I really like this this basic two tone and how the layout and shape of the labelling accentuates the product. The repetitive pattern resembles traditional Ottoman and Turkish shapes and styles making the product appear genuine. The colour, layout of image and text and the smile illustrations also give a friendly feeling ethos which suits the subject of confectionary.
I like the shape and layout of this packaging and how its shows of the product, However I'm not fond of the script typeface and how it is sprawled across the top of the box. I also feel that this, mixed with the diamond pattern, the aesthetics are to busy. I prefer the black section of the packaging but I still don't like the big script font and how it is placed on the box.
I love the aesthetics of this packaging as well as the wooden material used as packaging. I feel that this wooden packaging portrays a more authentic feel to the product as it is a naturally sourced material. The patterns decorating the lid resemble that of Turkish tradition and combined with the layout and type work very successfully.
Because my other two subjects are quite deep with a lot of information within the stated topic, I decided to have my 3rd subject based on Turkish Delight. I feel like it would be a fun and lighthearted subject, and while staying in Turkey for the summer i have very good access to great information.
I really like turkish delight because it is very different from the everyday sweets you can get in England. I also like the fact that there is a wide variety of this traditional sweet no only flavour wise but through ingredient and composition.
TURKISH DELIGHT
Turkish delight or Lokum is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are mostly gel, generally flavored with rosewater, mastic, Bergamot orange, or lemon. The confection is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar,copra, or powdered cream of Tartar, to prevent clinging. Other common types include such flavors as cinnamon and mint. In the production process, soapwort may be used as an emulsifying additive.
The Turkish words lokma and lokum are derived from the Arabic words luqma(t), meaning morsel and mouthful, plural luqūm. used commonly in the Ottoman Turkish language. Its name in various Eastern European languages come from lokum or the Arabic name rahat al-hulqummeaning "comfort of the throat".
THE HISTORY
The sweet as it is known today was invented by Bekir Effendi, who moved from his hometown Kastamonu to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and opened his confectionery shop in 1776.
Originally, honey and molasses were its sweeteners, and water and flour were the binding agents, with rosewater, lemon peel and bitter orange as the most common flavors (red, yellow and green). Lokum was introduced to Western Europe in the 19th century. An unknown Briton reputedly became very fond of the delicacy during his travels to Constantinople and purchased cases of it, to be shipped back to Britain under the name Turkish delight. It became a major delicacy in Britain and throughout Continental Europe for high class society. During this time, it became a practice among upper class socialites to exchange pieces of Turkish delight wrapped in silk handkerchiefs as presents.
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.
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.
Bekir Affendi was the inventor of the know widely know turkish delight confectionary. His original shop opened while the Ottomans still ruled in 1777. I decided to look further into this legendary confectioner further to see how far the product has come from it origins.
From the time of its founding during the Ottoman Empire, the name Haci Bekir has become a legend in Ottoman and Turkish confectionery and a leading symbol of this art.
The Haci Bekir story began in 1777 when Bekir Effendi moved from Araç in Kastamonu, a province bordering the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey, to Istanbul. Here, he opened a small shop in the Bahcekapi district of what we now call the Old City, in which he began to produce and sell varieties of lokum, or Turkish delight and akide, the boiled sweets much loved by Turks. On fulfilment of his religious obligation to make pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Bekir Effendi became known as Haci Bekir, a title of respect granted to those who have completed the hac, or pilgrimage. Today, Haci Bekir's tradition is being carried on by the family as Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir Confectioners, and the company can proudly say that this first shop represents the only business in Istanbul which has operated from the same premises for a period of more than two hundred years.
The production of confectionery in Istanbul dates back to the 16th century, when honey and molasses were used as sweeteners, and water and flour were the binding agents. Towards the end of the 18th century sugar produced in refineries in Europe began to appear in Turkey. This new sugar was called 'kelle þekeri' since it was sold in cone-shaped blocks, and it was this sugar which Haci Bekir favoured in his production of akide, granulating, melting and boiling it with the addition of natural flavours and colourings such as rose and cinnamon. With the discovery of starch by a German scientist in 1811, Haci Bekir began using this instead of flour. This combination of the new ingredients of starch and sugar led to the production of the choicest of lokum, and constituted the beginning of a Haci Bekir tradition which continues to this day.
