The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very center and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious.
In making this Turkish delight my aim was not to make Traditional so-thick-it-sticks-your-teeth-together Turkish delight. My idea of what Turkish delight should be is almost completely based on watching The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I wanted Turkish delight that was fairly soft but able to keep its shape, and quite sticky – but not like jelly which breaks when you eat it.
From making these three recipes I have decided the basic method for Turkish delight is: 1)Mix thickening and water, 2)make sugar syrup and heat until it hardens when dropped into cold water, 3) thicken, 4) add the flavour and colouring, 5) pour into molds. Then cut into squares and dust with cornflour or icing sugar. Really the only difference is the proportions and the type of thickening.
- Gelatin
- 1 T gelatin
- a large 1/3 cup cold water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup hot water
- A pinch of tartaric acid
- rosewater
- colouring
Mix gelatin and cold water (make sure there are no lumps) and let it sit. Mix the sugar and hot water heat gently until the sugar is dissolved then bring to the boil. I didn’t use a thermometer for this one (I just guessed), but I think it was around 115c or the soft-ball stage. When it reaches that stage remove from the heat. Stir in the melted gelatin, flavor and colour and pour into the mold. Don’t refrigerate because when you take it out it will attract condensation and become very sticky and wet. When it has set, unmold, cut into squares and dust with cornflour.
This recipe is the most like jelly: it unmolds easily, cuts nicely and is very soft.
This recipe is extremely based on this recipe I found, and if you want to make proper Turkish delight it is a very good recipe with useful explanations of why you do things.
- Traditional
- 225g sugar
- 90ml water
- A pinch of tartaric acid
- 60ml water
- 40g cornflour
- rosewater
- colouring
Combine sugar, water and tartaric acid. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and heat gently to 126C or the hard-ball stage. Remove from the heat. While that is cooking combine the cornflour and water and stir until smooth. When the sugar syrup is done, stir a little into the cornflour mix so it is a similar temperature then stir the cornflour into the sugar syrup. Return to the heat and cook gently until thick. To test if it is thick enough drop a bit in some cold water and see if it holds its shape. Then remove from the heat and scrape into a greased tin to set. When it has set, unmold, cut into squares and dust with cornflour.
This recipe is actually quite nice. I haven’t had traditional Turkish delight that I really liked but I like this. It’s not as chewy and dried out as Turkish Delight from the shop. It was a little lumpy but that could be fixed by stirring it more next time.
- Gummy
- 50g gelatin
- 130ml cold water
- 260g sugar
- 215g glucose syrup
- 95ml water
- colour
- T rose water
Combine the gelatin and the first measure of water in a small bowl, stirring so there are no lumps then leave to sit. In a medium pot combine the sugar, syrup and the other water and cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved then bring to the boil and heat until 135c or the hard-crack stage. Remove from the heat and let cool to 120c (I’m not sure how you would calculate this without a thermometer but if it’s slightly wrong the recipe won’t be ruined or anything, it’ll probably just set differently). While the syrup is cooling, place the gelatin bowl in a bowl of boiling water to melt, then stir them together. Stir in food colouring and flavoring and pour into the mold. (Do not do what I did and use tinfoil to line the mold as it takes for ever to remove and you have to pick off every little piece.) When it has set, unmold, cut into squares and dust with cornflour.
This recipe is very thick and sticks to everything. It is a good idea to dust your knife with cornflour. Also it makes quite a lot. I used half of the mixture for Turkish delight and the other for very sour lemon gummys – I just replaced the rosewater with lemon essence and added at least a tablespoon of citric acid. This recipe is the most similar in texture and flavour to the Turkish delight from the shop.
In conclusion I prefer the traditional recipe, it is the closest to what I was aiming for, soft and doesn’t break like jelly. The gummy recipe is good if you like really stiff sticky Turkish delight. And the gelatin recipe is very nice even if it’s not really like Turkish delight.
Here be Dragons 