Turkey is an amazing country that combines a warm climate with the friendliness of the people, clear sea with bright sun, high mountains, clean beaches and delicious food.
Vacation in Turkey is not complete without tasting Turkish sweets and it is easy to gain a few extra pounds here, because the abundance and variety of options for sweets (Turkish tatli) amazes with the variety of choices.
What are the best Turkish sweets? How to cook Turkish sweets at home?
What Turkish sweets to buy with you to remember your vacation by the sea?
Today's article is the most complete guide to Turkish sweets with photos, recipes and descriptions of these airy, mouth-watering pieces of culinary art.

No wonder Kadaif is one of the most popular sweets in Turkey.
Delicate and crunchy, Kadaif amazes with the harmony of taste.
To cook Kadaif at home, you need to cut the puff pastry as thinly as possible, mix with almond crumbs, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and season with syrup.
It is customary to serve Kadaif garnished with rose petal jam or cream on top.
And of course, the main companion of Turkish sweets is strong black Turkish coffee.

The most popular varieties of Kadaif cake are Burmek Kadaif, Ekmek Kadaif and Tel Adi Kadaif.
Tel and Burme Kadaif combine pistachios, sherbet and thin filament dough and are made in the form of a square or
spirals.

By the way, you can easily find dough for Kadaif or Baklava in any grocery store in Turkey.

Baklava or Baklava – Turkish Delight and Attraction

Probably among the Russians - Baklava is the number 1 Turkish sweet in recognition.
Everyone at least once tried Baklava with nuts, sprinkled with sweet honey, crispy and juicy.

Baklava or as they say in Turkey - Baklava - this is the thinnest dough mixed with sherbet, nuts and syrup.
Baklava is also sold on the beaches in Sochi or in the Crimea, but of course it has only a very distant relation to Turkish sweets.

The right baklava comes with taste:

Hazelnuts - fidykly
Chocolate a- baklava chokolatyly
Cocoa - baklava cacola
walnut - jevizli

Baklava in Turkey has a huge history and is originally a royal treat.
The so-called “Saray baklava” is a roll with finely chopped pistachios, and “Burmy baklava” looks like a snail cake.

Baklava was invented in Turkey in the early 15th century. This Turkish sweet was first served to Sultan Mehmet Fatih, who conquered Constantinople.
The Sultan liked this Turkish dessert so much that not a day passed without baklava on the palace table.

What else is baklava?

There are many baklava recipes in Turkey; over a hundred.

The most popular are: Dilber duday, which resembles lips in shape, and it is named so because the favorite girl of the cook who created this masterpiece was called Dilber.

"Princess baklavasy" - Thin tubes of pistachio dough filled with stuffing, which are named after the princess.

How to make baklava at home - recipe

Of course, it is better to have a special dough for baklava on hand, but you can get by with thin puff pastry.
It must be rolled out in the thinnest layer, greased with a mixture of nuts and honey and baked in the oven.

Turkish Delight - Künefe

Of course, the sultans ate baklava every day, but for European tastes it is too sugary and sweet. Whether it's a dessert - Kunefe.
Sherbet, cheese and fresh milk are used to prepare this delicate dessert, which gives a creamy taste and sets off the gamut of aromas of kunefe.

Turkish Dessert - Pishmaniye

Who doesn't love cotton candy? Everyone loves her. And the Turkish sweet Pishmaniye is the closest relative of the sweet familiar to all children.
Pishmaniye is one of the most popular desserts in Turkey.

How to cook Pishmaniye?

In order to get Pishmaniye, you need to boil sugar syrup for a long time until it becomes sweet and viscous. After adding flour and mixing, stretch into thin threads.
Turkish confectioners got their writing almost by accident, at a competition in the preparation of halva and nougat. If you have not tried Pishmaniye, then it tastes very similar to thin fiber halva.

Pishmaniye has a beautiful legend that Turkish sweets sellers love to tell.
A long time ago, a confectioner invented a dessert and named it after his beloved - "Shishmanie" - plump or plump.
But after the wedding, the wife became grumpy and angry, and the dessert was renamed "Pishmaniye", which means reconciliation in Turkish.
According to legend, after violent quarrels, the husband brought this delicacy to his wife as a sign of love and his repentance.

If you are going on vacation to Turkey, bring this sweet ball to your family and try it yourself.