At some point in the early 19th century, Haci Bekir's lokum, which he was still personally producing at the time, became known in Europe as 'Turkish delight' when an English tourist visited the shop and took some lokum home to England. Thus, this traditional Turkish sweet entered the English language and became known as 'lokoum' throughout France and the Balkan countries. Another tradition which also brought fame to Haci Bekir was his creation of various almond pastes. These were made by peeling boiled almonds and creating a paste to which was added sugar or sugar sherbet and other ingredients. This was then formed into different shaped sweets. As a result of his many successes, Haci Bekir was awarded the Niþan-ý Ali Osman, a first degree medal of honour granted by the Sultan, who also decided that Haci Bekir should be made Chief Confectioner to the palace. This honorary title remained within the family as, in turn, Haci Bekier's son, Mehmet Muhiddin Effendi, and grandson, Ali Muhiddin Hacý Bekir, took over the business and dedicated themselves to maintaining the distinguished Haci Bekir name. The years of Ali Muhiddin Hacý Bekir's management witnessed great expansion for the company as branches were opened in Karaköy, Galata, Tepebaþý, Pangaltý, Çarþýkapý, Beyoðlu, Parmakkapý and Kadýköy. Also at this time, trained confectionery masters and personnel sent from the company to Egypt opened branches in Cairo and Alexandria. These were also awarded the title of Chief Confectioner to the palace by the Egyptian Khedive. Hacý Bekir Confectioners continues its work today, and is known to be the oldest company in Turkey operating out of its original premises. With such pride of place in Ottoman-Turkish culture and tradition Hacý Bekir has also made appearances in novels and other art forms portraying the life and times of Istanbul. Many foreigners and Levantines had their place in the mosaic that was Istanbul in the 19th and 20th centuries, and Haci Bekir has featured in writings and paintings from that time. Indeed, thanks to the Maltese artist, Preziosi, we have a pictorial record of Haci Bekir working in his shop, in a watercolour measuring 43x58cm. The painting now hangs in the Louvre Museum, but there is a lithographic print (no. 214) in Topkapý Palace. Following the death of Ali Muhiddin Hacý Bekir, the family decided to create two joint-stock companies, namely Ali Muhiddin Hacý Bekir Confectionery and Hacý Bekir Industries. These are the two companies which carry on the family confectionery business today and, with representative companies in America, Japan, South Africa, Egypt, England and France, continue to produce and sell, in both the retail and wholesale sectors at home and abroad, all the products linked so closely with the name of Haci Bekir. Now in its fifth generation, the Haci Bekir family and company and all its employees feel and proud and fortunate that from generation to generation they have provided, and continue to provide, their customers at home and abroad with delicious tastes in the finest tradition of confectionery.
Turkish delight is traditionally served in Turkey as an after dinner (Similar to an equivalent of an after dinner mint in english culture) . It is nearly always served with either Turkish style tea or coffee in small quantities. It is only to give a sweet finisher to a meal and isn't really suppose to be eaten like a bag of sweets.
One of the most popular through tradition is the Rose flavour of Turkish delight. This flavour is created by adding rose water to the the starch and sugar. This flavour is very distinctive as it has a strong perfumey aroma.
ROSE WATER
Rose water is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. It is used to flavour food, as a component in some cosmetic and medical preparations, and for religious purposes throughout Europe and Asia. Rose syrup is made from rose water, with sugar added.
FRY'S TURKISH DELIGHT
The first time i was introduced to turkish delight was when I was a child around the age of 8. However this was was before I had ever visited the sweet's native country. One of my mothers favourite treats was the Cadbury's bar 'Fry's Turkish Delight' which is a rose flavoured jelly coated in chocolate.
