Turkish Delight, or rahat lokum, was originally made for a Turkish sultan who had grown tired of hard candy. It is a sweet, jelly-like confection that is highly addictive. Since the treat is often difficult to purchase outside of Turkey, try making your own version for the holidays.
Turkish Delight is relatively inexpensive to make and contains few ingredients. What you'll need most of is time. The candy is made in two parts. The first involves bringing sugar and water to the soft ball stage. The second requires you to constantly stir a paste of corn starch, cream of tartar, and water until it takes on a glue-like consistency. The two mixtures are combined and flavoring and food color added and then relentlessly stirred over low heat for about an hour. When the mixture turns a golden color it is then poured into a well-oiled pan and allowed to sit at room temperature. Again, more patience is required, because the jelly mixture should ideally sit for a day or two before slicing with an oiled knife. Cubes are then tossed with equal parts corn starch and powdered sugar.
Traditional flavors of Turkish Delight are rose, mint, and lemon. Lightly roasted pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts are common. But you can make your own unique version of this classic candy by trying different flavor essences or by substituting strongly flavored tea water for the usual rosewater.
