4 ms·

Proper Turkish delight is never coated with icing sugar, but always starch. I don't know where the author had it either, but it is nowhere near being "very, ver

Proper Turkish delight is never coated with icing sugar, but always starch. I don't know where the author had it either, but it is nowhere near being "very, very sweet." Hell, I can't even imagine what an American may consider as being too sweet! Source: Born and raised in Turkey.

radicalbyte 9y ago
The stuff you get in the UK is disgusting, it's a sugary jelly with a very strong artificial rose flavour. Sticky sweet goo. I've had the proper stuff in Turkey and it's not sweet, it's not sticky or gooey. The flavour, at least of the stuff I had, was subtle.
- grenoire 9y ago
  Seeing the photo the author chose... If that's what he had, that's really not what lokum is.
- derefr 9y ago
  Oddly, the only "proper" Turkish delight I've had, as a Canadian, I found in a British-sweets import shop. Not sure if it was British-made, mind you...
  - danbolt 9y ago
    A chain of chocolate stores in Western Canada produces some form of it too. I remember enjoying the taste of it as a child, but I'm not sure how it would hold up nowadays.
- jongalloway2 9y ago
  I brought my kids home some Turkish delight from Istanbul and they absolutely devoured it. It was not sickly sweet and the flavors were wonderful. I think our favorite was rose - delicate and much more complex than the mass produced candies they were used to.
- thaumasiotes 9y ago
  I've had it in Greece, where tourist shops sell it under the name "Greek delight" because everybody hates and despises Turkey. I recall it as being disgusting, but mostly because of the texture. I don't recall it being gummy or chewy at all -- it was soft and didn't put up resistance when you bit into it.
  - tehlike 9y ago
    I am turkish, but never heard greek delight. Greek coffee, greek manti i heard it all, but not delight. Gotta love the hate that shows up in the food names. Otherwise, i guess we like each other :)
    - coldtea 9y ago
      I've never heard of "Greek delight" either. In Greece it's just called "lukum". Could be just how it is marketed to tourists at airport shops and such (since, why would they buy something labeled as "turkish delight" when they are in Greece? They'd rather buy something they consider local to experience). For the coffee thing, it's not particularly any hate -- people just know this coffee for ages, from when they were kids, as the major domestic variety, so they call it like that. The same happens all over the Balkans, they call it X coffee in most countries X. That said, I think it's a general beverage that comes from the middle east / arab countries in general (Wikipedia says it originated in Yemen, existed in Egypt, etc before getting popular elsewhere), rather than something particularly Turkish, just that the Turkish branded it first.
  - radicalbyte 9y ago
    The really soft stuff is the Cadbury's sweet crap. What I had in Turkey had a bite like al dente pasta and a little chewy but not stick-to-your-teeth sticky chewy.
MrFantastic 9y ago
A Starburst candy is a 10 on the sweetness scale for me.
paulddraper 9y ago
In US/British culture, Turkish Delights are coated in sugar and certainly sweet https://www.thespruce.com/turkish-delight-521388 https://www.thespruce.com/turkish-delight-521388 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/95277/turkish-delight/ http://allrecipes.com/recipe/95277/turkish-delight/ Maybe misnamed, but hardly the hardly the fault of Mr. Lewis.
enraged_camel 9y ago
Turkish delight has probably over a thousand varieties, owing to its long and rich history. What you think is "proper" Turkish delight is probably specific to your city, perhaps even your neighborhood. That said, the most common kind has a very thin layer of icing sugar coating. It looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/TeSQuzP.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TeSQuzP.jpg Source: Born and raised in Turkey.

radicalbyte 9y ago

The stuff you get in the UK is disgusting, it's a sugary jelly with a very strong artificial rose flavour. Sticky sweet goo. I've had the proper stuff in Turkey and it's not sweet, it's not sticky or gooey. The flavour, at least of the stuff I had, was subtle.

grenoire 9y ago
Seeing the photo the author chose... If that's what he had, that's really not what lokum is.
derefr 9y ago
Oddly, the only "proper" Turkish delight I've had, as a Canadian, I found in a British-sweets import shop. Not sure if it was British-made, mind you...
- danbolt 9y ago
  A chain of chocolate stores in Western Canada produces some form of it too. I remember enjoying the taste of it as a child, but I'm not sure how it would hold up nowadays.
jongalloway2 9y ago
I brought my kids home some Turkish delight from Istanbul and they absolutely devoured it. It was not sickly sweet and the flavors were wonderful. I think our favorite was rose - delicate and much more complex than the mass produced candies they were used to.
thaumasiotes 9y ago
I've had it in Greece, where tourist shops sell it under the name "Greek delight" because everybody hates and despises Turkey. I recall it as being disgusting, but mostly because of the texture. I don't recall it being gummy or chewy at all -- it was soft and didn't put up resistance when you bit into it.
- tehlike 9y ago
  I am turkish, but never heard greek delight. Greek coffee, greek manti i heard it all, but not delight. Gotta love the hate that shows up in the food names. Otherwise, i guess we like each other :)
  - coldtea 9y ago
    I've never heard of "Greek delight" either. In Greece it's just called "lukum". Could be just how it is marketed to tourists at airport shops and such (since, why would they buy something labeled as "turkish delight" when they are in Greece? They'd rather buy something they consider local to experience). For the coffee thing, it's not particularly any hate -- people just know this coffee for ages, from when they were kids, as the major domestic variety, so they call it like that. The same happens all over the Balkans, they call it X coffee in most countries X. That said, I think it's a general beverage that comes from the middle east / arab countries in general (Wikipedia says it originated in Yemen, existed in Egypt, etc before getting popular elsewhere), rather than something particularly Turkish, just that the Turkish branded it first.
- radicalbyte 9y ago
  The really soft stuff is the Cadbury's sweet crap. What I had in Turkey had a bite like al dente pasta and a little chewy but not stick-to-your-teeth sticky chewy.

MrFantastic 9y ago

A Starburst candy is a 10 on the sweetness scale for me.

paulddraper 9y ago

In US/British culture, Turkish Delights are coated in sugar and certainly sweet https://www.thespruce.com/turkish-delight-521388 https://www.thespruce.com/turkish-delight-521388 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/95277/turkish-delight/ http://allrecipes.com/recipe/95277/turkish-delight/ Maybe misnamed, but hardly the hardly the fault of Mr. Lewis.

enraged_camel 9y ago

Turkish delight has probably over a thousand varieties, owing to its long and rich history. What you think is "proper" Turkish delight is probably specific to your city, perhaps even your neighborhood. That said, the most common kind has a very thin layer of icing sugar coating. It looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/TeSQuzP.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TeSQuzP.jpg Source: Born and raised in Turkey.