Turkish Delight (Lokum)

Lokum is made by cooking sugar syrup with starch for hours until it sets into a soft, chewy gel, then flavouring it, cutting it and dusting it with icing sugar or coconut. The classic flavours are rose, lemon, mastic and bergamot; the richer versions carry whole pistachios, walnuts or hazelnuts, and the dense pistachio-packed rolls sold in slices are the ones worth the money. The confectioner Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir opened in Istanbul in 1777 and is generally credited with refining the modern form; the family firm still trades from shops in Eminönü and Beyoğlu, and its old wooden counters are a destination in themselves. The English name arrived with a nineteenth-century traveller who could not manage the Turkish. Quality varies enormously: the cheap coloured cubes piled in Spice Bazaar windows are mostly glucose and dye, while a good shop will cut a piece for you to taste before you commit.

What you actually see

• The cut cubes - dusted squares in trays by flavour.
• The nut rolls - pistachio and walnut logs sold in slices.
• The old counters - Hacı Bekir's shops in Eminönü and Beyoğlu.
• The tasting - a good shop cutting a sample before you buy.

When to go

Year-round. Buy from a dedicated confectioner rather than a bazaar stall, and ask to taste first - reputable shops expect it.

Honest expectations

Much of what is sold to tourists is low-grade and heavily coloured. Prices are by weight and nut-heavy varieties cost several times plain ones. It does not keep indefinitely - buy what you will eat.

Nearby

The Spice Bazaar is the tourist source; Safranbolu and Afyon have their own long-established makers.