How to Make Turkish Delight

Alright then, it's not actually British. It is originally from Turkey, but it was an Englishman who first brought the Turkish candy known as "Lokum" back to the west and popularized it as "Turkish Delight".

Blighty's Tuck Store sells original style Turkish Delight from Marks & Spencer - but only at Christmas. So what is one who delights in Turkish candy to do for the rest of the year? Make your own!

My grandmother's recipe book failed me on this one so I went in pursuit of a recipe on the Internet. I found an awful lot of recipes for Turkish Delight, with wide variances in ingredients and preparation methods. I found two that I wanted to try in my kitchen and set to work.

The first recipe sounded very easy but the result was not what I expected so the local squirrels received an unexpected bonus snack that evening.

The second recipe involved a lot more preparation but produced a result that was authentic and delicious. Here is the recipe that I recommend:

Ingredients

• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• A whole lot of confectioner's sugar

Preparation

• Boil together 1 1/2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the granulated sugar. If you have a candy thermometer check that it reaches 240F.
• Mix the corn starch, cream of tartar and the rest of the water together and heat in a saucepan until the mixture looks like a thick glue.
• Combine the contents of the two pans and return to the heat. Simmer, covered for one hour
• The resulting mixture will turn golden and very sticky. When it reaches this stage, remove from heat, stir in the remaining lemon juice and spoon the gooey, golden mess into a greased baking tray then allow to cool for at least 4 hours.
• Cut into small pieces and coat with a generous quantity of confectioners sugar. The candy will be very sticky and seems to eat the confectioners sugar, so use plenty of it.

John's Notes

• First a strict rule; disobey this rule at your peril: Wash all the pans and utensils immediately after use. Turkish Delight is sticky, very, very sticky. Imagine how much work it would be to clean up once the candy has solidified.
• My Turkish Delight was slightly too gooey. It could have been a little firmer. If I make it again I will use more cream of tartar and/or a little more starch.

Where to buy the ingredients
Well, we usually have a little blatant advertising for Blighty's Tuck Store here but, this week, NONE of the ingredients are available at Blighty's! That's it I'm off to the poor house at last. Oh, well, try the retailer where you buy your usual baking supplies. Good cooking!