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Turkish delight

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For other uses, see Turkish Delight (disambiguation).
Turkish delight
Turkısh Delight
Several pieces of Turkish Delight
Alternative namesLokum
CourseSnack
Place of origin Turkey
Region or stateTurkey
Created byOttoman
Serving temperatureRoom temperature
Main ingredientsStarch, sugar
VariationsMultiple

Turkish delight or lokum is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; the cheapest are mostly gel, generally flavored with rosewater, mastic or lemon. The confection is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with flour, talcum powder, or powdered salt to prevent clinging. Other common types include flavors such as cinnamon or mint. In the production process soapwort may be used as an additive, serving as an emulsifier.

Origin

Rosewater-flavored Turkish delight

Lokum has been produced in the Ottoman Empire since the 15th century. Originally, honey and molasses were used as sweeteners, and water and flour were the binding agents.

Lokum was introduced to the West in the 19th century. An unknown Briton reputedly became very fond of the delicacy during his travels to Istanbul, and purchased cases of lokum, to be shipped back to Britain under the name Turkish delight. It became a major delicacy in Britain and throughout Continental Europe.[1]

Name

The Turkish words lokma and lokum come from the Arabic لقمة luqma(t) 'morsel' or 'mouthful', plural لقوم luqūm.[2] The alternate Ottoman name rahat hulkum, from Arabic راحة الحلقوم raḥat al-ḥulqum 'contentment of the throat'.[3][4] In Libya, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, for example, it is known as حلقوم ḥalqūm. In Bosnia, its name "rahat lokum" and its Romanian name "rahat" clearly relates this etymology. Its name in Greek, "λουκούμι" (loukoumi), shares a similar etymology with the modern Turkish; and in parts of Cyprus, where the dessert has protected geographical indication (PGI),[5] it is also marketed as "Cyprus Delight".[6]

In English, it was formerly called "lumps of delight".[7] Turkish delight should not be confused with Turkish Taffy, a packaged nougat candy sold in the United States from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Around the world

In North America, Turkish delight is not especially common, though it forms the basic foundation of the Big Turk chocolate bar (distributed by Nestlé in Canada) as well as the basis for most of Liberty Orchards' line of confectionery, including their various "Fruit Delights" and Aplets & Cotlets. Additionally, the Nory Candy company of California has been producing their "Rahat Locum" version of Turkish delight for 30 years.

Elsewhere, Fry's Turkish Delight is produced by Cadbury in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and can also be found in Canada. The interior jelly of jelly beans may trace its origin back to Turkish delight.[8] In Ireland, an Armenian immigrant founded a confectionery company called Hadji Bey et Cie. The confection is known in Brazil as Delícia Turca or Bala de Goma (Síria/Árabe). In Greece and its islands it is often branded "Greek Delight", possibly because of the historic hostility between Greece and Turkey.

The following is a list of names in other languages, or the names of similar dishes:

Protected geographical indication

Despite its worldwide popularity and production in several countries, at present, the only protected geographical indication (PGI) for such a product is the name Λουκούμι Γεροσκήπου (Loukoumi Geroskipou) for Turkish delight made in Yeroskipou, Cyprus.[5][9]

In popular culture

Turkish delight features as the addictive confection to which Edmund Pevensie succumbs in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. Sales of Turkish delight rose following the theatrical release of the film version of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.[10]

There are "gourmand" perfumes that use Loukoum or Loukhoum in their names and that are said to smell like the confection, as in Loukhoum by Ava Luxe, Loukhoum by Keiko Mecheri and Loukoum by Serge Lutens.

Turkish delight is the main subject of the song "Rahadlakum" from the Broadway musical Kismet.

Turkish delight is also the main subject of the song "Turkish Delight" from the album The Roar of Love completed by the 2nd Chapter of Acts in 1980.

The character of Rosa in Charles Dickens' unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood has an inordinate fondness for Turkish delight, which she frequently refers to as "Lumps of Delight."

Turkish delight is featured in the climax of the novel Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers.

See also

References

  1. ^ Awarded a Silver Medal at the Vienna Fair in 1873.
  2. ^ Diran Kélékian, Dictionnaire Turc-Français (Ottoman Turkish), 1911
  3. ^ Maan Medina, Arabic-English Dictionary, 1973
  4. ^ Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food (Roden is Egyptian)
  5. ^ a b "Turks riled as Cyprus set to win EU trademark on Turkish delight". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. December 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-14. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "Cyprus villagers make giant sweet", BBC News, October 18, 2004
  7. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
  8. ^ "The History of Jelly Beans". National Confectioners Association. Retrieved 2009-09-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) [dead link]
  9. ^ Dossier Number CY/PGI/0005/0454 in the EU's Database of Origin and Registration.
  10. ^ Turkish Delight Sales Jump After Narnia Chronicles

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lokum.
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on
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