Turkish Delight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Turkish Delight, lokum, or loukoum (Greek λουκούμι) is a confection made from starch and sugar. It is often flavored with rosewater or lemon, the former giving it a characteristic pale pink color. It has a soft, sticky consistency, and is often packaged and eaten in small cubes that are dusted with sugar to prevent sticking. Some recipes include small nut pieces, usually pistachio, hazelnut or walnuts.
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[edit] Origin
Reay Tannahill suggests that the Persian confection ahbisa (jelly) was the ancestor of Turkish rahat lokum, the long name for the sweet.[1]
According to the Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir Company, founded in 1776, lokum was popularized by them during the 19th century.[2]
Lokum was unveiled to the west in the 19th century. During his travels to Istanbul, an unknown Briton became very fond of the delicacy, purchased cases of lokum, and shipped them to Britain under the name Turkish Delight. Picasso used to eat Turkish Delight on a daily basis for concentration on his work while Winston Churchill and Napoleon's favorite Turkish Delight was made with pistachio filling.[citation needed]
The history of lokum dates back 230 years. Turkish legend has it that in his endeavour to quell the rumblings of discontent within his harem, a Turkish sultan summoned all his confectionery experts and ordered them to produce a unique dessert to add to the collection of secret recipes for which he was famous. As a result of extensive research, lokum was born.[citation needed]
[edit] Name
The Turkish word lokum may come from لقوم lukuum, the Arabic plural of لقمة luqma(t) 'morsel' or 'mouthful', which is also the origin of lokma.[3] Alternatively, it may be a corruption of Arabic راحة الحلقم rahat al-hulkum 'contentment of the throat'.[4] The hybrid form rahat lokum is also found.[5]
In English, it was formerly called "lumps of delight".[6]
[edit] Around the world
In North America, Turkish Delight is not especially common, but it forms the basic foundation of the Big Turk and Fry's Turkish Delight chocolate bars.
Armenian, Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, Romanian (called "rahat"), former Yugoslav states like Bosnia and Herzegovina (called "rahat lokum"), or Serbia (called "ratluk"), Iranian and other Middle Eastern cuisines also have sweets similar to Turkish delight.
There are similar desserts in Asia: Korean chapssaeltteok, similar to Japanese mochi, is a sweet cake made from sticky rice and usually filled with sweet red bean paste. China has a similar cake too, usually using sesame paste as well as red beans.
[edit] In popular culture
Turkish Delight is probably best known among English speakers as the addictive confection to which Edmund Pevensie succumbs in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
Turkish delight is referred to in the song "Turkish Delight" originally written and performed by 2nd Chapter of Acts, which is based on Lewis's spiritual allegory. The song was later covered by by the Christian rock group David Crowder Band.
In the Broadway musical Kismet, two characters sing the song "Rahadlakum" while seducing each other, describing the treat with lyrics such as "'tis sweet with the meat of the lechee nut/combined with a kumquat and rind/the kind of confection to drive a man out his/Mesopotamian mind!"
Turkish Delight is also mentioned in the song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon, which was a hit in 1953 for The Four Lads vocal group, and more recently for the alternative rock group They Might Be Giants.
A musical opera called Turkish Delight written by Giles Howe and Katy Lipson was workshopped in London in April 2006, and staged again at The Black Cap in August 2006.
Turkish Delight (Dutch: Turks Fruit) is a Dutch book by Jan Wolkers, published in 1969. In 1973, Dutch director Paul Verhoeven released the film Turkish Delight, based on the book.
A reverse reference to Turkish Delight was made by the English entertainer Noël Coward when he said, "of course, in Turkey, I am known as English Delight."
[edit] Flavours
[edit] References
- ^ Tannahill, Reay (1995). Food in History, revised edition, Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-88404-6.
- ^ Haci Bekir Efendi
- ^ Diran Kélékian, Dictionnaire Turc-Français (Ottoman Turkish), 1911
- ^ Maan Medina, Arabic-English Dictionary, 1973; Kélékian also gives this form; also Tannahill, 1995
- ^ Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food (Roden is Egyptian)
- ^ OED
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Arab cuisine | Armenian cuisine | Bosnian cuisine | Albanian cuisine | Bulgarian cuisine | Confectionery | Cypriot cuisine | Greek desserts | Cuisine of the Republic of Macedonia | Turkish cuisine | Romanian desserts
