Scrumptious Turkish Delight Recipe

The White Witch: “What would you like best to eat?”

Edmund: “Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty” (Lewis 36).

Perhaps the most well-known reference to food in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Turkish Delight is the principal symbol of greed and temptation. It was impossible for Edmund to stop eating these cursed sweets after one taste, and was spellbound by the White Witch’s promises of power and glory over his siblings. Throughout the following chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Turkish Delight is mentioned frequently to emphasize just how controlling greed can become after a little bit is sampled. Greed is consuming and progressive, it becomes stronger and will affect all decisions made leading to nasty consequences. But, if you have ever tried Turkish Delight, then you would understand why Edmund wished for this sweet treat and how he surrendered so easily to the White Witch! Turkish Delight is in one word delicious. It is a Middle-Eastern, sweet, chewy, rosewater-scented candy, coated in powdered sugar. The recipe below is courtesy of “The Spruce Eats.”

Turkish Delight

2 Pounds

Ingredients

• 4 cups of granulated sugar

• 4 ½ cups of water, divided

• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

• 1 ¼ cups cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 1 ½ tablespoons of rosewater

• Optional: 2-3 drops of red food colouring

• 1 cup of powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Gather all ingredients.

2. Prepare a nine-by-nine-inch pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside for now.

3. Place the sugar, lemon juice, and 1 1/2 cups of the water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and bring the mixture to a boil.

4. Brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming and insert a candy thermometer.

5. Allow the sugar mixture to continue boiling, without stirring, until it reaches 240 F on the candy thermometer.

6. When the sugar syrup is around 225 F, begin to get the rest of the candy ingredients prepared. Place the remaining three cups of water in another, slightly larger, saucepan. Add the cornstarch and cream of tartar and whisk until the starch dissolves and there are no lumps.

7. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, or whisking constantly. The mixture will become thick and pasty.

8. Once the sugar syrup is at 240 F, remove it from the heat. Slowly and carefully pour it into the cornstarch mixture, whisking until it is fully incorporated.

9. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking it every 8 to 10 minutes, for about an hour, until the candy has turned a light golden-yellow color and is very thick and gluey.

10. After an hour, remove from the heat and stir in the food coloring and the rosewater.

11. Pour the candy into the prepared pan and allow it to set, uncovered, overnight.

12. The next day, remove the candy from the pan using the foil as handles. Dust your work station with the powdered sugar and flip the candy onto the powdered sugar. Remove the foil from the back and dust the top with the sugar. Use an oiled chef’s knife to cut the Turkish Delight into small squares. Dust each side of the square with powdered sugar to prevent stickiness.

13. Enjoy!