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News & Features
The Sweetest Traditions: Turkish Candy
by Sevil Delin
 Throughout the Western world, Turkey is synonymous with Turkish Delight, or - as it is properly known - lokum. This bundle of sugary joy has done wonders to market the delights of Turkey. Lokum serves as an apt symbol of Turkey in light of the fact that Turks have a notoriously sweet tooth as evidenced by other Turkish favorites including baklava. But lokum and baklava are only the tip of the sugar-berg. Turkey also produces some mouthwatering traditional candies that give you a natural high. Although they are not as varied or well known, candies play an important role in Turkish culinary culture. But before we look at the story of Turkish candy, we must examine the history of sugar.
Just as tea and salt were once highly prized luxuries, sugar was once called "white gold" due to its rareness and price. The Egyptians produced the first candy in 1500BC. Ancient Egyptian candy was made with sugar derived from honey. Sugarcane juice is first mentioned in Indian texts dating from 400BC and solid sugar was first made in Bengal in 300AD. Sugar cane production began in earnest in Egypt in 700AD. Sugar made its way westward thanks to the empire building ambitions of the Moors who took the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century AD. Soon, sugar cane was being grown in Spain and Sicily. It made its way to Central Europe via Venice and the Crusaders. In 1494, Christopher Columbus took sugar cane to San Domingo on his second voyage to America. It flourished in the tropical climate. By the 17th century, America was producing raw sugar that was then sent to Europe to be refined. Sugar beets were used to produce sugar for the first time in Berlin in 1789. The first sugar factory to produce sugar from sugar beets opened in 1801 in Silesia.
Sugar’s Arabian origin is backed up by etymology. The word saccharum, meaning sugar cane, comes from sakcharon, meaning sugar, a word of eastern origin. The word sugar (sucre in French and seker in Turkish) is derived from the Arabic sukkar. Similarly, the English word ‘candy’ is derived from the Arabic word qandah.
Before sugar made its way to Turkey, Turkish confectioners used honey and pekmez (grape molasses) as sweetening agents. The resulting candies were crude and limited in variety. They were also very expensive. In the 19th century, Turkey was introduced to refined sugar. The sugar was imported from Germany in the form of unwieldy conical blocks that were appropriately known as kelle, meaning ‘head’. These blocks were pounded into powder in a mortar and pestle. The resulting sugar was used to make a range of candies. The first sugar factory in Turkey opened in Usak-Alpullu in 1926.
 Without question, Turkey’s favorite candy is akide sekeri, a kind of boiled sweet that comes in a wide range of colors, shapes and flavors. Akide sekeri are known as ‘berlingot’ outside Turkey. Before refined sugar became a regular ingredient in the Turkish confectioner’s kitchen, akide sekeri were made from primitive sugars. These pioneering akide sekeri were known as mangir or ‘coin’ candies thanks to their round, flat shape. The unrefined sugar used in their production meant that they contained many sugar crystals, were never entirely translucent and only came in a few flavors. Nevertheless, they were considered very luxurious and were only available at court. With the arrival of refined sugar, the confectioners were able to create a rainbow of colors, a smorgasbord of flavors and a cornucopia of shapes.
To make akide sekeri, sugar syrup containing 35-40% water is boiled to a temperature of 160 degrees Celsius until it is reduced to 25% water. At this point, it is ‘doctored’ by adding citric acid or cream of tartar. Unless careful attention is paid to temperature and cooking time, sugar crystals will form in the candy. The best akide sekeri contains only 3 percent moisture. The flavors are added to the sugar syrup while it is cooling. The malleable candy is then shaped into the desired form. If left to cool naturally, akide sekeri is clear, glassy candy. Opaque akide sekeri are made by kneading and pulling the thickened syrup by hand while it is being cooled, resulting in a solid, opaque candy.
Akide sekeri can be flavored with rosewater, mint, cinnamon, the juice of bergamot, oranges, lemons, strawberries, pineapple, chocolate, honey and coffee and other fruits, or mixed with nuts or sesame seeds. Akide sekeri comes in shapes known as cakıl tasi (pebbles), Haci Bekir bohca (the most popular lumps of candy) and cubuk (rods of candy that are broken into edible chunks). The candies are traditionally displayed in huge glass jars.
