I found about a dozen recipes on the internet. Some of them included
gelatin, but that's a cheat. Real turkish delight doesn't use gelatin.
So I used one of the other recipes that doesn't have gelatin. It came
out like vaseline, which was definitely wrong. Then I tried again using
the recipe below, which came from a middle eastern source. It is the
most time consuming of all the recipes I found. It is also the correct
recipe. It produced a result that was like what I bought in a muslim
grocery store. The key to success is to heat the sugar mixture and the
corn starch mixture separately, then to combine them and heat some
more. That's why this recipe works. You can substitute other flavors
for the rosewater - like lemon, orange, creme de menthe, or peppermint.
You can also add pistachios, walnuts, or hazelnuts. You will need a
candy thermometer. I am posting this message in case someone else looks
for a turkish delight recipes and wonders which one to use. You might
want to do a test run with half the amounts and no added flavorings so
that you can get the hang of making this. If you make it right, it
should be a translucent golden color, soft, and slightly chewy (not
including any food colorings or powdered sugar)
Turkish Delight - Lokum
Quoted message said:From Saad Fayed,
Your Guide to Middle Eastern Food.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cup confectioners sugar
Vegetable oil ot shortening
PREPARATION:
In a 9 inch baking pan, grease the sides and bottom with vegetable oil
or shortening. Line with wax paper and grease the wax paper.
In a saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water on
medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to
boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, until the mixture
reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and
set aside.
Combine cream of tartar, 1 cup corn starch and remaining water in
saucepan over medium heat. Stir until all lumps are gone and the
mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring when the mixture has a glue
like consistency.
Stir in the lemon juice, water and sugar mixture. Stir constantly for
about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, Allow to simmer for 1 hour,
stirring frequently.
Once the mixture has become a golden color, stir in rosewater. Pour
mixture into wax paper lined pan. Spread evenly and allow to cool
overnight.
Once it has cooled overnight, sift together confectioners sugar and
remaining cornstarch.
Turn over baking pan containing Turkish delight onto clean counter or
table and cut with oiled knife into one inch pieces.
Coat with confectioners sugar mixture. Serve or store in airtight
container in layers separated with wax or parchment paper.