My mother gave me some of the chocolate bar to try and I spit it straight back out again! I disliked it so much I can remember vividly o this day standing in the Middle of Halifax spitting it out into a street bin! The flavour of the rose in the delight was so overpowering to me and tasted very perfumery were as the texture of the delight mixed with the crunch of the chocolate was. This really did put me off Turkish delight for many years.
Looking at this product now and being preseted with the true traditional product here in it's native country I really do not see too much comparison/similarity.
FRY'S TURKISH DELIGHT
Fry's Turkish Delight is a chocolate sweet made by Cadbury. It was launched in 1914 by the Bristol chocolate manufacturer J. S. Fry & Sons and consists of a rose-flavoured Turkish delight surrounded by milk chocolate.
The Fry's identity remained in use after Fry & Sons merged with Cadbury in 1919.
In Australia and New Zealand the range of "Turkish" products released by Cadbury has expanded to include mini Easter eggs, ice-cream, sectioned family block chocolate bars, and small versions used in boxed chocolates. In the UK, Cadbury also manufacture the Dairy Milk Turkish, using dairy milk chocolate with a slightly different Turkish centre, in the familiar block bar form.
As of August 2010 production of Fry's Turkish Delight (along with other products such as Fry's Peppermint Cream, Crunchie etc.) is now based in Poland. They also now contain no artificial colours (changed from E129 Allura Red AC to natural E160acarotenes and E162 Beetroot Red.)
From the late 1950s the slogan 'Full of Eastern Promise' has been used for the product on British TV advertisements. Among those appearing in such advertisements in the 1960s were the model and actress Jane Lumb.
Im sure the ingredient list for the Fry's Turkish delight is an indication of why this version of turkish delight does not taste as genuine as the traditional product. There are quite a few additives in this sweet and is certainly not true to the original product.
Traditional Turkish delight only contains Cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice. Colours and flavourings are created through the original fruit or source of the desired taste (for example for an orange flavour, orange juice is used).
* * * *
THE TURKISH DELIGHT FACTORY
FEHTIYE.
SERVET SEKERLEME
To find out more on the production of Turkish delight, We
travelled to Fehtiye to visit the Sevet Sekerleme Turkish Delight store. I have
always wanted to visit this place but never got the chance. Now I have the
perfect excuse!
The Servet Sekerleme store specialises in all the Turkish
delights. This includes baklava, nougats, nut brittle, flavoured tea and other
Traditional desserts
The store its self is filled to brim with all kinds of
traditional trinkets from pottery and cutlery to back gammon sets, cookery
books and jewellery.
The food stuffs are all situated to the right hand side of
the store which then leads on to the factory facilities were the Turkish
delights are made.You can sample and
buy products from home ground/mixed spices to the famous Fethiye pine honey.
Ummu Gulsan Erdogan is the proud matriarch of the Severt Sekerleme
Turkish Delight factory. The business was established in 1987 and is now
situated in it new home of 5 years on the M. Kemal Bulvari just outside of
Fethiye centre.
For 29 years the thriving business has been run through
generations of the Erdogan family and attracts visitors from all over the world
and even though the added on merchandise is a nicety, it’s the Turkish delight
that they come for.
Similar to a pix ’n’ mix sweat shop in England, you can
chose the size of box you wish to fill and then make your way around the maze
like shelves that are stacked with the colourful confections which come in all
kinds of shapes and compositions dusted in icing sugar, coconut flakes or sesame
seeds.
Of course there are the traditional flavours, such as rose
or pomegranate and pistachio, but the people here at Sevet Sekerleme are always
experimenting with new and interesting flavour combinations pushing the boundaries
of this national delicacy (for example chilli chocolate flavour!).
The factory facilities are spacious areas with large marble
top surfaces were large amounts of ingredients are prepared, made and packaged.
Some rooms house mixing and cutting machinery however the larger areas are were
the mixes are them rolled out, cut and decorated or in other circumstances
poured into trays and set until firm. These areas are surrounded by big glass
walls that allow the visitors to watch and experience how this confection is
made.
MY ARTICLE WRITTEN FOR KTLN.
