These sweets and lokum have interesting histories of their own. Istanbul is popular for its local Turkish delight, there are more than a hundred varieties and combinations of Turkish delights. Turkish delight is the British name for a sweet called Lokum, one of many spellings and a corrupted version of the original phrase, “rahatü’l-hulkum”, which means “giving rest to the throat.” I have to admit her Turkish delight is fantastic.Surely you must be knowing about the different varieties of famous Turkish Delight or Lokum mostly consumed during special occasions and the festive season of Ramadan in Turkey. I got this recipe for Turkish delight from my friend Adnan from Istanbul. In Croatia and Serbia, it is known as ratluk, while in Bulgaria as well as in Turkey it is lokum. In Greece it is known as loukoumi, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Israel are Rahat Lokum. Let us mention only ḥalqūm in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Tunisia and malban in Egypt and Lebanon. Thanks to the Ottoman Empire, the lokum spread to other parts of the empire where it has remained popular to this day. Let us also mention that some popular perfumes are named after him. Namely, in the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is the first part of The Chronicles of Narnia, one of the main characters seeks Turkish Delight as a witch’s wish. It even served as the basis for jellybeans and found its place in popular culture. Today is well known in both North and South America and Australia. Thanks to immigrants from the Ottoman Empire, it spread all over the world. Here it is called by the name under which it is known even today – Turkish Delight. Lokum vs Turkish DelightĪround the same time when its popularity emerged in Istanbul, one of the visitors brought it to England. Either way, I like the legend of Haci Bekir. Recently, theories have emerged that say that this sweet has existed before in Ottoman and Persian cuisine. Yet he has made the lives of many at least a little sweeter. Haci Bekir gained fame during his lifetime, so his portrait can be found in the Louvre today. The company is one of the oldest in Turkey and among 100 oldest in the world. Currently, the 5th generation is running the business.
His merits were so appreciated at court and he was even decorated with a medal of honour.Īfter his death, the family continued the business, and the company is still owned by his family. Word of his sweets spread to the Imperial Court, where the Sultan appointed him Chief Confectioner of the Palace. In this way, lokum, as we know it today, was created. However, with the industrial production of sugar and the discovery of starch Haci Bekir began to use them. At first, he traditionally made them using flour and molasses as a sweetener. In 1777 he moved from the city of Araç in the north of Turkey to Istanbul. Legend has it that lokum was invented by Confectioner Bekir Effendi, better known as Hacı Bekir. The name lokum comes from the Arabic word luqma (t) which means mouthful and phrase rāḥat al-hulqūm, which means “comfort of the throat”. Immensely popular are fillings with chopped or whole pistachios and almonds. You can also find lokum with countless fillings. However, some flavours are still bestsellers such as rosewater, orange blossom, mint and lemon. This leaves a lot of space for the imagination. The base of lokum recipe is sugar and corn starch, to which numerous flavours and colours are added.
In Turkey, you can find this little gummy sweet in myriad colours and flavours of candy shop windows. It is an indispensable part of traditional, and contemporary Turkish cuisine as well. Lokum, in the popular culture known as Turkish Delight, is a world-famous Turkish sweet.
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