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>Until I first tried real Turkish Delight in my 20s, I had always imagined it as a cross between crisp toffee and halvah–flaky and melting in the mouth. Here's what it really is: a starch and sugar gel often containing fruit or nuts and flavored with rosewater, citrus, resin, or mint. The texture is gummy and sticky, some of the flavors are unfamiliar to American palates, and the whole thing is very, very sweet. (In addition to the sugar in the mixture, it's often dusted with icing sugar to keep the pieces from sticking together.) While some Turkish Delight newbies may find they enjoy it, it's not likely to be the first thing we imagine when we picture an irresistible candy treat.

In an era when (white and co) americans devour all kinds of ethnic cuisines, including raw sushi, all kinds of indian, thai, etc. I find this article bordering on the absurd.

Unless you're health conscious and don't like sugar, there's not much for an American to dislike about turkish delights -- sugary, gelatinous etc. Kind of the missing link between gummy bears, jelly and marshmallows.

They've eaten far more bizzaro foods.

> In an era when (white and co) americans devour all kinds of ethnic cuisines, including raw sushi, all kinds of indian, thai, etc. I find this article bordering on the absurd.

The palate differences are real. I (an American) eat "ethnic" foods regularly: Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Hispanic, etc. I generally love ethnic foods. The exception is sweets. There are a few ethnic sweets I've had that I like, but by and large I've found, e.g., Indian and Chinese sweets to be unpleasant. Some of them I find to be nearly unpalatable. Others just taste odd.

I doubt I'm the only person with this experience. Lots of "ethnic" foods have been modified to fit the American palate (see General Tso's Chicken), and exposure to ethnic entrees also does not imply much exposure to ethnic sweets.

> In an era when (white and co) americans devour all kinds of ethnic cuisines

I suspect this is the case in big cities, I don't know how broadly it holds in America. I've been in San Francisco for 4 years, so I've tried or at least been made aware of tons of ethnic cuisine, but before that I had never tried sushi and had never even seen an Indian or Thai restaurant. Perhaps the rural Midwest is the last place these things spread to. All we really had were tons of Chinese and Mexican restaurants and a smattering of French, Italian, and Japanese places, all undoubtedly as unauthentic as they come.

Actually a large portion of the foods we consider "ethnic" such as Orange Chicken and Burritos originate or are tailored specifically for an American palate (and did not exist as such dishes natively). Even Tikka Misala is a British take on Indian flavors.
Um. It's not really about whether or not you like or dislike turkish delight. Its about your imagination when you thought about the dessert you would most like to have. I was young enough that for me it was a turkey based savory food and not dessert at all. It's not that turkish delight is bizzaro or exotic. It's the contrast between what you thought and what it is.
It was actually a huge letdown for me too. C.S. Lewis described Turkish Delight in a way that made me think that it didn't even exist, like it was some perfect candy that was unattainable.

One day, also in my 20s, I stumbled upon it in the "ethnic" section of a supermarket near my college. I was so excited I could hardly get out of the store before trying it out. Just like the author, I couldn't believe it was just a thick gummy starchy mess with some powdered sugar messily slopped on top.

Also, it should be noted, I'm not sure if you're from America or not, but eating sushi / thai / indian foods can actually be quite uncommon in most of America, in particular the fly-over states.

Even someone like me who grew up 10 mins from Providence / 45 mins from Boston on the east coast never had tried thai / sushi / indian food until college, and even then, I was considered weird and adventurous by my hometown friends.

You might be right that within the past decade it's become more popular, I can't say, but I know in the 80s/90s when I grew up, there wasn't much available "ethnic" cuisine.

Lastly, my quotes around "ethnic" aren't in response to your usage of the word, they are just my own response to the fact that people would consider me "ethnic" even though I grew up in America just like they did, and the false distinction has always bothered me. :)

> there's not much for an American to dislike about turkish delights -- sugary, gelatinous etc

Evidently the American palate is slightly more nuanced than "we'll eat anything that consists mostly of sugar." Who'd have thought?

There are big difference in national preferences, even between America and Britain. If you'll forgive the generalisations: Your chocolate is bland, gritty and oily. Twizzlers and Red Vines taste like candle wax. Your bread is like cotton wool and your cheese is only vaguely cheese-flavoured.
It's not the texture—it's the flavors. You're right, it's basically a gummy bear covered in powdered sugar. The problem is the flavor. It's not a taste most Americans associate with dessert. I think they taste like perfumed gumdrops.

