Food & drink
Lokum
Turkish delight: soft cubes of starch and sugar, dusted and scented with rose.
The Turkish name
Lokum
Recording on its way.
The story
Lokum is made by slowly cooking sugar and starch into a soft, chewy jelly, then cutting it into cubes dusted with powdered sugar or coconut. Rosewater, pistachio and hazelnut are classic flavours.
The confectioner Hacı Bekir opened his İstanbul shop in 1777, and the family firm still sells lokum today. It is the sweet offered with Turkish coffee and packed in boxes as a gift.
At a glance
- Famous maker
- Hacı Bekir, İstanbul, since 1777
- Flavours
- Rose, pistachio, hazelnut