. It is harder and more intense in flavour than the more commonly seen (here anyway) variety, and is not as sweet.
I think you have done enough research. Leave some for the rest of us.
Love
Tony
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