Calling all (Candy) Cooks!

[EvB]

Okay -- my occasionally romantic DIL decided she simply MUST have Turkish Delight.  (You all recall The Lion, The Witch and the Nasty Candy -- right?) 

The traditional flavor for Lokum (Turkish Delight) is rose. The request for a batch of this stuff came from a young woman who dislikes gin because it "tastes like perfume" (juniper berries) Why do I get the feeling that I turned my kitchen into a sticky mess for something that is going to disappoint? 

This is the first time I've made this.  It doesn't seem QUITE as challenging as fudge (or popovers - but that is another topic . . .) but it's not easy as toast. The agrivating thing is that I found a dozen recipes - and there seem to be four camps. And, their dissagreements are not jsut look or flavor based - they have to do with the chemistry of the process.

Cook the corn starch mixture separately and add to the sugar mixture after it reaches soft ball stage.

Cook the sugar mixture and then add the corn starch mixture raw  -- and bring to the soft ball stage after blending (okay -- that's jsut 180 degrees DIFFERENT!)

Eat it right away.

Cook it in advance and cure it for 12 hours.

Before cutting, let the candy set up in the fridge.

Never, ever put Turkish Delight in the fridge.

Sprinkle the jellies with just a little powdered sugar.

The jellies sweat - so store them is lots of corn starch with powdered sugar.

Oh well - I pretty much used the system in the vid below. EXCEPT the mess is cooling on the top of my stove in a cool kitchen with the fan on -- couple layers of cheesecloth over the pan to allow moisture evaporation.  I plan to use lots of cornstarch and powder.

Any of you ever play with this mess?

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[Marc.Knight]

Yup, looks delicious.  I am not a candy cook - just on the consumer side!