 An assortment of Turkish delight on display in Istanbul | |
| Type | Confection |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Safavid Iran (Iran/Persia)[1] or Ottoman Empire (Turkey)[2] |
| Serving temperature | Room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Starch, sugar[3][4][5] |
| Ingredients generally used | Fruit, nuts, honey |
| Variations | Multiple |
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Turkish delight, lokum (/ˈlɒkʊm/) or loqum (/ˈlɒkʊm/) is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often flavored with rosewater, mastic gum, bergamot orange, or lemon. Other common flavors include cinnamon and mint. The confection is often packaged in small cubes dusted with icing sugar, copra, or powdered cream of tartar to prevent clinging.
Name
The Turkish names lokma and lokum are derived from the Arabic word luqma(t) (لُقْمَة) and its plural luqam (لُقَم), meaning 'morsel' and 'mouthful'.[6] According to Nişanyan, the word lokma derives from the Turkish word lātiloḳum, meaning "a sweet made with starch" and this word derives from the Arabic word rāḥatu'l-ḥulḳūm راحت الحلقوم, meaning comfort of the throat.[7][8] He also states that lokum is essentially the name of the fried dough dessert known today as lokma. The commercial product known as rahatül-hulkum, known from the 17th century, is understood to have been named after the sound similarity: latilokum > lokum.[7] The form (رَاحَةُ ٱلْحُلْقُوم), meaning 'comfort of the throat', remains the name in formal Arabic.[9]
In Libya, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Tunisia it is known as ḥalqūm, while in Kuwait it is called كبده الفرس kabdat alfaras; in Egypt it is called malban (ملبن [ˈmælbæn]) or ʕagameyya, and in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria rāḥa (راحة).
Although it is called "malban" in some regions, "malban" may also refer to other similar desserts, such as a type of grape fruit leather made with semolina and grape juice popular in the Levant.[10][11]
Its name in various Eastern European languages comes from Ottoman Turkish lokum (لوقوم) or rahat-ul hulküm. Its name in Greek, λουκούμι (loukoumi) shares a similar etymology with the modern Turkish and it is marketed as Greek Delight. In Cyprus, where the dessert has protected geographical indication (PGI),[12][13] it is also marketed as Cyprus Delight. In Armenian it is called lokhum (լոխում). It is läoma ܠܥܡܐ in Assyrian. Its name in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, and Israel is rahat lokum, and derives from a very old confusion of the two names found already in Ottoman Turkish;[8] indeed this mixed name can also be found in Turkey today. Its name in Serbo-Croatian is ratluk (ратлук), a reduced form of the same name. In Persian, it is called rāhat-ol-holqum (راحت الحلقوم).[14] In the Indian subcontinent, a variant of it is known as Karachi halwa or Bombay halwa. In Hungary it is called szultán kenyér (Sultan's bread).[citation needed]
In English, it was formerly alternatively known as "lumps of delight".[15]
History
According to some sources, lokum was invented in Safavid Iran,[1] but according to the Hacı Bekir confectionary company, Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir moved to Constantinople from his hometown Kastamonu, opened his confectionery shop in the district of Bahçekapı in 1777 and produced various kinds of candies and lokum, later including a unique form of lokum made with starch and sugar.[16] However, Tim Richardson, a historian of sweets, has questioned the popular attribution of the invention of Turkish delight to Hacı Bekir, writing that "specific names and dates are often erroneously associated with the invention of particular sweets, not least for commercial reasons".[17] Similar Persian recipes, including the use of starch and sugar, predate Bekir by several centuries.[18] The Oxford Companion to Food states that although Bekir is often credited with the invention, there is no real evidence for it.[19]
Around the world
Armenia
In Armenia, Turkish delight is known as lokhum (լոխում) and used for various sweets. For example, it is used to make cigarette cookies (Armenian: սիգարետ թխվածքաբլիթներ), soft cookies that are rolled into the form of a cigarette. They are filled with either lokhum, a mixture of sugar, cardamom, and walnuts, or a combination of both. The dough mainly consists of matzoon, butter, eggs, and flour. When finished the pastry is dusted with powdered sugar.[20][21]
