What do you make for your uncle whose turning 75 and says “no presents”? You making homemade Loukoumi otherwise known as Turkish Delight. A delicious candy treat that has a softer consistency than taffy but a flavorful fruity flavor – that comes from real fruit, not artificial flavorings. My uncle appreciated the call back to his childhood.
Making candy is time-consuming and exacting, but also it is a lot of fun. It’s a great treat to make for someone who says “no gifts.”
As you make this recipe, I hope this song goes through your head repeatedly as it did mine while I was stirring, after all, in the words of They Might Be Giants: “Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople. Been a long time gone, Constantinople. Now it’s Turkish delight on a moonlit . . .” https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=instanbul+they+might+be+giants+video#id=1&vid=949d4e26095d11e0935d126461526c29&action=click
Loukoumi, a Cypriot candy commonly known in America as “Turkish Delight”
Course: Dessert, CandyCuisine: CypriotDifficulty: Hard4
servings15
minutes1
hour15
minutesIngredients
1.5 cups of water
3 cups granulated sugar
3 TBS light corn syrup
Juice and zest of 2 oranges (or 5 clementines/tangerines), you need to yield 1/2 cup of juice.
3 packages of unflavored gelatin (0.25 oz. envelopes)
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 cup powered sugar, sifted
Optional, 3/4 cup pistachio nuts
Directions
- I like to have everything organized so that you can move quickly once the separate mixtures are ready to be added. I start with the gelatin mixture: Juice and zest your orange.
- Add the gelatin powder to your zest and juice. Give it a quick stir and set aside.
- In an 8×8 inch pan, use a sifter to evenly sift some powered sugar in the pan. (Think of it like when you flour a baking dish, but instead you are using powdered sugar).
- Add the 3/4 cups of corn starch to 1/2 cup of cold water. Set aside.
- Add a candy thermometer to a medium-sized sauce pan. Be sure to set it up so that it is about 1/2 inch above the bottom of the pot so that the temperature reading is accurate.
- Add 1.5 cups of water, 3 cups of granulated sugar, and corn syrup.
- Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Pay attention to your thermometer. When it reaches 240 degrees. Add the corn starch slurry. Mix well.
- Keep stirring. It will take about 40 minutes of constant stirring to thicken the syrup mixture. You now want to boil off the excess liquid. You will see the mixture suddenly reduce and become very tight. At this point, I like to let it keep cooking for 5 minutes (on the clock).
- Once it is thickened, remove from heat and immediately add in your vanilla and the gelatin mixture, which will be a loose jelly-like consistency. I like to use a whisk to completely combine the gelatin into the syrup.
- Optional, add the pistachios at this step.
- Pour mixture into the 8×8 pan. Let sit in cool, dry place (not the fridge) for about 4 hours until it firms up. (I do the stirring at night, so then in the morning, I can roll out the candy).
- Once firm hours later, sift powdered sugar into a bowl.
- Using two spoons, form balls from the candy mixture. With your hands, roll each ball into the powdered sugar. I like to make about 10 balls with the spoon, then rolls 10, to make it easier. As balls are covered in powered sugar, add to an airtight container. Make sure when you are done, you keep the container airtight or else your candy will dry out.
- Enjoy on a moonlight night!
Notes
- If you want lemon-flavored candy, substitute lemons for oranges. Other ideas: lime, pineapple, mango, cherry. Just make sure you have 1/2 cup of liquid to mix with the gelatin.
- One of the classic Cypriot flavors is rose-water. Give it a try! It is a unique floral flavor, you’ll love.
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