While we were, there the confectioners in the working booths were in the process of making a type of Turkish delight called 'Sultanas' which is a soft, marshmallow like roll that is spread with various fillings and tightly rolled. This tube is then rolled in either chopped nuts, coconut or sesame seeds.
Here you can see this process. This is a chocolate and pistachio flavoured Sultanas. Rich Hazelnut, chocolate paste is evenly spread over the mallow and the it is tightly rolled into a tube. The roll is then coated in chopped pistachio nuts and cooled until firm.
The Tubes of turkish delight are then posted through a cutting devise that ensures each piece when made in large numbers is even and consistent.
It was so interesting to see the way in which this product is made and prepared ready for consumption. It was also very interesting to find out the different kind ok Turkish delight and how they are flavoured and decorated ready for consumption.
To get a good visual as well as taste experience, I asked
Ummu Erdogan to help me pick a good selection of a wide variety of Turkish lokum so I could look at the individual sweets.
I bought two large bases and Ummu helped me to pick a mix out. If I could i would have loved to have bought 1 of every type the shop had but unfortunately I couldn't afford. However i feel that we got a good range of what was available.
ORIGINAL
FLAVOURED LOKUM.
DUSTED WITH ICING SUGAR.
MINT
LEMON
ROSE
MANDARIN
APPLE
STRAWBERRY
BANANA
BLACK CURRENT
ORANGE
GRAPEFRUIT
This type of Turkish delight is the original and most traditional. It is simply made for sugar, cornstarch and water with the added desire flavouring. The texture, when made correctly and eaten fresh, should be soft and easy to bite. dusting the delight with icing sugar adds to the taste but is used to stop the sweets form sticking together.
NUT-FILLED LOKUM
FLAVOURED.
DUSTED WITH COCONUT OR ICING SUGAR.
POMEGRANATE & PISTACHIO
APPLE & HAZELNUT
ORANGE & PISTACHIO
ROSE & PISTACHIO
STRAWBERRY & PISTACHIO
POMEGRANATE & HAZELNUT
ROSE & HAZELNUT
STRAWBERRY & HAZELNUT
The version of Lokum is the same as the original but different nuts are added which, as well as taste add a lovely texture when its in contrast with the soft surrounding sweet. Hazelnut and pistachio are the most common and preferred addition and are paired in relation with the flavour of lokum. Coating the sweet with flaked coconut adds another depth in flavour as well as texture while printing the Turkish delight from sticking together.
NOUGAT LOKUM
PLANE / FLAVOURED.
DUSTED WITH COCONUT.
VANILLA
CHOCOLATE
LEMON
PISTACHIO
CHOCOLATE & VANILLA
I have been struggling to find out what it is that makes this type of turkish delight more nougaty compared with the original type. As you can see the original Lokum is slightly opaque like jelly, however this version isn't and has a block colour. the texture of this kind of turkish delight is slightly denser but should still be soft with a slight chew. I think that it maybe similar to the white coloured component used in the Sultanas Lokum which contains egg white. So i think it is added protein that gives this colours and texture.
NOUGAT LOKUM
WITH NUTS.
DUSTED WITH COCONUT.
STRAWBERRY & PISTACHIO
COFFEE & HAZELNUT
CHOCOLATE & PISTACHIO
COFFEE & PISTACHIO
CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT
ORANGE & PISTACHIO
VANILLA & PISTACHIO
These are the same type of hokum from above however nuts are added to the mixture before they are set and cut. Again hazelnuts or pistachios are preferably used.
Sultanas Turkish delight has a more nougats marshmallow texture to it and is created by rolling up the set lokim to give the swirling aesthetic. It can be made by either rolling Different flavoured lokums together, such as the orange flavoured sweet shown above, or it can be filled with a flavours spread (which is usually chocolate). They are then coated with either coconut, icing sugar, seeds or nuts depending on the flavour combinations.
(The video I took when visiting the factory shown previously in the blog shows this version on Turkish delight being made).
SUCUK LOKUM
SAUSAGE TURKISH DELIGHT.
