Turkish Delight...I'm going to Narnia!

If you got the title reference then you are obviously also a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia.(As you should be.) Turkish delight is an ultra sweet jelly candy that is just so damn good Edmund sold his family out to a witch just so he could keep eating the stuff. I'm going to be really honest this recipe is a test of patience (and arm strength). There aren't any complicated ingredients but this is a long process that you do need to keep a watchful eye on. Traditionally Turkish Delight is flavored with rose water and comes out a pink color, but since most people don't enjoy floral flavored food I opted to go with an orange flavor instead. If you haven't given floral candy a try, I highly suggest you do. Personally I love botanical flavors, most people tend to say they taste like perfume. While this recipe does take some time and effort, its also super rewarding to know you did something that's actually kind of difficult. I mean this is candy making...from scratch! While I normally don't measure out everything and tell ya'll you really don't have to either, this time you do. If the measurements aren't correct this will just be a mess. So strap in (and grab a drink you're going to be here a while) and lets get ready to make some Turkish Delight. You will need:

4 Cups granulated sugar

4 1/2 Cups water (Separated)

1 Cup cornstarch

2 Teaspoons cream of tar tar

2 Tablespoons orange extract or orange blossom water (The orange blossom water is best, but honestly it can be hard to find so orange extract is just fine. Or you can go with whatever flavor you like...cinnamon, lemon or mint are all good choices.)

Food coloring (To match whatever flavor you choose)

Cornstarch or powdered sugar for coating (I will explain the or part when we get there in the recipe.)

The first thing you need to do is to add 4 cups of granulated sugar to 1 1/2 cups of water in a sauce pot and heat it over medium high heat. Let this cook for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved. You want to let it simmer until it reaches reach about 240 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you do not have a candy thermometer, which I did not, cooking for 15 minutes should suit you just fine don't stress over the temperature too much.) The mixture should be clear at this point. You may have some little sugar water droplets cling to the sides of the pot, don't worry about those. (Just call it decoration.)

Once you've let it simmer for the appropriate amount of time remove the mixture from heat and just let it rest for a bit. In another sauce pot combine 1 cup of cornstarch add 2 teaspoons cream of tar tar and then whisk in 3 cups water slowly. The best way to do this is to pour and whisk at the same time, you want to make sure everything gets combined and there are no lumps. So roll up your sleeves because you are going to be whisking for a bit. It should basically look like milk once everything is smoothed and combined.

Next move this over to the stove on medium high heat and whisk like your life depends on it, or rather like your Turkish delight depends on it! (And it does.) Keep whisking until it turns into basically well...glue. Yep that's right it's going to look just like glue and get crazy thick, so don't worry it is supposed to do that!

Once we reach what I have dubbed the glue stage keeping the mixture on the heat start to add in that sugar water we made earlier. Again you are going to need to pour and whisk at the same time, everything needs to get thoroughly combined for you to get a smooth texture on your finished product. I know this from learning the hard way. I actually did not pour and whisk at the same time so this is what my mixture looked like.

Yep that looks awful. I was able to save it by whisking for about 10 minutes straight. So if this does happen to you there is a way to fix it, but ts better to just do it correctly the first time. (Make sure to get everything out of the corners so you don't end up with any chunks. Once this gets to a nice bubble go ahead and knock your heat back down to a low/ medium-low setting and let this cook for one hour. You will need to stir occasionally. This also lets you check to make sure nothing is burning or sticking to the pot. While that's working its magic you will need to line some square (or rectangular) baking dishes with cling wrap and then rub them down with vegetable oil. This was in all honestly the most difficult part for me. The cling wrap kept breaking and I couldn't get it to go into the corners, so ya know what my delight was not all square. But that's ok, it still tasted great and really that's all that matters. I also learned a lesson here, which I think is don't buy off brand cling wrap!

After an hour you should have a nice smooth almost golden mixture (Which I totally forgot to take a picture of...SORRY!) But i'm sure you can imagine it. Turn off your heat and its time to add in 2 tablespoons of whatever flavor choice you went with. For me that was 2 tablespoons of pure orange extract, and some orange food coloring. Get everything combined and then separate the gelatinous goodness into your two dishes. (I won't lie this was difficult to just pour so I ended up using a ladle.)

Try your best to smooth and even everything out in the dishes. It may be difficult because the candy will already be setting and getting pretty sticky. If you can't get it perfect don't worry because you have to cut everything in the end anyway. Let this set in the dishes, open for at least 4-6 hours. As you can see my terrible skill with the cling wrap made these not the most beautiful shape.

After resting for 4-6 hours its time to cut and dust. If you are going to be serving these right away I suggest coating in a mixture that is half cornstarch and half powdered sugar. But if you are making these ahead or plan to be eating them for awhile go with just cornstarch. The candy is going to "sweat" like all sugar candies do, and this will melt the powdered sugar. While it will still taste great it will not look so appetizing. All you need to do is dust your work space with whatever coating you decide to go with. (I used a mix of both and decided to use a cutting board for my work surface.) Turn out your candy and cut into cubes ( 1 or 2 inch should be just fine) and make sure to roll to coat the entire cube in the cornstarch/and or powdered sugar mixture.

And then there you have it. After 6 hours and some newly learned skills you will have finished your Turkish Delight. Store in an air tight container at room temperature and enjoy for well...up to a month actually. This stuff is so sweet it may take you quite a while to finish it off. So to recap is it a bit tedious to make? Yeah. But is it worth it? I mean if a kid was willing to sell his family out for it, and I was willing to take up 7 hours of my time to make it..I would say yeah!