Sweets in Turkish Art, Religion and Celebrations

Sweets and desserts have always remained an integral part of Turkish traditions. Turkish cuisines are a combination of various cultures that have flourished in the country throughout its existence. Central and Middle Eastern cuisines blended with the Turkish elements, making sweets unique and delicious. Turkish sweets are popular in Europe and America, as well. In addition, the Turkish people take pride in celebrating their festivals by preparing sweets in their homes.

Turkish people relate their cuisines, especially sweets, with their culture and traditions. Huge kitchens in the Topkapi Palace in Turkey highlight the love of Ottoman Sultans for the culinary arts. Helva, candies, pastries, and different types of breads have always remained part of Turkish dinners and luncheons. Habits around food reflect cultural and traditional values of a country. Sweets reflect the Turkish fascination for celebration along with their delight in sharing the love of their friends and family.

The Turkish people, there is no doubt, have a sweet tooth. The art of elaborate confections dates back to the Ottoman Empire, more precisely to the 15th century. Important occasions and celebrations such as the circumcision of an Ottoman prince, a royal wedding or a royal birth were unthinkable without the art of the "sükker nakkas."

Sükker nakkas were very specialized confectioners, who created three-dimensional sculptures and entire landscapes made of sugar. These were painted in bright colors with the whole tableau mounted on wooden trays, which in turn were placed on carts to be displayed in processions alongside other attractions during the festivities. Sometimes, these works of sugar art were so heavy that several people were necessary to carry them around the town. Not only were lavish gardens, flowers and trees depicted, but also scenes from the current Sultan's military conquests.

Regrettably, none of the original sugar sculptures has survived the centuries, but they can be admired in book illustrations and miniatures from the time.

What today is called "Turkish Delight" was known only as lokum until the 19th century. This sweet Turkish specialty had an

important place in celebrations, such as weddings. The basic ingredients of lokum are starch and sugar, boiled together. Flavors like rosewater, lemon juice and mint are added to the mixture that, when cooled, has a sticky, jelly-like consistency. The flavoring also gives the basic lokum its pink, yellow and pale green hues.

Once the jell is made, it is cut into cubes, dusted with icing sugar to then be displayed in shops, sometimes in elaborate patterns. The finer pieces of lokum contain finely chopped hazelnuts, walnuts or pistachios, as well as chunks of chocolate, which are worked into the mixture, rolled into a roulade and then cut into slices. Rum-flavored delight is very popular as it adds an alcoholic taste to the sweet. Charles Dickens mentioned it as 'lumps of delight' in his book, Mystery of Edwin Drood, published in 1870.

Baklava, the puff pastry delicacy mixed with nuts and honey, along with beautifully decorated cakes and other sweets, play an important role in Turkey after the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which in Turkish is called Ramazan. Baklava is quite popular among the foreign tourists visiting the country, because of its taste and flavor.

Sweet pastries add flavor and variety in the huge range of Turkish delicacies. Turkish pastries are made using layered dough, lavash bread, and yufka layers. Popular variants of Turkish pastries are borek, corek, puf boregi, and katmer. Borek pastries are also known as "watery pastries," whereas, sweet and salty pastries are known as corek.

Some of the most popular Turkish desserts are

• zerde rice pudding,
• keskul custard,
• lokma honey syrup,
• tulumba tatlisi, and
• muhallebi.

The three-day holiday, which follows Ramazan, known in the Islamic world as Eid-es-Seghir and in Turkey called Seker Bayrami, can bring anyone close to a sugar coma. In popular culture, the festival is known as the Candy or Sugar Holiday. For three days, people visit each other's houses, cook and consume big meals. They give each other presents in the form of boxes full of one type of sweet or another.

Interestingly, in the Turkish culture, coffee is served three ways - black, medium sweet and very sweet. With all the consumption of sugar, it is any wonder that there are slim people in Turkey, but there are. This goes to prove that sweet delicacies, such as Turkish delight candy, will remain favorite treats in Turkey as well as around the world.