If you’ve ever seen the first movie from the Chronicles of Narnia series (or read the books), you may have noticed that at one point a dessert called Turkish Delight is used as a means of distraction by the Queen as she tries to get certain information out of Edmund. While we don’t condone using sweets in such manipulative ways, we can’t blame Edmund for succumbing to such temptation. Turkish Delights are delicious, and they’re only one of many Turkish desserts that we highly recommend trying if you’re ever in the country. We explain a little more about why we love Turkish Delight and a few other Turkish desserts below.
Turkish Delight
Known in Turkish as “lokum,” Turkish Delight is a kind of candy made from starch and sugar with added flavors like citrus and rose water. There are entire shops dedicated to this confection, but it’s also available in other candy stores and markets.
Baklava
Baklava is available in plenty of countries throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean, but its origins are thought to be from Turkey in the Ottoman Empire. It’s made with layers of phyllo dough and chopped nuts and sweetened with either sugar syrup or honey.
Tulumba
Almost every cuisine on Earth consists of some form of fried dough dessert, and Turkey is no exception. Turkish fried dough, also called tulumba, is squeezed through a piping bag to shape into small pieces before being fried. It’s then soaked in a lemon sugar syrup before serving.