Turkish Delight — rose-scented lokum dusted in sugar

i. Origin & history

Confections of sugar or honey thickened with starch or flour are old in the Middle East and Persia, but the soft, clear, cornflour-set lokum that the world knows is generally credited to one Istanbul confectioner. Hacı Bekir (Bekir Efendi) came to Istanbul from Anatolia and opened a shop in 1777 in the Bahçekapı district near Eminönü, which became the confectioner to the Ottoman court and is still run by his descendants. Whether he invented lokum outright or perfected and popularised an existing sweet is debated, but his name is permanently attached to it.

The name comes from the Arabic rāḥat al-ḥulqūm, 'comfort of the throat', which became the Ottoman rahat lokum and then simply lokum. In Greek it is loukoumi, in the Balkans lokum or ratluk. The English name 'Turkish delight' arose in the nineteenth century, when travellers and merchants brought boxes of it back to Britain and Western Europe, where it became a fashionable, exotic gift.

In Turkey, lokum is part of hospitality: offered to guests with Turkish coffee, given at the Bayram holidays at the end of Ramadan and the Feast of Sacrifice, and carried as a gift on visits. The variety is enormous — rose, lemon, mastic, orange, bergamot, mint, with pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts, rolled in coconut, or the double-layered çifte kavrulmuş ('double roasted'), cooked longer for a firmer, caramel-coloured lokum. In Greece, the island of Syros is famous for its loukoumi, and Cyprus has the Geroskipou variety.

For many English speakers, Turkish delight is forever linked to C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in which the White Witch tempts Edmund with enchanted boxes of it. The real thing — fragrant, soft and not overly sweet when well made — is quite different from the gummy, cheaply coloured versions sold in many shops.

ii. Why lokum cooks for so long

Lokum is a starch gel set in concentrated sugar. A sugar syrup is boiled to around 115–118°C, the soft-ball stage, and slowly combined with a thick, cooked paste of cornflour and water. The mixture is then cooked gently for an hour or more, stirring often. That long cooking does two things. It slowly drives off water until the gel is concentrated enough to set firm, and it breaks down the starch partially so the finished lokum is smooth, elastic and translucent instead of cloudy and pasty.

Acid — lemon juice or cream of tartar — is essential. It inverts some of the sucrose into glucose and fructose, which stops the sugar crystallising into a gritty texture, and it helps to give the gel its slightly stretchy, chewy bite. Without acid, lokum can turn grainy within days.

The test of doneness is colour and texture: the mixture turns from opaque white to a pale golden, translucent mass, thick enough that a spoonful dropped into cold water forms a soft, bouncy, non-sticky blob, and it reaches around 115°C again on a thermometer. Undercooked lokum is soft and sticky and weeps sugar syrup; overcooked lokum is tough.

Finally, the long set — at least eight hours, ideally overnight, uncovered at room temperature — lets the gel firm and the surface dry enough to cut. The coating of icing sugar mixed with cornflour stops the cubes sticking together; cornflour alone tastes chalky, icing sugar alone dissolves into the surface.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 36 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 800 g granulated sugar
• 250 ml water (syrup)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 120 g cornflour
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 750 ml water (starch)
• 2 tbsp rosewater, or to taste
• 2 drops red or pink food colouring (optional)
• 80 g pistachios, shelled (optional)
• 50 g icing sugar, to coat
• 25 g cornflour, to coat

Use plain cornflour (cornstarch); Turkish makers sometimes use wheat starch. Cream of tartar and lemon juice provide the acid that prevents graininess. Rosewater varies greatly in strength — start with less, taste, and add more off the heat. For lemon lokum, use lemon zest and extra juice; for mastic, grind a few tears with sugar. Pistachios or hazelnuts are classic additions. A thermometer is very helpful but not essential.

iv. Method

1. Line a 20 cm square tin with cling film or baking paper and brush lightly with oil.
2. Put the sugar, 250 ml water and lemon juice in a heavy pan. Stir over medium heat until dissolved, then boil without stirring until it reaches 115°C (240°F), the soft-ball stage. Turn off the heat.
3. Meanwhile, in a second large heavy pan, whisk the 120 g cornflour and cream of tartar with the 750 ml water until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it becomes a thick, glue-like paste.
4. Pour the hot syrup into the starch paste in a slow stream, whisking hard to keep it smooth.
5. Lower the heat to the minimum and cook, stirring every few minutes and scraping the base, for 60–90 minutes until the mixture is a pale golden colour, very thick, translucent and pulls away from the pan sides.
6. Off the heat, stir in the rosewater, colouring and pistachios.
7. Pour into the tin, smooth the top and leave uncovered at room temperature for at least 8 hours, or overnight, until firm.
8. Sift the icing sugar and cornflour together. Dust a board, turn out the lokum and cut it into 3 cm cubes with an oiled knife. Toss each cube in the sugar mixture.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Don't rush the cooking. Lokum needs the full hour or more. Undercooked, it stays sticky and weeps syrup.
• Use a heavy pan and low heat. The thick gel scorches easily; stir and scrape regularly.
• Keep the acid in. Lemon and cream of tartar stop the sugar crystallising and the lokum turning grainy.
• Add flavourings off the heat. Rosewater loses its fragrance when boiled.
• Set it uncovered. Covering traps moisture and keeps the surface sticky.
• Coat with a sugar and starch mix. Icing sugar alone dissolves into the lokum; the cornflour keeps the coating dry.

vi. Variations

Lemon lokum uses zest and juice; mastic lokum is a pale, resinous Ottoman classic; bergamot, orange-blossom and mint are also traditional. Nut lokum is studded with pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts. Coconut lokum is rolled in desiccated coconut instead of sugar, and çifte kavrulmuş is cooked twice as long for a firmer, darker lokum. Modern shops roll lokum around pistachios or layer it with kaymak.

For other confections of the region, see Persian gaz nougat, Greek pasteli and almond marzipan; the Turkish milk pudding kazandibi is another Istanbul sweet-shop classic.

vii. Serving & storage

Serve a few cubes with Turkish coffee or tea, as Turkish hosts do for guests and at Bayram. A glass of cold water alongside cleanses the palate. Lokum also makes a classic gift, packed in a box with plenty of sugar.

Store in an airtight tin, between layers of the sugar-cornflour mixture, at cool room temperature for up to a month. Do not refrigerate — the cold and moisture make it sweat and turn sticky. If the cubes absorb their coating, toss them in fresh sugar before serving.

ix. More from Middle Eastern

• Kazandibi — Turkish caramelised milk pudding
• Gaz — Persian nougat
• Sesame Honey Candy — Greek pasteli
• Malabi — rosewater milk pudding
• Revani — semolina sponge in syrup
• Marzipan — almond confection