Former Ottoman territories in the Balkans
Turkish delight was introduced to European portions of the Ottoman Empire under its rule and has remained popular. Today it is commonly consumed with coffee. Rosewater and walnut are the most common flavorings.[citation needed]
Bulgaria
In Bulgarian, Turkish delight is known as lokum (локум) and enjoys some popularity.[citation needed]
Greece and Cyprus
In Greece, Turkish delight, known as loukoumi (λουκούμι), has been popular since the 19th century or earlier, famously produced in the city of Patras (Patrina loukoumia) as well as on the island of Syros and the northern Greek cities Thessaloniki, Serres and Komotini but elsewhere as well. Loukoumi is a common traditional treat, routinely served instead of biscuits along with coffee. In addition to the common rosewater and bergamot varieties, mastic-flavored loukoumi is available and very popular. Another sweet, similar to loukoumi, that is made exclusively in the town of Serres, is akanés. Cyprus is the only country that has a protected geographical indication (PGI) for this product: Loukoumi made in Yeroskipou is called Λουκούμι Γεροσκήπου (loukoumi geroskipou).[22]
India and Pakistan
In Karachi, now in Pakistan, the "Karachi halwa" was made with corn flour and ghee and became quite popular. It is said to have been developed by Chandu Halwai which later relocated to Bombay (Mumbai) after the partition in 1947.[23] Some of the confectioners termed it Bombay Halwa to avoid its connection with a Pakistani city.[24] In the year 1896, a confectioner Giridhar Mavji who ran a shop Joshi Budhakaka Mahim Halwawala attempted to replace the starch with wheat flour and thus invented Mahim halwa which consists of flat sheets.[25]
Ireland, the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries
Fry's Turkish Delight, created in 1914,[26] is marketed by Cadbury in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand. It is rosewater-flavored, and covered on all sides in milk chocolate. UK production moved to Poland in 2010.[27] Hadji Bey was an Armenian emigrant to Ireland who in 1902 set up an eponymous company – still in existence – to produce rahat lokoum for the Irish and later UK markets.[citation needed]
Canada
In Canada, the Big Turk chocolate bar made by Nestlé consists of dark magenta Turkish delight coated in milk chocolate.[citation needed]
Romania
In Romania, Turkish delight is called rahat and it is eaten as is or is added in many Romanian cakes called cornulețe, cozonac or salam de biscuiţi.[28]
Serbia
In Serbia it is commonly known as ratluk and served along with tea and coffee.[citation needed]
Related products
Turkish delight was an early precursor to the jelly bean, inspiring its gummy interior.[29][30]
In popular culture
Turkish delight features as the enchanted confection the White Witch uses to gain the loyalty of Edmund Pevensie in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) by C. S. Lewis.[31] Sales of Turkish delight rose following the theatrical release of the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.[32]
Cultural significance
Turkish delight holds deep cultural significance in Greece, Turkey, Iran, and across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. It symbolizes hospitality, generosity, and celebration. In Turkey, lokum is a staple during festive occasions such as weddings, where it symbolizes sweetness and prosperity in the couples' life together.[33] Similarly, during religious festivals like Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, it is exchanged as gifts among family and friends. In Greece, loukoumi is a symbol of hospitality and refinement.[34] It is commonly served to guests alongside tea or coffee, representing warmth and respect for visitors.[35]
See also
- Aplets & Cotlets – Confection
- Botan Rice Candy – Japanese brand of confectionery
- Dodol – Southeast Asian sweet toffee
- Greek cuisine – Culinary traditions of Greece
- Gumdrop – Type of candy
- Gyūhi – Traditional Japanese sweet
- Halva – Confections often made from nut butters or flours
- Karachi halwa – Indian confection
- Marron glacé – Chestnut candy confection from France and Italy
- Marzipan – Confection of sugar and almond flour
- Masghati – Soft, translucent Iranian confection
- Mochi – Japanese rice cake
- Turkish cuisine – Culinary traditions of Turkey
References
- ^ a b Richardson, Tim (2003). Sweets, a History of Temptation. London: Bantam Press. p. 51. ISBN 055381446X.