Another type of Lokum available at the store and a sweet that i have seen before when being in turkey is Sucuk Lokum (sounds like 'sujuk'). This is a long this type of sweet that is made with the same ingredients as the Original Turkish delight, however it is prepared in a very different way.
The Sucuk lokum we got from Sevet Sekerleme is grape and Pomegranate flavour and is filled with walnuts. This sweet is made by tying walnut halves together making a long string of walnuts and the dipping this string into the turkish delight mixture. The dipped string is then left hanging vertically to dry ensuring full coverage of the filling until the mixture is set.
As you can see from the image above you can see the string used to hold the walnut filling together.
When looking into the production of this turkish delight I managed to find a video on youtube, which is unfortunately not in english, but gives a clear example on how this Lokum is traditionally made.
PRODUCTION OF SUCUK LOKUM
TURKISH COTTON CANDY
PISMANIYE.
This is another type of Turkish Delight that I have had before and really enjoyed. Unfortunately is wasn't available at Sevet Sekerleme for me to ask about and take pictures of. It is made form butter flour and sugar. The texture is created by continuously pulling and stretching the mixture on till its consistency is that of fine strands.
As you can the consistency of this traditional sweet is very similar to that of cotton candy however it is slightly dancer due to the presence of flour and butter.
PIŞMANIYE
Pişmaniye
or pishmaniye is a Turkish sweet in fine strands made by blending flour roasted in butter into pulled sugar. It is sometimes garnished with ground pistachio nuts. Although the texture is similar to cotton candy, both method and ingredients are different.
Until recently pişmaniye used to be made at home in most regions of Turkey, but this tradition is now rapidly disappearing. Today the manufacturing process is partially mechanised. There are many different Turkish names used in different provinces, the most common being tel helva, çekme helva, tel tel, tepme helva and keten helva.
This video sourced from Youtube shows how the how this sweet is made using machinery.
This is an example, also sourced from youtube of how the Pismaniye sweet is made traditionally by hand.
TRADITIONAL TURKISH DELIGHT
THE MAKING PROCESS.
When i visited the turkish delight factory, unfortunately they were not in the process of actually making any Traditional turkish delight. So i was curious to look at the making process of the original sweet that is the most common form of Turkish delight available.
The video above sourced from youtube shows how Traditional Turkish delight is made industrially. As you can see the sweet is made by mixing the ingredient and heating it making sure it is being stirred all the time. it is then poured into a sufficient mould and spread evenly. it also looks as if this mould has been previously dusted with icing sugar which must help to prevent the mixture sticking to the mould.
After looking for information on Turkish delight, i came across various recipes to make the sweet at home. Many recipes included the use of gelatine which is not how traditional turkish delight should be made. While visiting Sevet Sekerleme, Ummu Erdogan made clear that the use of gelatine is not the right way to make turkish delight and pressed home how important it was to her and her company the traditional ingredient is continued to be used.
After looking through some recipes I decided to have ago at making the traditional turkish delight my self.
This is the recipe i decided to follow as it only have the basic ingredient to make the original version invented by Haci Bekir.
INGREDIENTS: - Cornflour/Cornstarch - Cream of Tartar - Granulated sugar - Icing Sugar - Lemon Juice - Water - Rose water
Boiling the sugar, lemon juice and water together to make the sugar syrup.
Combining the cornflour, cream of tartar and more water to make the jelly like mixture.
The corn flout mixture then becomes extremely gluey.
I the combined the two mixtures together.
I kept stirring the mixture recently for about 45 minutes (as I made half of the above recipe) until the substance got very thing and a little golden in colour.
I turned out the mixture into a dish and left in the fringe to set for a couple of hours.
After letting the mixture rest and cool in the fridge I turned the block of Turkish delight on to a cutting board.
I chopped up the block into smaller squares.
Then dropped them in to a bowl of icing sugar and made sure each piece was evenly covered.
I was very pleased with my finished product and also felt that it was better than the stuff we got from the shop simply because it was so fresh!
The sweets were very very soft and had a very pleasant rose texture.