Turkish Delight – Legendary Turkish Delight

If some Turkish sweets came into use and became popular several decades ago, then the history of the emergence of Rahat Loukum has almost a thousand years.

Nowadays, it is rare to find Turkish delight done the right way, old recipe, which includes rose petals, sugar, vanilla, water and starch.

The confectioner of the Ottoman Empire, Hadji Bakir, presented Rahat Lukum to the Sultan, Suleiman the Great, and it was he who began to add additional filling in the form of nuts, nougat and sorbet to the Turkish delight.

There is not a single market in Turkey where Turkish delight is not sold. Placers of the most delicate and freshest dessert just ask for your mouth, and shops in Turkey are crammed with a variety of Turkish sweets from Turkish delight of all tastes and shapes.
Rahat Lokum is even considered a symbol of Turkey and is the first to be asked as a souvenir and a gift for relatives from a trip.

Did you know that Churchkhella is a type of Turkish Delight?
Usually, Turkish delight is in the form of a square or roll, whole or multi-layered, and churchkhella is Turkish delight in the form of sausage, which came to us from Georgia.

Turkish miracle - Pastalar

There are no hotels in Turkey where there are not at least several types of pastalar to choose from. Pastalar are cakes. Surely you have noticed how skillfully decorated desserts and cakes as well. Pastalar will appeal to lovers of homemade sweets; in Turkey, cakes are richly soaked in syrups, creams, and the most popular of them are Made and Ozsyut.

Turkish Halva

If you ask a passer-by to name the most popular Turkish sweets, then for sure they will be: baklava, Turkish delight and halva.
Turkish halva is a brand and a deep tradition of culinary excellence.

Turkish halva is prepared from grated sunflower seeds, caramel and there are several types: vanilla, peanut, chocolate, caramel, sesame.

If you have tried the Indian halava treat, then you will surely like Irmik halva. She is one of the simplest and most delicious Turkish sweets that any hostess can cook. The recipe for this halva is simple and does not require complex ingredients.

To prepare Irmik halva, you need to: fry the flour until golden brown, add syrup and nuts, mix and add 100 g of butter and semolina. Let it brew for an hour, and then simmer over low heat until it swells.
Balls are formed from this mixture, into which nuts are added and rolled in cocoa.

Turkish ice cream - Dondurma

It would seem, how can ice cream be somehow special or surprisingly tasty? Maybe!
if it is prepared in Turkey - by the Turks.

Dondurma is a Turkish viscous ice cream, which is prepared in a completely different way than we are used to.
A secret ingredient is added to dondurma - Salep, a hot tea made from orchid roots.
Due to this, dondurma acquires ductility, does not melt and has a mild sweet taste.

The origin of Turkish dondurma ice cream is attributed to the town of Kahramanmaras.
Be sure to try Turkish ice cream on vacation, which the locals prefer to eat with a knife and fork, and if you come across a real dondurma from goat milk, then the taste will be slightly specific.

Where to taste real dondurma in Turkey?

A network of Mado cafes is scattered along the southern coast of Turkey, where from time immemorial they have been serving real Turkish ice cream, according to a recipe from Kahramanmaras.
If you are interested in Turkish sweets and crave new taste sensations, then ask the waiter - kazandibi, tel kadaif, baklava or tatlisy tavern.
All these are amazing Turkish sweets that are not very popular with Europeans, because the latter simply do not know about their existence.

What sweets to try in Turkey

What desserts are in Turkey

Usually, Turkish sweets are divided into - dairy and flour. Separately, there are sweets in which starch, nuts, syrups and fruits are added.

The most delicious and beloved Turkish flour dessert among Russians is Baklava (baklava)
There are hundreds of types of baklava in Turkey.

We advise you to try being in Turkey, a Turkish sweet with a playful name "lady's navel" - Khanym gebei.
Outwardly, they are somewhat similar to our donuts in sweet syrup, only smaller in size. For taste, they are also dipped in sherbet.

The taste of the "vizier's fingers" will seem familiar, which resemble eclairs, only much sweeter and fatter.

Generally, distinguishing feature Turkish sweets are a lot of sugar, fat, deep fat and no calorie counting. If you are following a strict carbohydrate-free diet, then Turkish sweets are not for you.
Perhaps every day it is very harmful to eat Turkish sweets, but during the holidays you can relax your belts and enjoy the taste of Mediterranean desserts.

