Confectioner Bekir Effendi is credited for popularizing the Lokum in the 18th century, when it was introduced to Europe as 'Turkish Delight'. Originally, Effendi crafted his delights with honey or molasses and flavored them with rosewater, orange or lemon to form solidified gels and cut the gels into small squares. Today, Turkish delight can still be purchased in rosewater, orange and lemon as well as in other imaginative flavors including pomegranate, cinnamon, apricot and ginger. Over the years, purveyors have became creative with the outside covering, substituting ground coconut, nuts or cream of tartar for the original powdered sugar, and adding pistachio or hazelnut pieces to the filling to lend the sometimes cloying dessert less intensity. For a taste of history and heritage, visit Haci Bekir - the confectionary started by Bekir Effendi some 200-years ago. | #food #dessert #lokum #turkishdelight #sweet #sweets #confectionery #colorful #color #turkey #istanbul #alfmturkey #travel
