We had friends Kurt Cyr of Design Furnace, and Jay Zaltzman over for dinner recently. As a host gift they brought us this home made treat presented in VERY COOL packaging Kurt designed...
It was such a classy and beautifully done box of treats! You should see some of the greeting cards Kurt has designed. Kurt and Jay are also the guys behind an awesome new Palm Springs New Years Eve concept called the Martini Drop - click the link and it will take you to the post I did on it. I'm hoping it becomes an iconic annual tradition... it was really cool!
Back to Turkish Delight, I found this bit of history online:
"An old Turkish aphorism tells one to "eat sweetly and speak sweetly". Sweets have always been an important component of Turkish cuisine. The origin of Lokum -Turkish Delight- dates back to the time of the Ottoman Empire. Before the 18th century, honey and grape molasses were the only sweetening agents available to Turkish confectioners. With the introduction of sugar in the late 18th century, Turkey awakened to a new era of sweet making. Sugar brought with it the beginning of endless creative possibilities to Turkish confectioners. It was during this time that Turkish delight, one of the oldest known confections in the world, was created in the great kitchens of the Ottoman court.
A whimsical tale tells of the creation of turkish delight: In an attempt to appease his many wives, a famous Sultan ordered his confectioner to create a unique sweet. Eager to please his Sultan, the confectioner blended a concoction of sugar syrup, various flavourings, nuts and dried fruits then bound them together with mastic (gum Arabic). After several attempts, a most delectable sweet emerged from the royal kitchens. The Sultan was so delighted with these delicious little gems that he proclaimed the sweet maker the court's chief confectioner! And this is the story of how Turkish delight was created. Hereafter, a plate of Turkish delight was served at daily feasts in the Ottoman court.
Turkish delight was unveiled to the west in the 19th century. During his travels to Istanbul, an unknown British traveler became very fond of the Turkish delicacies, purchased cases of "rahat lokoum" and he shipped them to Britain under the name Turkish delight.
It is believed that Picasso enjoyed Turkish delight daily to improve his concentration while Napoleon and Winston Churchill relished pistachio filled Turkish delights."
Credits for this bit of info go to Turkish-Delight.com
Kurt Cyr was kind enough to send me his recipes for this fantastic dessert treat to share on the blog...
Here are the recipes... THANK YOU KURT!
Turkish Delight – orange & pistachio
Method:
Grease a 8x8-inch pan generously and liberally coat with confectioner’s sugar.
Pour the Turkish delight into the pan, and let cool in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until set, 3 to 4 hours. When cool, turn out on greased surface. Cut in squares and toss in confectioner's sugar. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
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| Turkish Delight |
Back to Turkish Delight, I found this bit of history online:
"An old Turkish aphorism tells one to "eat sweetly and speak sweetly". Sweets have always been an important component of Turkish cuisine. The origin of Lokum -Turkish Delight- dates back to the time of the Ottoman Empire. Before the 18th century, honey and grape molasses were the only sweetening agents available to Turkish confectioners. With the introduction of sugar in the late 18th century, Turkey awakened to a new era of sweet making. Sugar brought with it the beginning of endless creative possibilities to Turkish confectioners. It was during this time that Turkish delight, one of the oldest known confections in the world, was created in the great kitchens of the Ottoman court.
A whimsical tale tells of the creation of turkish delight: In an attempt to appease his many wives, a famous Sultan ordered his confectioner to create a unique sweet. Eager to please his Sultan, the confectioner blended a concoction of sugar syrup, various flavourings, nuts and dried fruits then bound them together with mastic (gum Arabic). After several attempts, a most delectable sweet emerged from the royal kitchens. The Sultan was so delighted with these delicious little gems that he proclaimed the sweet maker the court's chief confectioner! And this is the story of how Turkish delight was created. Hereafter, a plate of Turkish delight was served at daily feasts in the Ottoman court.
Turkish delight was unveiled to the west in the 19th century. During his travels to Istanbul, an unknown British traveler became very fond of the Turkish delicacies, purchased cases of "rahat lokoum" and he shipped them to Britain under the name Turkish delight.
It is believed that Picasso enjoyed Turkish delight daily to improve his concentration while Napoleon and Winston Churchill relished pistachio filled Turkish delights."
Credits for this bit of info go to Turkish-Delight.com
Kurt Cyr was kind enough to send me his recipes for this fantastic dessert treat to share on the blog...
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| Top Left - Rosewater & Walnut, Top Right - Orange |
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| Turkish Delight |
Method:
- ½ cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons orange zest
- 3 (.25 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin
- ¾ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 ½ cups water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped pistaschio nuts
- confectioners' sugar for dusting
In a large saucepan, bring water, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) on a candy thermometer. Turn off flame. Stir cornstarch slurry into hot syrup. Place over medium-low heat and simmer. Stir to remove lumps. Boil until very thick and golden - approximately 15 minutes. Remove syrup from heat. Stir in orange juice mixture, vanilla and pistachios. Blend well to remove any lumps.
Grease a 8x8-inch pan generously and liberally coat with confectioner’s sugar.
Pour the Turkish delight into the pan, and let cool in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until set, 3 to 4 hours. When cool, turn out on greased surface. Cut in squares and toss in confectioner's sugar. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Turkish Delight – rose & walnut
Method:
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon rose water
- 3 (.25 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin
Stir rose water into water. Sprinkle with gelatin. Set aside.
- ¾ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup cold water
In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in cold water. Stir until smooth
- 1 ½ cups water
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
- confectioners' sugar for dusting
In a large saucepan, bring water, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) on a candy thermometer. Turn off flame. Stir cornstarch slurry into hot syrup. Place over medium-low heat and simmer. Stir to remove lumps. Boil until very thick and golden - approximately 15 minutes. Remove syrup from heat. Stir in rose water mixture, vanilla and walnuts. Blend well to remove any lumps.
Grease a 8x8-inch pan generously and liberally coat with confectioner’s sugar.
Pour the Turkish delight into the pan, and let cool in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until set, 3 to 4 hours. When cool, turn out on greased surface. Cut in squares and toss in confectioner sugar. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
I've just made another batch of lemon Turkish Delight and have discovered if you add 1/4 cup of of cornstarch at a time into the 1/2 cup of water and incorporate it completely makes this process much smoother - and easier.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip Kurt... will look at your method and see how to incorporate it.
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