If you are looking for not only taste, but also benefits, try Ashure.
Ashure is a Turkish dish that is a symbol of prosperity and wealth at home. They are treated to guests after the holiday of Eid al-Adha. Ashure contains about 40 ingredients and there is just nothing in it: rice, pearl barley, beans, pomegranate, nuts, citrus fruits and much more.
Ashure is considered a very healthy dessert, as it combines the optimal amount of vitamins, minerals and glucose.

You can close your eyes, open your mouth, bite off a small piece and it immediately becomes clear that you are tasting an oriental sweetness. This is a special, refined, unique pleasure. And now it already seems that you are sitting in a beautiful palace on soft pillows, listening to amazing oriental tales, and Aladdin's magic lamp gleams with its golden side...

Sophisticated people of the East know how to please all five senses, so it is not surprising that a meal for them is a real ritual. And special importance is attached to sweets, which are customary not just to eat, but to enjoy every second of this pleasure.

To make all sorts of goodies in the East learned a long time ago. Confectioners really turned inside out, writing new recipes - initially, sweets were prepared exclusively for the nobility, and everyone understands what happens if the sultan, king or padishah does not like the dish.

But desserts in the East were able to cook not only palace cooks. The healers followed in their footsteps. Many ingredients in recipes are healthy in and of themselves, and if you add a medicinal agent there and mask its bitter taste with sweetness ... The Arabs sincerely believed that sweets were good for health, healed from ailments, and even helped to conceive children.

There are not many women

According to the centuries-old standard, an oriental beauty should have a light heavenly upper part bodies and a solid, absolutely earthly bottom. The curve of the hip is a beautiful line, so it was not scary to feast on the sweet beauties from the harem. But we do not advise European girls to get too carried away with oriental desserts, because someone, eating them, gets into a fairy tale, and someone goes on a diet.

The Art of Kanda Latchi

The title of kanda-latchi is worn by Iranian masters who know how to cook real halva. Kanda-latchi are respected people, the keepers of the ancient recipe (as far as we managed to find out, in Ancient Persia they ate halva as early as the 5th century BC). Now hand-made halvah can only be found in Iran itself, as well as in Turkey and Afghanistan. But if you're lucky, you'll appreciate its true taste.

There are many ways to prepare halva. Usually it is made with sugar or honey, adding licorice or soap root and always nuts or seeds containing oil. Other recipes also use flour, semolina, carrots, and even sweet potatoes. But the classic is tahini (sesame) halva.

In Russia, having mastered the production of this sweet, they prefer to use sunflower seeds that are easily accessible to us. It is not very difficult to choose fresh halva in our store. It should be light in color, crumble easily and free of any moisture or oil streaks. Otherwise, the product may “please” you with a rancid taste.

By the way, the name of this delicacy comes from the word "halyaua", translated from Arabic meaning "sweetness" (here, by chance, I want to think about the origin of the Russian concept of "freebie").

"O Turkish delight of my heart!"

Do you remember that famous compliment of Hottabych? The genie understood well what he was talking about - Turkish Delight is truly magnificent! Lokum (in Turkic lokum) is made on the basis of flour (shaker-lokum) or sugar (Turkish delight). The last name (rahat-lokum - "convenient piece") is better known to us. This is a delicate delicacy, reminiscent of marmalade and generously sprinkled with powdered sugar.

One legend says that Turkish delight appeared thanks to the whims of the Istanbul Sultan and the efforts of a skilled confectioner. The ruler of the Ottoman Empire pressed his cooks in every possible way, demanding from them a variety of sweets. His desire to try a new taste was almost obsessive. And then the confectioner Ali Muhyiddin Hadji Bekir (his shop still pleases the sweet tooth in Istanbul) came up with this recipe.

He boiled a mixture of water, sugar, honey, starch, crushed almonds and rose petal syrup, let it harden and cut it into small pieces, sprinkled with powdered sugar. The Sultan was delighted, and soon the divine sweetness became the most popular among the Turkish nobility (the Sultan's harem, of course, was also pleased). Turkish delight was even kept in caskets like a jewel!

Subsequently, the dessert recipe became more diverse: Turkish delight began to be made with various nuts, fruit juices and purees, syrups, cinnamon, cocoa, melted cream, coconut flakes ...

You need to choose Turkish delight like this: soft sweet pieces should be elastic, well-shaped and shiny on the cut, and not stuck together or shrunken.

