A Christmas Delight

Turkish delight has long been among the most favourite of our Christmas treats. All of us devour the soft, rose-red, snow dusted squares with eagerness. It is so delicious. This year we decided to make two batches of this delectable sweet, using two different methods; one batch on the stove top in a saucepan, and the other in the microwave (I know, I never knew Turkish Delight could be made in the microwave either!)

We began by making the stove top recipe ...

Stirring the sugar, water and gelatin together ... 

 

We discovered that the tin was too thin only after we had let the confection set ... oh well! Thank fully it doesn't effect the taste at all! We ended up 'folding' one half over on top of the other half to give it more thickness, it turned out much thicker!

Then, we experimented with the microwave recipe ...

I found this recipe was the most convenient, in that we were able to put the ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl, then walk away while it cooked. There was no having to stay by the mixture, stirring constantly. We were all sure that this recipe was going to give us the best results and provide us with the consistency and texture that we love in Turkish delight; soft, chewy and slightly stringy.

So we began to make the microwave version ...

We deliberately made this batch slightly darker in colour so that we could tell the two batches apart ...

... again, we only realised after this was set that my son had, unthinkingly, lined the tray with freezer paper, not baking paper ... you can imagine how that ended.

Sneaky little fingers always have to stick themselves into the mixture, 'just to check'!

The final results? ...

Stove top batch ...

The microwave batch ...

Our conclusion is that, surprisingly, the stove top batch turned out a much better result. We were all thinking that the microwave one would 'win', as while we were cooking it, the consistency just seemed so much nicer. It actually ended up being more jelly-like with the stove top recipe being the texture that we love! I would probably give it just a few minutes longer boiling and stirring on the stove next time though, just so it's a bit more chewy!

As you can see, we take making Turkish Delight very seriously in this home ...

... and we may have ended up with having an icing sugar fight in the kitchen!

***

‘‘It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,’’ said the Queen presently. ‘‘What would you like best to eat?’’ 
    “Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty,” said Edmund. 
    The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable. 

***

Turkish Delight ... it reminds us of Narnia, every time.