Turkish delight, an oriental sweet with a delicate, melting mouth taste. This yummy was first cooked about 400 years ago in the Ottoman Empire. There are several versions of the origin of Turkish delight. One of them is the following: the Sultan was terribly tired of gnawing hard sweets, and he ordered his personal confectioner to cook something like that. Experienced confectioner Alli Makhhidin Bekir, after some thought, mixed sugar syrup with starch and poured into forms. When the viscous mass froze, he cut it into pieces and presented it to the Sultan.
For a long time, only the court sultan could taste this sweetness, and a little later, noble people of the east. Seeing in this product a source of good income, Turkish delight gradually began to produce everything in large volumes, the price fell on it and, therefore, it became available to ordinary people. Turkish delight was introduced to Europe in the 17th century, and the first inhabitants of England were able to try it. Since then, the rumor about delicious oriental sweets has spread to other countries. They began to prepare it not only for sale, but also for themselves, relatives and friends. Gradually, the classic recipe of Alli Mahidhin Bekir began to change, Turkish delight acquired a diverse taste and look.
Today we can buy this sweetness in almost any store. And it will not be difficult to cook it at home. It is worth noting that the recipe for Turkish delight is far from the only one, having a little free time, you can experiment and try different options. Well, let's find out how to make Turkish delight at home.
Turkish Delight Recipe N1: Real Turkish
Ingredients: for syrup - 300 ml of water and 1 kg of sugar, for starch milk - 200 ml of cold water and 100 g of starch (wheat, corn or rice), for sprinkling - 1 sachet of vanillin and 100 g of powdered sugar, for cooking you will also need - 3-4 tbsp syrup from fruit puree or jam, 2 tsp lemon (orange can be) peel, 1 tsp rose oil, 100 g peeled almonds or hazelnuts, a pinch of turmeric or saffron.
Preparation: Cook sugar syrup (best in a copper basin or cauldron), with strong boiling add starch milk to it (mix water with starch). Reduce heat and stir with a wooden stick until the mass thickens. Then add the following ingredients (do not change the order): mashed potatoes, spices, zest, nuts, rose oil. Continue to cook further until the mass becomes semi-solid. Constantly stir so that the mass does not burn. Pour the finished mixture onto a wooden baking sheet. Layer thickness - 2.5 cm. Leave to solidify for 4 hours, then cut into pieces, sprinkle with powdered sugar and vanilla.
If this recipe for Turkish delight seemed complicated to you, then try to cook this yummy as follows:
Turkish Delight Recipe N2
Ingredients: 3.5 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of potato starch, powdered sugar for sprinkling, citric acid, 250 g of pistachios.
Preparation: Mix sugar with water and bring to a boil. Without stopping stirring, add starch and cook until the mass is thicker and starts to well begin to lag behind the dishes. Add a little citric acid to taste at the end of cooking. Take a baking sheet, put most of the pistachios on it and pour in the resulting mass. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts on top and bring to the cold. Once the mass has hardened, cut it into slices and roll in icing sugar.
Now you know how to cook Turkish delight and how to please your relatives. By the way, instead of nuts you can use any products you want. Do not be afraid to experiment, add berries, dried fruits, honey, cinnamon, chocolate, fruits, lemon zest, various kinds of nuts or something else.