For a hot day

The nutty crumble fudge sold in our stores as sherbet is not sherbet! In fact, it is a thick soft drink or something similar in texture to ice cream (in Europe it is called sorbet). In some places, sorbet is boiled down to a state of jam. It is made on the basis of fruit juice and puree, with the addition of sugar, honey, spices. Oriental sweet tooth has always loved sorbet made from dogwood, rose hips, rose petals and even licorice. Such a treat is a wonderful saver from the heat.

Gulbesheker

Many of us sobbed in front of the TV, watching the famous TV series "Korolek - a singing bird", created according to the book of the Turkish writer Reshad Nyuri Gyuntekin. The incredibly beautiful heroine was called Gulbesheker there - this is the Turkish name for rose petal jam. It tastes amazing, and there are many benefits. Rose buds contain vitamins (especially a lot of vitamin C), carotene, potassium, iodine, selenium, copper and iron.

For the famous jam, fresh tea rose petals are best suited (just don’t take store-bought ones - who knows what they did with these flowers). There are different recipes for making this sweet. For example, like this.

Festive treat

A 15th-century cookbook written under the Ottoman Sultanate tells that sweet baklava (“baklava”) was first prepared for the table of Sultan Mehmet Fatih, who called it a great treat for any holiday. But there is an opinion that they began to cook this sweet much earlier, and not only the Turks, but also the Greeks claim for its invention. We are unlikely to find out the truth, but we can quite enjoy the taste of this amazing delicacy.

Today, thanks to the development of tourism, almost everyone has the opportunity to go abroad on vacation. Of course, most choose the Turkish coasts because of reasonable prices, good service and a lot of entertainment.

However, the new country brings not only an entertainment program, but also a new cuisine. Sweets are a separate column in Turkish cuisine. For those who visit the country for the first time, we have selected the most interesting options.

Here you will find the names of Turkish sweets, with photos and a brief description.

Kadaif

Qadaif is the name of a special dough from which the dessert is made. The dough is made by several men in large vats. The essence of preparing the dough is to dissolve it into very thin threads.

There are several types of this cake, depending on the shape, filling and pouring. The most popular ones are with honey and walnut, as well as with thick sherbet and chopped almonds.

As a result, after baking, a dessert is obtained that simply melts when it enters the mouth.

If you do not know where to buy, you can ask any passer-by where the nearest market is located. No market is complete without this dessert.

A kilogram of the finished product costs 25-30 liras.

writing

National sweets, it is impossible to imagine without writing. Due to its complex preparation, it is difficult to find it in street cafes or market sales. Not even every restaurant offers this product in their menu.

It tastes like cotton candy, and looks about the same. Appearance resembles a ball of woolen threads. It is made by long boiling sugar syrup with the addition of fried wheat flour.

For a variety of taste, some manufacturers add ground pistachios, sesame or vanilla.

This dessert is actively exported to many countries and resorts. The trade name is Pismanie, and the standard packaging box looks like this:

One hundred grams of the product will cost from 10 - 35 lire, depending on the manufacturer, quantity and additives.

Turkish Delight

We can safely say that this dessert is one of the most famous sweets. Almost all oriental tales, to one degree or another, mention him. In addition, this dish has many types.

Since Rahat Lokum is very popular, there are state quality standards for its manufacture and export.

It is made from granulated sugar using starch. After a long boil, the starch becomes like a sponge - after pressing, it takes its original shape.

Dessert types

Differences in size and shape:

• Turkish delight cubic (cut into small cubes).
• Delight for children (figures of animals or fairy-tale characters are made).
• Roll (rolled into dough and folded into a tube, then cut into small rolls).
• Figured (divided into geometric shapes).
• Plastovy (as a rule, it is sold in cafes or restaurants, where it is already divided).
• Arabic Turkish delight (large parallelepiped, no small figures).
• Multi-layered (several types of sweets are rolled out and stacked on top of each other, then cut).

Filler differences:

• Lokum fruit (not sugar is used in the manufacture, but fruit juice).
• With nuts (walnuts or hazelnuts, peanuts or pistachios).
• Rose petal (when making, add rose petals).
• Simple (no additives).
• With honey (instead of granulated sugar, honey is added).
• With figs.

There is no fixed price, in the bazaar, it will cost 80 lira / kg, and if you take it in a store, then 60 lira. But, taste qualities will be very different. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that in the bazaar you will try a delicate, very tasty Turkish delight, and in the store you will buy a dry and sugary one.