Btw, gumdrops are also likewise gross.

White and co?
My mother (later I would help) used to make Turkish Delights along with a bunch of other holiday cookies and candies most years. I'm almost positive that the recipe came from one of the Betty Crocker cookbooks, although it's been many years.
You had me at "gummy"
You're greatly overestimating the willingness of the white US population to try new foods.
Hmm...I never thought it was strange. Turkish Delight is delicious. I pick some up whenever I find myself in a Mediterranean grocery. I'm not fond of every flavor, especially the very sweet ones, but the fruit and nut options are delightful, to me. I find it interesting that it's considered a major disappointment by a lot of folks. I mean, I think every friend I've ever had that's tried it, after my raving about it, has been somewhat less enthused about it than I am, but I don't think anyone has ever said it was repulsive.
This is kind of a weird criticism since there's so much variety in Turkish Delight. It would be like saying "cereal is too sweet" or "snack bars have unfamiliar flavors", when both of those things, like Turkish Delight, can be made with all sorts of different flavors.
Thank you for posting this. It is a relief to see something with good vibes that contains Turkey in it. Reading about Turkey in world news and comments is depressing. Believe me, Turkish people think more about lokum and food than politics.

Hacı Bekir company is mentioned in the article. Another interesting point is that it is the oldest operating company in Turkey founded in 1777:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Ali_Muhi...

I've never been lucky enough to visit Turkey, though I have some hope of attending a conference in Istanbul next year.

I _have_ gotten to stay with two separate Turkish AirBnB hosts here in the UK -- and both times were amazing. I'm sure it's not right to generalise from this small number of examples, but Turkish hospitality is clearly a _big_ deal. Even just visiting Turkish friends in their respective homes, there seems to be this feeling of great pride in hosting a guest.

I hope it's something that English culture can learn from.

Edit: hope I'm not coming over as patronising here. Just thought I'd share a more positive view.

I know what you mean.

As an American who knew next to nothing about Turkey before ~2000, it seems like Turkey is in an "Uncanny Valley" in the American mind. The results of the reform/revolution era (1920's and 30's) are astounding, and I think that the Turkish Republic doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves.

It's one of those "truth is stranger than fiction" things. Usually societies that get to the point of the Ottoman Empire just collapse. That when the Empire fell, the Turks took a such a hard look at their society, decided it wasn't working, and radically changed it overnight, is a fascinating story that isn't really known here.

Oh, and it's a lovely place to vacation, too. ;-)

If it makes you feel any better, I have wonderful memories of visiting Istanbul with my family when I was a child and would love to go back. The people were wonderful and friendly. Im not keen on the direction that Erdogan has been taking your country but that's something that is only my business in the sense that I can complain about him from the comfort of my own country.
I grew up on "turkish delight" in Washington state, home of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Orchards which makes "Aplets and Cotlets", Turkish Delight flavored with apples and apricots. (It's incredible)
Wow, I mentioned Aplets and Cotlets on another thread. I didn't realize that they actually are Turkish Delight (that is, based on a recipe for lokum). They are delicious!

As a kid I envisioned it as kind of a sticky, tender, caramel-y confection, like a nutty blond fudge. But from now on I'll think of it as Aplets and Cotlets.

A Muslim coworker once told me many believe the Christian apologist CS Lewis was showing an anti-Muslim bias in using Turkish Delight as the temptation ... supposedly it is a warning against the enticements of a non-Christian world view. Does anyone have more info on this angle?
Slightly offtopic but I had the fortune to visit Istanbul in October and it was by far the highlight of our European holiday.

The culture is fantastic. Turkish breakfast is an amazing thing. Fresh simit pastries are insanely good. I love the hamam, the bazaar, and even turkish delight.

If Istanbul isn't on your list, it should be!

I'm Asian American and grew up eating and enjoying a ton of weird shit including rotten fish, pork blood, durian, etc, but even I encountered the same feeling of disappointment after tasting my first Turkish delight. Like the OP, I had imagined this amazing treat in my head after reading those books and seeing those movies/cartoons as a child. It's definitely an acquired taste that I eventually learned to like after finally finding a flavor I enjoyed (pistachio). Most of them taste like powdery gummy perfume.