Akide sekeri is notoriously sensitive, abhorring change. Above 40-50% humidity, the candy becomes dull and lifeless. It is produced in small batches because it must be fresh when sold. Ideally, akide sekeri should be eaten within a week to ten days, although they can last up to a month in a sealed container. They should never, ever be placed in a refrigerator.
Akide sekeri also played an important role in Ottoman history. "Akide" means a confession of faith and stands for trust, loyalty and solidarity. Every three months, a meal was served to the Janissaries in the palace garden when their pay was distributed. If the Janissaries were satisfied with their food and pay, they would present akide sekeri to high court officials as a symbol of loyalty to the sultan. The candy was cooked in the palace kitchen and was in the form of mangir, each weighing one dirham (about 3,2 grams). The Grand Vizier was given 500 dirhams. Other viziers as well as the Janissary Commander received 300 dirhams each. At the end of the ceremony a victory prayer was recited by all. It is also a tradition to serve akide sekeri at mevlit: a religious gathering held either at home or at a mosque on the 40th and 52nd days following a death as well as on the anniversary of the funeral.
Another traditional Turkish candy is serbet sekeri (sherbet candy), a dark red, diamond-shaped sugar. To make serbet sekeri, sugar containing 8-9% water is boiled to 115 degrees Celsius. Dye, red pepper, rose water, cinnamon and occasionally lemon juice are added and the mixture is left to crystallize for about 15 hours. It is then cut into diamonds. In the past, the red color was provided by cochineal - a scarlet dyestuff con-sisting of the dried bodies of the female coccus insect gathered from a cactus native to Mexico and Central America. These dyes were originally used by Central American Indians before they were discovered by Spanish conquistadors who imported then to Europe.
Serbet sekeri is also known as logusa candy in Turkish. Logusa is a term used to describe a woman who has recently given birth. Traditionally, the day after the birth, a drink made from serbet sekeri is prepared. The serbet sekeri is boiled in water, sugar, cinnamon and cloves for half an hour and then strained. Decanters of serbet wrapped in red tulle are served to relatives and neighbors as a birth announcement. If the baby is a girl, the lid is also wrapped. If a boy, it is left unwrapped. Cold or hot sherbet is also served to people visiting the new mother during her 40-day confinement. Sherbet was believed to have restorative powers and to help cure anemia. Red pepper and cinnamon also function as natural stimulants. Many people still serve sherbet to children suffering from measles in the belief that it helps them recover more quickly.
Two other traditional Turkish candies are also reputed to have medicinal properties. They could be said to fall somewhere between a placebo and a homeopathic cure. They serve as reminders of the time when sugar was a luxury and afforded miraculous qualities. Nobet sekeri (fit sugar) is just such traditional Turkish sweet. Nobet sekeri consists of large crystals of pure sugar that are given to people needing a jolt of energy. It is also used as an ingredient in traditional medicinal remedies for coughs and colds. Some people carry nobet sekeri with them like medicine, even talking about dosages. Another, rather tastier, Turkish candy that is reputed to have restorative properties is nane sekeri (mint candy). These tiny white mints used to be sold in unbranded small packages at bus stations and on ferries as a cure for nausea.
While akide sekeri maintains a healthy popularity with the masses, serbet sekeri and nobet sekeri seem to be in danger of going the way of nane sekeri. As traditions such as the logusa confinement die out and people lose faith in home remedies, they too may soon be written about in the past tense. It falls to us to show our own “akide” to Turkish candy.