Künefe

Kunefe is a dish that is served only warm. Many who have tried it at least once argue that there can be no better sweet dessert.

It is made only from kadaif dough, inside of which goat cheese is poured. Then it is baked in the oven, where it becomes golden in color. Then pour syrup based on water, sugar and lemon juice.

Sometimes honey is used instead of granulated sugar. A delicacy is considered a dish with pine honey.

Before serving, sprinkle with ground nuts or along with ice cream.

The price of a serving is from 4 lire, but it all depends on the size of the serving and the composition.

Baklava

Interesting fact- almost all the names of Turkish sweets, to one degree or another, reflect appearance product or history of its creation. Baklava, which means to wrap, was no exception.

For its preparation, puff pastry is used, which is rolled out to the thickness of the sheet. Coated butter and sprinkle with ground nuts or other mixture. In this way, several layers are laid, then either rolled up into a tube, or simply laid on baking sheets. After the dough is ready, it is poured with sugar syrup, honey or liquid sherbet.

Each region of Turkey has its own recipe for this dish.

The main types of baklava:

• Sade is the most common option where nuts are not used. Instead, the layer is made from buttercream.
• Bil Yuvasi - it is called the nightingale's nest because of its appearance.
• Kestanele - only chestnut is used.
• Jevezle - only walnut is used.
• Sitlu Nariye - not syrup, but milk is used to impregnate the dough.
• Durum - differs from other types of sweets in rich in green rolled up.
• Hazelnuts - only hazelnuts are used.

The average price of baklava (baklava) is 125 TL/kg.

Dondurma

Everyone who has ever been to Turkey has seen large multi-colored trays with colorful treats. This is what is called dondurma.

The appearance is quite similar to ice cream, however, this is where all the similarities end. Dondurma is made from milk and sugar, with the addition of salep and mastic.

Salep is a flour made from the root tuber of wild orchids.

Mastic is the aromatic resin of mastic trees.

The consistency of ice cream turns out to be viscous, thanks to this, the sellers arrange small entertainment programs. Another plus is that it tolerates heat well and does not melt, and this is very important in such a climate.

Due to the popularity of the dessert, wild orchid fields have been drastically reduced in Turkey. Therefore, it is impossible to meet him outside the country, since export is prohibited at the state level.

The cost starts from 5 lira - for one ball. But usually at least two are put in the horn with the performance.

Mebrume

Simply put, this is a cut roll made of the finest brushwood with chopped nuts inside.

Top with liquid sherbet or honey. Sold in markets or street sales. You can often meet at the buffet in hotels of different categories.

Halva

There are two main types of halva - semolina and sesame.

Semolina is extremely rare on the shelves, the fact is that it is considered a funeral and is prepared independently after the death of a relative.

Sesame is made by mixing ground sesame with a liquid. It turns out a paste, which is mixed with sugar syrup or other ingredients.

This sweetness is divided into several main types, the most popular are:

• Simple - prepared only on the basis of sugar syrup.
• Chocolate - cocoa is added.
• Hazelnut - ground or whole nuts are added.
• Pistachio - ground or whole nut is added.
• Walnut - ground or whole walnut is added.
• Caramel - when mixing the ingredients, caramel is added.

You can buy halva almost everywhere. However, the largest manufacturer of this sweet is KOSKA. It is she who dictates the price of the product, both within the country and in the export of goods.

Shekerpare

To put it simply, these are small almond cookies with a whole nut on top and sprinkled with honey or sherbet.

There are many variations of this treat, however, they all do not differ much in preparation.

Tulumba - small, hollow inside custard tubes. As a rule, their length is up to 8 cm, but there is a mini version - tulumbak, it is only 4 cm long.

Thanks to roasting, they get a crispy crust. The shape is oblong.

There are many varieties of dessert, it all depends on what is sprinkled with. The price, by the way, depends on the same. The cheapest are poured with thick sugar syrup, the most expensive are pistachio.

The taste, like all sweets in the East, is rather sugary.

Revani

The cake is named after the poet Revani, who became famous for describing the mores of the Ottoman Empire by comparing them with a sweet cake.

For the preparation of dessert, only durum wheat flour is used. Sugar, eggs, water are added to it and baked in ovens.

The syrup must be with fresh lemon juice. Decorate the finished product with nuts, mint or coconut flakes.

You can meet it almost everywhere, the cost depends on the decoration.

