Lokum
Lokum [ loˈkum ] or Turkish Delight (English, for example Turkish pleasure ) is a sweet based on a syrup made from jellied starch and sugar, often with mastic as well . It is soft and sticky, transparent yellowish or can also be of different colors.
Manufacturing
To make Lokum, the syrup is boiled for several hours, then left to stand until it is firm; the mass is cut into pieces and rolled in powdered sugar or desiccated coconut so that it no longer sticks to the fingers. Common additions for flavoring the syrup are the juice of lemons, oranges and pomegranate as well as rose water or orange blossom water . Chopped nuts, almonds, pistachios or pureed apricots are sometimes added.
Today's distribution extends over the entire domain of the former Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and in the Balkans , but also beyond ( Azerbaijan , Armenia ).
history
The word Lokum is derived from the Turkish lokma , which means something like "bite, bite". The full name is rahat-lokum - "comfortable bites", originally from the Arabic of rahat al-hulqum /راحة الحلقوم / rāḥatu ʾl-ḥulqūm / 'Pleasure / Calm for the palate'. Lokum is sometimes referred to as Turkish honey in German , but this also applies to other oriental desserts, e.g. B. white nougat . In Greece, the sweet is called λουκούμι (Loukoumi), similar to Turkish, and is marketed as Greek delight , among other things .
The origin of today's traditional Lokum is not clear. The recipe or variants of it have been known since the 9th or 14th century. The recipe we know today is often attributed to the pastry chef Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir , founder of the Hacı Bekir company in what was then Constantinople, which has existed since 1777 .
literature
- Alan Davidson: The Oxford Companion to Food . 2nd edition, New York 2001, article Turkish delight .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Jonathan Brown: The Lion, the Witch & the Turkish Delight , independent.co.uk, December 5, 2005, accessed October 12, 2018.
- ↑ a b Laura Salm: Sugar for the Harem. Die Welt, February 20, 2006, accessed May 17, 2016 .
- ↑ Demetrios Ioannou: The secret story behind Turkish delight , bbc.com, October 4, 2018, accessed on October 12, 2018.