- ^ "Turkish delight". britannica.com.
- ^ "طريقة عمل الملبن السوري الشهير". Dlwaqty (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "مقادير وطريقة عمل الملبن". موضوع (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Grimes, Lulu. "Turkish delight". GoodFood. BBC. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ Diran Kélékian, Dictionnaire Turc–Français (Ottoman Turkish), 1911
- ^ a b "lokum". Nişanyan Sözlük (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ a b James Redhouse, A Turkish and English Dictionary, 1856, p.707.
- ^ Hans Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 1966, p.365
- ^ Sella, Adam (30 October 2023). "In the West Bank, a Palestinian Vineyard Struggles to Keep Tradition Alive". Eater. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ "Amid coronavirus, Palestinian grape farmers see market collapse". The Jerusalem Post. 10 September 2020. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ "Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006". Official Journal of the European Union. 21 April 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ "Commission Regulation (EC) No 1485/2007". Official Journal of the European Union. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ Colin Turner, A Thematic Dictionary of Modern Persian, 2004
- ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Iriné, eds. (2009). Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 01.02.08.01.15.29.01. OL 23951545M.
- ^ "Turkish Delight". Brittanica.
- ^ Richardson, Tim (2003). Sweets, a History of Temptation. London: Bantam Press. p. 51. ISBN 055381446X.
- ^ Brown, Jonathan (4 December 2005). "The Lion, the Witch & the Turkish Delight". The Independent. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
But Tim Richardson, author of Sweets: A History of Candy, is sceptical about the veracity of the legend. His love affair with confection was prompted in part by his grandfather's frequent missions to the Middle East as a buyer of Turkish delight (it was a passion not extinguished by his dentist father.) Mr Richardson believes that Hadji Bekir's story lives on, fuelled partly because of its romantic appeal and partly due to the commercial interests that continue to promote it. "I'm sure it is a much older sweet. There is evidence of gummy, syrupy sweets dating back to the 9th century," he says. The Persians developed a sweet, the "no rooz", meaning new year. It, too, was made from sugar and starch, and cut into chunks. It was displayed on necklaces and eaten during special celebrations. The recipe is repeated on manuscripts pre-dating Hadji Bekir by half a millennium.
- ^ Davidson, Alan (21 August 2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191040726 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Cigarette Cookies". Heghineh. 23 May 2018.
- ^ Bodic, Slavka (31 May 2020). Ultimate Armenian Cookbook. Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US. ISBN 979-8650129738.
- ^ "DOOR". Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ Vohra, Paromita (November 21, 2020). "History halwa". Mid-day.
- ^ "The History of Bombay Halwa". November 1, 2021.
- ^ Pawar, Yogesh. "A sweet invention: Tracing the history of one of Mumbai's most famous halwas and its creator". DNA India.
- ^ Brown, Jonathan (5 December 2005). "The Lion, the Witch & the Turkish Delight". The Independent. London. Retrieved 5 December 2005.
- ^ Bouckley, Ben (2010-07-29). "Final UK-made Cadbury Crunchie bars from September". ConfectioneryNews.com. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
- ^ Marks, Gil (2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Wiley. ISBN 9780470943540.
- ^ Moncel, Bethany. "The History of Jelly Beans". About.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ Olver, Lynne (9 January 2015). "history notes-candy". The Food Timeline. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ Strickland, Cara (3 August 2016). "Why Was Turkish Delight C.S. Lewis's Guilty Pleasure?". JSTOR Daily.
- ^ Reilly, Susan (17 February 2006). "Turkish Delight Sales Jump After Narnia Chronicles". Info.nhpr.org. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ "What Does Turkish Delight Symbolise?". Marsel Delights UK LTD. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ Wichmann, Anna (July 14, 2025). "The Fascinating History of Greek Loukoumia, or Turkish Delights". Greek Reporter.
- ^ Yaşar, Amine Berra (2018-08-04). "More than a sweet tooth: Ceremonial desserts of Turkish cuisine". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