You can't simply blame "uncultured Whities". An analogous "weird" flavor in the West is licorice. I just don't get it.

An offbeat topic to challenge my mind.

My first experience with Turkish delight was a commercial product in a gold foil wrapper and a purple label (I don't know if it was fry's or not - it was in similar wrapping to the old kitkat - 1/2 paper, 1/2 foil). It was covered in chocolate with a centre that was chewy like a slightly softened beef jerky. It had a fragrant flavour that reminded me of perfume, but it was a resounding yuk.

In later years, I came across a gelatinous pink treat covered in a white powder - the texture was about as squishy as jelly. There was a more subtle taste and it was delicious.

I never remember associating Turkish delight with Narnia. But, I remember associating gold foil wrappers with willy wonka.

I have never tasted Turkish Delight, but it sounds like a unimaginably sweet exotic masterpiece of confectionery.

I mean, I always imagined that it would be something a sultan in his majestic palace would order, and it would taste about the same as the illustrations of some wondrous palace in Istanbul by the illustrations in the book (by Pauline Baynes) looked like.

I know when I read it (when I was 7 or 8), I envisioned it as a candied turkey - kind of like the crunchy sweet shell on a honey baked ham. Very disappointing in that context.
Maybe I read more into it, but I thought enchantment was also involved?

(My imagining was of some light chocolate treat... the kind that melts in your mouth and is almost impossible to overeat.)

I'm falling for a bit of forum bikeshedding here of commenting on something very important :) but...it's one thing to say "I imagined it was like this, but it was like that. And here's what my friends imagined" and another to start the thing like "man, c.s.l. sure tricked everyone with his weird, weird candy!"

I can't remember whether I tried to imagine it or allowed it to be intriguing-but-unknown in my mind.

The time of publishing may have been a factor - in 1950 Britain was still recovering from the second world war, and rationing was still in force, so there would have been nowhere near the abundance of sweet foods available that there are now. In that context even some Turkish delight could be an exciting treat.
Well now I'm hungry for some. Anyone have a good source for Turkish Delight? (online, or in SF)
I actually love turkish delight.

It's funny though, it's true I heard of it from the Chronicles of Narnia. It sounded so good for some reason. I mean, if that kid would throw his family under the bus for some, I want to try it!

Turkish Delight tastes like deodorant.
Turkish Delight is commonly sold in the UK covered in chocolate instead of sugar. You can buy it at just about any place you can buy a snickers.
If you want to try Middle Eastern sweets, check Kunafa or Baklava instead because Turkish Delights (Lokum) are really for kids not adults and they're served along something like Dragée in special occasions and mainly to kids too.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag%C3%A9e

Good fresh home made turkish delight is actually awesome. If you ever come across it, try it.

The pre-packaged stuff is mostly too sweet and not that good.

Product placement, the early years.
Well, in Turkey, Turkish Delight is not as popular as people may think. Probably, tourists eat more Turkish Delight than Turkish people... I eat more of this sweet here in US then back in Turkey. Looks like another article that just enjoys stereotyping.
the first time i flew turkish airlines, they handed out turkish delights and I tried one for the very first time. It was magical. Very magical.

I tried to find some more in istanbul airport which were not as magical but I'll buy more one day.

Does anyone really remember what kid-them thought of when they read these passages about Turkish delight a decade plus earlier? I certainly don't and I read the Narnia books at least twice.
The Young Ones nailed it with:

Witch: Oh, would you two shut up! Would you like some Turkish Delight, my child? Vyvyan: Not particularly. You got any kebabs?

I think the episode is "Flood".

Fun fact: in Turkey they just call it "delight".
What? I'm American and I think lokum is delicious. This guy really wrote a whole article about how he doesn't like a particular type of candy?
I am from New Zealand and I love Turkish delight.
Never thought about it much, but reading the book, I imagined it being some concoction based on Turkish apricots.
Lokum is for the tourists. Baklava is the real thing - delicious and unhealthy.
Canadian kids too!
From the article

> The English name, Turkish Delight, is no misnomer

Of course it's a misnomer - there is nothing delightful about Turkish Delight.