Turkish Delight

It all began with a meme…

No, let me back up a bit. It all began with a book— a children’s book entitled The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe by C. A. Lewis.   If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about, but for those of you who may not have, one of the children in the story is beguiled by the White Witch when she gives him enchanted Turkish Delight -- which is a candy. 

Ever since the book was published, there had been a debate on whether Turkish Delight is actually good or not.  Of course, there are two schools of thought on that.  Some people love it.  Others hate it.  There doesn't seem to be any in between. 

Kind of like with Peeps or Circus Peanuts...

But I digress.

A few weeks ago, one of my friends posted the meme below, 

and the discussion began again.  

Now, I've always loved Turkish Delight.  I make it every year for Christmas, and it's the one everyone requests over and over.  Of course, I've only made lemon flavored, because that's the recipe I have.  I'll post it down below.  From what I can tell, it's also a Christmas tradition in England.  Even the boy who played Edmund in the movie had said how much he was looking forward to shooting that scene, because he'd get to eat so much Turkish Delight.  

That was pretty much my only experience with the stuff, so I didn't really understand the animosity towards it.  However, in the discussion my friends were having, it seemed to me that the ones who liked it had only had homemade Turkish Delight, and those who thought it was horrible had only had store bought.  I've only had homemade, so you know what I had to do.  Yep, as soon as I got my tax return, I ordered some from Amazon. 

This stuff is actually made in Turkey, so it's as authentic as you can get.  It has four flavors:  lemon, orange, mint, and rose.  I opened the box, and this is what I saw. 

I'd originally planned on filming myself tasting these for the first time, but I didn't feel like fooling with setting up the camera and all, and besides, my vlogs don't seem to be that well received anyway, so you'll just have to read about it.  

Here's my verdict.  The orange, lemon, and mint were pretty good.  The flavors are a lot more subtle than say, orange slices or lemonheads, but overall I liked them.  The rose flavor, on the other hand, was as one of my friends described -- like eating soap.  It reminded me of the old Rose Milk Skin Care Cream (do they even still make that?) my grandma used to buy.  In other words, it was terrible. 

Overall, I'd say I guess it depends on which flavor you get.  Any flavor but rose will be OK.  Not really strongly flavored, but not terrible either. 

In other news, I finally got motivated and sewed the buttons onto the Calorimetries I'd already finished. 

I took them to work and let the coworkers who'd bought me yarn have the first pick.  I'll most likely wait until I have a bunch more before I take them in again.  We want to avoid the drama of last time. 

Finally, I was able to talk to my friend from Winona and she didn't have any damage to her house.  Still, they'd spent the night in a shelter after a family member called her and told her to go.  She kept talking about a storm chaser in the road, but she didn't know who he was.  I know it wasn't Ryan Hall, because he was live streaming on YouTube.  It might have been Reed Timmer, but he'd have had to absolutely fly down the road to get from Rolling Fork to Winona that fast.  

Brandon Copic was also in Rolling Fork, so I have no idea who it might have been.  My friend said that storm chasing is something she could see me doing, and I said, "If it had been a thing when I was younger, I'd totally do it. "   I'm too old now, and would have to stop to pee too many times...Oh, did I just say that out loud?  

And as promised, here is my recipe for lemon Turkish Delight.

 Turkish Delight

3 Envelopes Knox Unflavored Gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup hot water

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon extract

Powdered Sugar

Line a plastic sandwich or similar sized box with plastic wrap.  This is very important as it's almost impossible to get the candy out of the box if you don't.   

Soften the gelatin in cold water and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, bring the hot water and granulated sugar to a boil, stirring constantly.  Lower the heat and add the salt.  Stir in the softened gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. 

 

Cook at a simmer for 20 minutes.  It's not necessary to continue stirring at this point. 

Remove from heat and let cool for ten minutes.   You can skim the foam if you want, but it isn't really necessary. Stir in the lemon juice and extract until well blended.  

Pour the mixture into the sandwich box, cover and let set until firm, usually overnight.  Remove from container and peel off plastic wrap.  Yes, this will be a bit difficult, but keep plugging away at it until it all comes off.  Cut the candy into squares and coat with the powdered sugar. 

Don't eat it all at once.