A glimpse of some of Istanbul’s traditional confectioners
The joy of Turkish candy begins at the candy store. Istanbul boasts a number of traditional sekerci or confectioners that only sell authentic Ottoman sweets. These family-run establishments often date back over a hundred years. A trip to a sekerci is like entering a time machine. The gleaming marble counters, rows of akide sekeri in glass jars and trays of lokum behind glass displays have remained unchanged through the generations. The helpful staff will always offer you a taste of the merchandise before you buy. The following are some examples:
Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir
Eminonu Tel: (0212) 522 06 66
Beyoglu Tel: (0212) 244 28 04
Eminonu Tel: (0212) 522 85 43
Kadikoy Tel: (0216) 336 15 19
The story of akide sekeri is inextricably linked to Haci Bekir, Istanbul’s oldest and most famous confectioner. Bekir Efendi who hailed from Kastamonu established the original shop in Bahcekapi in 1777. That first shop is still open today. Bekir Efendi became known as Haci Bekir after completing the hajj pilgrimage. He was the first Turkish confectioner to use refined sugar to make akide sekeri. The sultan was so impressed with Haci Bekir’s akide sekeri and other confections that he was appointed the chief confectioner to the palace. Haci Bekir's fame even extended beyond the bounds of the Ottoman Empire. A 19th century English traveller loved Haci Bekir’s lokum so much that he introduced it to the rest of the world as ‘Turkish Delight’. His confectionery was exhibited at fairs in Europe and the USA and awarded gold and silver medals. A painting of Haci Bekir made by Maltese artist Amedeo Preziosi in the mid-19th century hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris. A lithographic copy is in the Topkapi Palace Museum.
The business passed to his son, Muhiddin, and then to his son, Ali. Both were similarly appointed chief confectioner to the Palace. Today, the company is named after these generations: Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir and is in the hands of the fourth and fifth generations of the family. Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir has representatives in the USA, Japan, South Africa, Egypt, the UK and France.
It sells akide sekeri in the following flavors: rosewater, mint, cinnamon, bergamot, oranges, lemons, strawberries, pineapple, chocolate, honey, coffee, mastic and with nuts or sesame seeds. It also carries serbet sekeri and nobet sekeri. In addition, you can find varieties of lokum, badem ezmesi (almond paste), badem and fistik sekeri (almond and pistachio dragés) as well as other confectionery.
The shops are open Monday-Saturday from 8.00am to 8:00pm and 9:00am to 8:00pm on Sundays.
Cemilzade1883
Selamicesme Tel: (0216) 385 04 23
Saskinbakkal Tel: (0216) 385 41 83
Etiler Tel: (0212) 263 17 63
Cemilzade was established in 1883 by Udi Cemil Bey, who has gone down in history as a confectioner, composer, hafiz (a person who has committed the Koran to memory) and lute player. A native of Istanbul, he was equally famous in his day for his confections as he was for his skills as a musician and composer. He spent 19 years of his life with his family in Cairo, where he is buried. Upon his death, his sons Mehmet Ali and Nurettin returned to Turkey and established a shop in Kadikoy. Today, there are branches in Selamicesme, Saskinbakkal and Etiler. The company is run by the third and fourth generations of the family.
Cemilzade sells a variety of fruit and nut pastes, a wide range of lokum and badem sekeri. There are also akide sekeri in the following flavors: mint-lemon, lemon, orange, Turkish coffee, sesame and cinnamon. The shops are open Monday-Saturday from 9.00am to 8:00pm and on Sundays from 11.00am to 7:00pm.
Meshur Bebek Badem Ezmesi
Bebek Tel: (0212) 263 59 84
Established in 1904 by on its current premises, Meshur Bebek Badem Ezmesi (Famous Bebek Almond Paste) is, not surprisingly, best known for its almond paste. It is run by Sevim Isguder whose father, Mehmet Halil Bey, established the shop together with her mother. Mehmet Halil Bey had learned the craft from his father, a confectioner in Mudanya. In addition to almond paste, it also sells a range of akide sekeri, fistik ezmesi, lokum and nuts as well as pistachio, almond and orange dragées. It is open daily from 8:30apm to 11:00pm.
Sekerci Cafer Erol
Kadıkoy Tel: (0216) 337 1103
Suadiye Tel: (0216) 386 1769
Although it is new compared to the other confectioners mentioned in this article, Cafer Erol is one of the oldest confectioner’s in Kadikoy. Established in 1945, Sekerci Cafer Erol sells a wide range of traditional Turkish sweets such as lokum, tulumba, helva (halvah) and badem ezmesi. They also carry a range of akide sekeri. The store is open daily from 8:00am to 10:00pm.
This article was previously published in The Guide Istanbul magazine
Issue No: 75 March/ April 2004
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