Oh Edmund, Fudge Tastes So Much Better. I Think.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Animal Nation by Peter Gabriel [The Wild Thornberrys soundtrack].

You see that?

Some of you are going to be smiling like that very soon. Because yes, you have spoken. I'm making Turkish Delight.*




It turns out some of you are very vocal about your book choice recipes. :) And persuasive enough to get others to join your dark side. But this is not going to be a traditional recipe creation. Because for me to create something, I have to know it pretty well to know what to tweak and what I can play with. I'm going to let you in on a little secret... *whispers* I've never made Turkish Delight before.




So I am following a recipe (linking, of course) and we'll see how this adventure turns out. (because this thing apparently ruins PANS).




Proof:




I'm a just the tiniest bit nervous. I am a pretty decent chef, if I do say so myself. I love cooking. I do it for fun all the time. I've made carmels and toffees and fudge. It is ground I've treaded before. But this? This is a new beast entirely. It's a gel.



You see, Turkish Delight is not what I thought of at all as a kid. The witch promised ROOMS full of it! It had the word 'delight' in its name! How could it not be the most amazing thing on the face of the planet?






I thought it was chocolate, for sure. A super secret chocolate only the grown ups knew about.





Turns out, Turkish Delight is something more like this:

(photo from Hotel Chocolat)

From Wikipedia

Turkish delight or lokum is a family of confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; the cheapest are mostly gel, generally flavored with rosewater, mastic, or lemon. The confection is often packaged and eaten in small cubes dusted with icing sugar, copra, or powdered cream of Tartar, to prevent clinging. Other common types include such flavors as cinnamon and mint. In the production process, soapwort may be used as an emulsifying additive.




(Also, as the legend goes, a Sultan ordered his confectioner to create some kind of treat to please his harem. Yeah Edmund, bet you never knew that).



I am, by nature, a girl of preparation. I hate going into anything blind. I did my research. I have never made Turkish Delight before, or even tasted it. And that would not do at all. So I went all the way across town (actually, several towns over) to a local import store to find and purchase real Turkish Delight. From Turkey. And lo and behold, THEY HAD LEMON! So I'm totally legit in avoiding the rose water recipe. I've had rose water treats before and it just made my stomach have a vendetta against me. There was talk of mutiny. (Rose Water? Blech).






See? Proof it's made in Turkey. I'm golden. ^_^









This is definitely going to be an adventure. One of my pans lives hangs in the balance. You don't get any more intense than that. This is high drama, people.





... *gulp*




Wish me luck!








*Don't worry, my beloved followers! All those other suggestions you gave me? Brilliant. I am already planning a reread to see what I can invent (really invent) next. :)