You won’t be able to take dessert with you, because literally a day after cooking, it becomes stale, and the taste disappears.

Kazandibi

Kazandibi is a milky dessert that looks rather strange. However, everything is compensated by its taste.

It is almost impossible to prepare such a treat yourself, it is simply impossible to tear it off from the bottom of the pan. Turkish chefs know and know how to do it, so it looks beautiful.

The dish consists of milk, sugar, rice flour and starch. For syrup, honey or liquid sherbet is used.

You can try it in almost any pastry shop or coffee shop. True, the dish cannot retain its original appearance for a long time, therefore it is served warm.

Syutlach

Another dairy treat that is quite popular among the local population. If translated literally, it will turn out something like a milk dessert.

It tastes like milk rice porridge and tender pudding.

There are two cooking options:

• Cold - served cold with nuts or fruit.
• Warm - after cooking, the dish is baked in the oven until golden brown. Then sprinkle with icing sugar or lemon flakes.

Sold in cafes or restaurants, and served in deep ceramic bowls.

Ashura

One of the most ancient Turkish dishes. As a rule, the dish is prepared for the month of Thanksgiving and distributed among relatives and friends. It signifies the financial stability of the family.

Made with beans, chickpeas, wheat, nuts and fruits.

First boil beans, peas and wheat with oranges. Then dry fruits are added to this mixture. Cool and add nuts, sometimes pour honey or sugar syrup.

Cool well before serving, pour into small bowls.

Pastalar

Pastalar - cakes, of which there are a lot. All of them are beautifully decorated, and the taste is at a high level.

However, all cakes are quite dry, and the filling consists of cream.

Where to buy

You can buy any sweets in the market or in a pastry shop. With the development of the tourism business, the administrations of many hotels open small pastry shops on their territory. It offers fresh pastries.

Export rules

When deciding what to bring home from Turkey or as a gift, you should know whether this or that product can be exported.

It is forbidden to export products from grains, unfortunately, the explanations do not indicate what exactly is prohibited - flour or grains.

This is how they get here:

• Tea, coffee, cocoa.
• Many confectionery products, since most contain cereals or nuts.
• Spices.

Despite this, many bring these products from their holidays.

When deciding what sweets to bring from Turkey, remember:

The cost of products should not exceed one hundred lire, and the weight of each should not exceed five kilograms. In addition, when purchasing a product, save a receipt, where the weight, composition and name will be indicated.

What you should definitely try

Oriental sweets, from one photo with names already make you want to try. By the way, this is what sellers in the markets use. Because of large selection, many cannot place all the products on the counter, so they install photos.

Our list of the best sweets:

1. Baklava
2. Dondurma
3. Peshmaniye
4. Kadaif
5. Revani

Arriving in Turkey for the first time, most likely you yourself, unwittingly, will try almost all the sweets offered to you. And once you try it, decide for yourself what to give preference to.

Oriental sweets are a group of confectionery products typical for the cuisine of the peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

A distinctive feature of oriental sweets from other types of confectionery is the presence in the composition and additives in special combinations that are unusual for European cuisine.

Homeland of oriental sweets– Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan. In Europe, these confectionery products are produced in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia, Romania, Greece. In Russia, oriental sweets are in constant demand.

There are about 200 varieties of oriental sweets. Each country has its own special traditions of their production. Real oriental sweets are made by special confectioners - kandalatchi. The production of such sweets requires special equipment and the skill of oriental chefs.

Assortment of oriental sweets

Flour oriental sweets- baklava, lazzat, shaker-churek, zemelah, kurabye, sakyroshi and others. Flour oriental sweets are made with a large amount of fat, with the addition of,.

Oriental sweets such as soft candies- Turkish delight, Turkish delight, sherbet, kos-halva, nougat and others. These sweets are made from whipped protein and fruit-jelly mass, fondant mass with the addition of nuts, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Oriental sweets such as caramel- nuts in sugar, gozinaki and others.

What are the Eastern countries associated with? Of course, with national sweets. And Cyprus is no exception. I always scold myself that I can walk the same streets and never go into some stores. And in vain!!! Because there are a lot of interesting and useful things in them. Such as, shop of oriental sweets "SWEETY" in the harbor of Kyrenia, which was a great discovery and surprise for me. The kind host treated us to his delicacies and told us where and what they get.

The store has a lot of products from Turkey, but they make all the loose sweets themselves at their factory in Nicosia. They have three stores in total, one in Kyrenia and two in Nicosia. It turned out that products in the tourist place itself are cheaper than at fairs, markets and festivals. The owner also said that in their delight they use natural sugar, and not its substitutes, so the delicacy is of better quality and more expensive.

The assortment just amazed me, because you only expect Turkish delight from a showcase with Turkish delight))) but more on that later. And in the store, all prices are the same for everyone))))

Nuts, sesame seeds, honey, raisins, candied fruits and spices - vanilla, ginger, licorice are widely used in the preparation of oriental sweets. They are also distinguished by the fact that oriental sweets could be stored for quite a long time in a warm climate, and they did not deteriorate from this.

The history of oriental sweets goes back many centuries. The exotic delicacies of the far East were unknown to Europeans for a long time. In Europe, they appeared around the XVII - XVIII centuries, they were served in the richest houses as gourmet delicacies.

Oriental sweets brought to the court of a European king as a gift were the best sign attention and cost were equal to the cost of spices and precious stones. They have an unusual taste, pleasant aroma. It has become a traditional gift bought by tourists in Eastern countries. Many who travel to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus are eager to taste this taste and feel the sensations of this country.

The beautiful names of Turkish delight, baklava, halva, sherbet, all these oriental sweets beckon not only with taste, but also with names. And kind sellers strive to treat you with a piece of this or that delicacy.

Let's move on to the assortment of the store. I was just killed by the amount of my "want" in my head. Whole racks of Turkish teas, all kinds of sweets, all kinds of jars, a sea of ​​​​spices, etc.

I'll start with tea. Once I saw the comments of people who were looking for loose tea (not in bags). So, there is a whole rack of tea on the left side. Tea in bags, a million flavors, tea for brewing natural and not natural (with the addition of flavoring agents), different in weight, and also gift (for tourists). Honestly, my eyes widened. But I made my choice and Murat helped us a lot, pointing out the most natural of them)))

Let's move on to sweets. Turkish delight and fruit and nut desserts.
One of the most popular Turkish sweets. For the first time, the Turkish delight recipe was compiled in the 18th century. Turkish court confectioner Ali Bekir. Turkish delight was originally made from rose water, sugar and starch. Over time, they began to add chocolate, nuts, pistachios, lemon zest, honey, cinnamon, fruits, coconut flakes. Lokum is usually prepared in a cubic shape and in the form of rolls. It can be whole and multi-layered, as well as in the form of a sausage stuffed with walnuts, covered with grape juice thickened with flour. In Turkey, it is called “cevizli sucuk”, this type of delight is familiar to everyone under the Georgian name “churchkhela”. There may also be other types.

I have already said that they sell their sweets by weight. It is also convenient because you can try everything. They are responsible for their quality with their heads))) and put in them only organic products. There are various colored sausages on display. Made from natural pomegranate juice, nuts, rose petals, etc. I want to try absolutely everything))) But after the first or second piece it becomes cloying in the mouth. Prudent owners put a cooler with water.

Baklava
According to historians, the first "baklava" appeared in the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the court cook of the Topkapı Palace first cooked it for Sultan Mehmed Fatih, the Sultan was so impressed by its unusual taste that he ordered the method of making baklava to be included in the palace recipe book.

Baklava is prepared from the thinnest puff pastry with nuts and soaked in sherbet. Depending on the filling, baklava can be “dzhevizli” (cevizli) - baklava with walnuts, “fistykly” (fıstıklı) - with pistachios, “fındıklı” - with hazelnuts. There is a baklava with the addition of cocoa or chocolate.

Milk is added to the sherbet baklava “sutlu nuriye”, and hazelnuts are used for the filling. Due to milk, her taste becomes unusually tender and not so sugary-sweet.

Halva.
Almost everyone knows about this delicacy. Prepared from caramel mass and grated oil seeds. There are several types: peanut, nut, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, sunflower, tahini (from sesame seeds).

writing
A delicate delicacy, a bit reminiscent of cotton candy in structure, and in appearance a ball of woolen threads. It is prepared from flour and a viscous mass obtained as a result of prolonged boiling of sugar syrup. The most interesting thing begins when several confectioners begin to knead the resulting mass, stretching it, turning it into the thinnest threads.

Cezeriye
"Jeserie" is prepared from carrot and pomegranate juice with the addition of nuts, sprinkled with coconut flakes.